2020 has been an exciting year for the University of Notre Dame Society for Equity in Medicine (UNDSEM). The third year of the committee commenced with the selection of a group of extremely passionate and qualified individuals from Med 1 (Yousef Hakimi, Monica-Rose van De Leucht and Zilin Peng) and Med 2 (Ashley Osie, Lauren Gilchrist, Hannah Derrig and Tina Barez) to the committee.
The cracker team of second years launched the inaugural Darlinghurst campus International Women’s Day celebration, a day bringing together Nursing and Medicine students through pledges to achieve gender equality. A raging success, the day saw over 80 students come forward with innovative, inspiring ideas for their own personal commitment to gender equity.
“I will notice and question when women are not present and equal”, “I will attend more women’s sporting matches”, I pledge to stop and call out all casual sexism”, “I pledge to call out my mates for sexual and disrespectful comments that continue to perpetuate a patriarchal society”, #EachforEqual #UNDFEM
As COVID-19 limited our ability to conduct face to face guerrilla warfare on the system, we decided to pursue 2020 as a year of refocusing. As a group, we decided that we were passionate about promoting and sponsoring progress and promoting equity in the medical profession We decided the role of the committee was to celebrate and promote all narratives of diversity in the medical workforce. And thus, we rebranded the committee to UNDSEM a title we feel better represents the aspirations of the group. Our new aim is to use the position of the committee within MANDUS to:
1. Encourage and facilitate challenging of current ideas and belief systems through education and reflection related to diversity
2. Empower the voices of our fellow students to advocate for diversity for themselves, their colleagues and their patients throughout their career in medicine.
By way of launching our new mission, a social media storm was created by our social media representatives followed by an epic first ever gender equity event, a spotlight on intersex and transexual patients. Joined by the most incredible speakers Doctor Asiel Sanchez and Professor Michelle Telfer over 70 students from the SoMS tuned in to listen, learn and diversify their education and professional practice.
Our final achievement for this year was the inaugural round of advocacy proposals led by UNDSEM. A diverse large group of students across both Med 1 and Med 2 put their hands up to advocate to the SoMS for increased diversity in the curriculum with a specific focus of sexuality and racial diversity. Two excellent proposals have been developed and are in the process of being submitted to the SoMS and I look forward to seeing the changes that are likely to come as a consequence of our med colleague’s commitment to grass roots advocacy for diversity and inclusion.
Now it’s all down on paper, I can’t believe how much this incredible group of individuals has achieved or how privileged I feel to have had the opportunity to work with them this year! I’d like to congratulate and welcome Yousef Hakimi to the role of Chair and Katharine Vail as second year rep in 2021.
Signing off,
Alyce Finch
UNDSEM Chair, 2020
