Sam & Naz, Candidates for BL Womens Representatives
Role Description: Are you interested in working to achieve improvements for women students? The Women's Representative (BLSA) will have the opportunity represent the interests of female Barts and the London students on the issues they face, gathering feedback and campaigning for change.
You’ll be supporting the Vice President Communities, convening with the Students’ Union's Women’s Forum, and speaking to relevant clubs, societies and student groups to identify key areas which we can improve. To encourage more women to participate and engage with the Students’ Union, you’ll also have the option to plan and deliver events, fostering a sense of community for our female students!
What's your favourite moment from being a student here?
Naz: There’s so many good moments I don’t think I could I have a single favourite moment from being a student here, but a couple of my favourite moments includes running and campaigning for women’s rep in the BLSA 2023 elections which allowed me to explore some of the issues women at BL face, running the anti-harassment campaign with Women In Healthcare Society and all the late-night study sessions in Whitechapel library.
Saman: One of the highlights of my time at Barts is being a member of BL WIHSOC! It was the first society I joined during my second year, following a COVID-affected first year. Through this society, I have enjoyed getting to meet a lot of the girls at Barts, and form some of my closest friendships which I would not be able to get through med school without!
What's something you've done that you're proud of?
We’re both proud of the fact we launched anti-harassment campaign at BL – so we are both really excited to developing this project further to create a safer environment for students at Barts and work closer with both the BLSA and the university to make BL a great place for women to thrive.
What is a problem facing students and how do you propose to fix it?
We both believe harassment is a major problem facing students of all genders at Barts and a big part of our womanfesto includes strategies to tackle this.
Harassment is a multifaceted issue that needs to be addressed on many different levels to bring about change. It is a problem that is deep rooted into society and is something that cannot be fixed overnight. Not only must it be addressed individually but on a larger scale through the education systems we have in place at medical school and on a wider organisational level through the NHS.
We interviewed Dr. Rakesh Patel, Head of MBBS at Barts and London and Professor of Medical Education, to discuss the roles of medical schools and necessary changes in the education system to address harassment.
According to Dr Patel “Medical schools are responsible for the welfare of their students and there should be an active community of staff and student groups working together. It is important to recognise that medical schools are actual ‘schools’ at the end of the day hence there needs to be an increased focus on the culture of being a good local citizen and not solely just education on the medical side of things. Especially in this period of time for a lot of students who are going through their early 20s in which there is a lot of change, it is important to develop well rounded doctors .”
Tackling harassment requires collaboration between students and staff to co-create transformative ideas. An exemplary initiative is the 'Empowerment Project,' a student-led program dedicated to diversifying the curriculum and providing active bystander skills. Integrating active bystander training into the medical school curriculum is crucial for developing well-rounded doctors capable of assisting individuals in diverse situations, aligning with the principles of the Hippocratic oath.
