Our Events

Hello everyone!

We're halfway through the year, and with formatives and assessments on the horizon, it's easy to get caught up in a toxic spiral of comparison and competition. Competition has its perks, yet all too often, it can develop into harmful behaviours and thoughts. Coming into an environment like the medical school where so many high achievers are packed together can easily result in this toxic mentality.

Join us as we discuss what unhealthy (and healthy) competition looks like and what we can do to combat it. We'll have a few students speak about their thoughts and experiences on the topic, as well as a member of the UCLMS Support team to share a little wisdom.

Looking forward to seeing you all then!

With love,
Your Medics4Medics Committee

This Christmas, Medics4Medics are excited to bring you some holiday cheer. We are proud to present Kindness by Post.

As a society, we want to do all we can to unite UCLMS, join us by signing up and being randomly allocated to a fellow member of UCLMS and send them an (anonymous) message of kindness!

You will have a 4 week window from 21st December til 21st Jan to send your message so please do sign up !!

Enrolment opens next Monday (14th December!), so keep your eyes peeled and your hearts kind

Sign up here: https://forms.gle/SLGo4BefJoeGYijU7

Hi everyone,

Hope you are well! This Movember, M4M wants to focus on Men’s Mental Health and why it matters. Come join us on zoom to listen to Kenny Aruwa- a Student Support and Wellbeing Advisor. As one of the few men on the Mental Health side of his team, men’s mental health is an issue close to his heart. With three times as many men than women dying from suicide, we all have a responsibility to continue the conversation and learn more about what we can do. We would love for you to join us on the 30th November from 6-7:30 to learn more and ask your questions!

With love,
M4M

Hello friends,

Come along for our online peer navigator training day on the 21st of November! ✨

Our peer navigators are people who our fellow students can turn to when going through a tough time. We'll equip you with the confidence to have sensitive conversations and the knowledge of the support systems available to students, both in and out of university.

We have resources from Rethink Mental Illness and speakers from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing and UCL Student Psychological and Counselling Support. We will also run through a few scenarios so you guys can get a little experience with the sort of interactions that you might have.

These insights help to support not just our peers, but our friends too! Uni does get tough and we could all use a bit of support at times - this is your chance to be a wonderful friend. 🤓

We will also be providing certificates to those who train as a peer navigator and engage with M4M, because you guys deserve it for being utter champs.

You can sign up for the event (and further involvement with M4M if you wish) using this form:
https://forms.gle/zQ9qfYS3TwxVMx5i6

Looking forward to seeing you then!


Lotsa love,
Your Medics4Medics Committee

Our next event is focussing on Student experiences of loneliness in medical school. We will be creating a safe and inclusive space, having students share their experiences of loneliness and we will also host our special guest, Dr Farhana Mann who is a Psychiatrist at UCL. She will be discussing the impact of loneliness on our mental health and will also be answering your questions.

If you have any questions please feel free to get in touch! We hope to see you there :)

Hi everyone!

Medics4Medics are proud to present our fascinating second digital event, which will be looking at the relationship between mindfulness and meditation, and mental health. In the first half of the session Research Assistant Marco Schlosser will be giving a talk on the variable experiences that individuals have with meditation, and what factors influence these. Following this there will be a guided mindfulness meditation session led by Niraj Mulji. Niraj has approached meditation from a more spiritual perspective and has been practising for 3-4 years alongside a career in Investment Management.

Please come along from 6-7:30pm on Thursday 10th September for what promises to be both a fascinating and really useful event. In light of everything going on in the world, taking a bit of time to practise mindfulness and refocus may be just what we all need! And as with all of our Medics4Medics events, it is completely free. Hope to see you there!

*Please feel free to drop in at any time & leave earlier if needed!*

Please check out our FB group (Medics4Medics) to find out more!

Link to the event:

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YWViM2VkMGEtMzEzMy00MWZiLTlmZjMtMzFkZmFhNzI4MmQ5%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%221faf88fe-a998-4c5b-93c9-210a11d9a5c2%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%226b596911-cc73-43ca-9151-ac7ffd45f62c%22%7d

Hi All! Hope you are well! At 2pm on the 28th of July Medics4Medics is hosting a virtual panel (think Schwartz Round) where students from ethnic minority backgrounds will be sharing their experiences of Mental Health/ Mental Illness, while at Medical School and beyond. Our aim is to have a non-judgemental, confidential and safe space where our speakers, who are from a range of backgrounds, can talk openly. We hope this will be interesting and educational for people, helping to open up conversations on how people of different backgrounds will have different experiences of university (The slightly strange environment of Medical School too). This event is aimed mainly at Medical students in UCLMS but is open to all, so if you are interested please click going. Please keep an eye on the event for updates and the link to the session!
Much Love
Your Medics4Medics Committee

Please note: Because of the sensitive nature of the event if you attend please try and make sure that you can find a private place to watch from.

UPDATE:
These are the ground rules for the event. Please have a read in advance and we look forward to seeing you all there :)

The link to the session will be posted tomorrow morning

GROUND RULES
We are incredibly grateful to our speakers who have agreed to share their experiences with us all today. Please:

Ensure that you are somewhere private in order maintain strict rules of confidentiality

No recording and do not share anything that is said in the event, outside of the event.

Make sure your microphone is muted while another speaker is speaking.

Turn on your video icon (if you are comfortable with that)! It would be great to see everyone’s faces and mimic the style of our usual events!

Be courteous to speakers and other attendees

All experiences are individual, and valuable. We can ask about their nature, but please respect that they are personal.

This Tuesday Medics4Medics will be hosting an event on eating disorders. Gil Myers, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, will be providing an overview of eating disorders, discussing common myths and providing advice on how to support those around you who may have eating disorders.

Everyone goes through difficult times and sometimes what we need most is someone to be there for us. Even if they can’t solve our problems for us, a listening ear goes a long way. Join Medics4Medics as we discuss how we can support those around us in times of difficulty. Our speakers are child and adolescent psychiatry trainees Megan Fisher, Gabriella Landy and Raka Maitra, from the Tavistock training scheme. We will discuss both practical ways to support our friends, and how to remind ourselves to look after our own wellbeing. We can be left feeling helpless when it comes to supporting those we care about so we hope this will be a useful and informative discussion for all.

Medics4Medics are excited to announce next week’s talk on Preventing Burnout. Our speaker for the evening will be Dr Asta Medisauskaite. Dr Asta Medisauskaite is a Research Fellow at the Research Department of Medical Education, UCL Medical School. Asta is an organisational psychologist who obtained her PhD at Birkbeck, University of London. Her PhD was on understanding and improving the occupational health of UK medical doctors. As one of her studies, Asta tested an intervention for doctors which is now transformed into practical tools (app/board game; workingstress.co.uk). Currently Asta is working on a number of studies investigating doctors professionalism, attrition rates and leading a study on mental health of medical students

Previously this has been one of our most well received events so hope to see many of you there. Also free food and drink provided!

Come and play with some bunnies and doggos, and enjoy some Krispy Kremes whilst you chill in our relaxation time.

A mix of medical students and foundation doctors will be talking about their mental health and wellbeing issues they faced at medical school and how it made them better doctors.

Come and enjoy a night of games with your favourite RUMS sports.

Talk by Professor Clare Gerada on Mental Health in doctors and medical students.

Meet the welfare reps and staff of UCLMS Student Support and UCL Student Psychological Services Ft. Planet Organic.

How to support friends going through difficult times.

Join medics4medics as the beguiling Dr Oliver Starr discusses his experiences of burnout in medicine.

Coping with being in a competitive environment.

RUMS students and junior doctors: Why talking about your mental health will make you a better doctor.

Professor John Wyatt: Why talking about your mental health will make you a better doctor.