Hippocratic Council 2013 - 2014
Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
University of Western Ontario
Council Progress Report – October 17th, 2013
President Update: Daniela Kwiatkowski
One of my goals coming into this role was to collaborate with students to help the
Hippocratic Council and Schulich Meds reach their fullest potential. Over the past several
months I have been working on a number of projects that involve other executive members
of council, as well as students at large. The major highlights include:
- Transfer of Hippo financial accounts from Scotiabank to Schulich in order to simplify
accounting for VP Finance and speed up the reimbursement process for students.
- Review of risk management and insurance coverage with the USC and Schulich, to
ensure that student events are safe and individuals participating in campus and
community activities are protected
- Email for Life upgrades now and upcoming changes to host server that will better
service students
- Facilities upgrades (like new heating units in the London study room and
renovations to the PCCIA rooms) and planning for new space allocation when
Nursing moves to the old Ivey building
- Promoting student community involvement, research, creative initiatives and social
events via Schulich Communications
I have also represented student interests both within Schulich and among our national
colleagues. Some of the highlights include:
- CFMS AGM Presidents discussion of the MSPR (Medical School Performance Record)
led to the motion for a review of its use by Canadian medical program directors in
order to guide revisions at the individual faculty level. The goal is to make this
document as useful as possible to the assessment of potential candidates for
residency program while providing a fair and equal representation of students from
across the country.
- October Townhall with Drs Tithecott, Rieder and Cooper involved a brief review of
Absence & Absenteeism Requests. It is essential that students make use of the
resources online to fully complete the appropriate forms for academic/nonacademic or compassionate leave. This will help reduce the wait times for responses
and increase the likelihood of approval upon first submission.
- Works in Progress: The ‘Wellness Committee’ was prompted in response to the
concerns raised by students last spring related to stress of assessments and
curricular demands. Hippo, LEW and UME are committed to establishing a
mechanism by which students can discuss issues affecting student wellness and
success. Similarly, a Professionalism Policy is being developed that will help to
clarify the process for responding to concerns regarding student behaviour in the
undergraduate medical program.
I continue to look for opportunities to connect with the Windsor cohort as well as students
on the ward and away on elective. If you have suggestions for new ways to do this, I
welcome them. Regardless, I encourage anyone with comments, questions or concerns to
stop me in the hallway, write me an email, or give me a call.
Communications: Camilla Stepniak
The September newsletter (video format!) will be in the works soon. Do you have an event
coming up this semester that you would like to share with everyone? Or any exciting news
you would love to announce? Please get in contact with me ASAP!
cstepniak2016@meds.uwo.ca
Want even more promotion for your exciting event/accomplishments/news? The
Hippocratic Council as well as Class Presidents are creating strong new ties with Schulich
Communications to help ensure our activities are broadcast to the greater community!
Again, please contact me if there is anything you wish to communicate!
Social Director News - Amanda Spadafora
This year the Pink Tie Gala and the Hallowe'en Hijinx event will both be taking place on the
same weekend which is also a London Integration Weekend. We are excited to have
Windsor join us for both of these events this year!
Pink Tie Gala Details
- Oct. 25, 9:30, The Wave
- Tickets: $15
- The Pinktastic Fashion Show will be taking place, more details to come
- Administration will be invited as last year
- Tickets sold through your class social reps or me
Hallowe'en Hijinx
- Oct. 26, 10:00, The Thorny Devil
- Line bypass and free cover until 10:00 pm (girls always have free cover until 11, but this is
one of their busiest weekends of the year and the capacity is 250. We are expecting to bring
at least 200 people so they are holding 200 spots for us until 10:00 pm after which time
they will let in the general public and capacity will be reached - so GET THERE BY 10:00!)
- No cost - just show up!
Mr. Movember Shave Off
- Friday, November 1
- We will be playing the video of last year's Mr. Movember
- Time/Location TBA
Mr. Movember Fashion Show
- Saturday, November 23 at The Spoke
- More details to come
Athletics Update: Jen Mcguire
MedGames Planning is going well. The date and location this year is January 3-5th in Quebec
City at Laval University. Registration starts October 21st, 2013 at www.medgames2014.com
Finance Report: Laura Wade
This month has largely been taken up by creating and balancing our budget for the 20132014 academic year. A preliminary version of the budget was passed during the October
17th meeting, but we expect that changes will be made as sponsorship agreements are
confirmed and costs are specified as time goes by. The preliminary budget can be found
online as can the budget presentation given at the meeting. Specifics for club funding will be
made available later this month once the best format has been selected. Club execs will be
notified once the finalized budgets have been posted for viewing, but they can assume that
no changes have been made to their initial budget response if they have not been contacted.
Any questions should be directed to me (Laura Wade : lwade2016@meds.uwo.ca). Email is
always the best way to contact me, because with so many numbers and requests, a verbal
conversation can be easily forgotten. The Reimbursement Request form will be up online as
soon as possible. Please feel free to start submitting reimbursement requests for expenses
already incurred as soon as you like. The completed form along with supporting
documentation (receipts) should be placed in the mailbox outside the Hippocratic Council
office. Now that the budget has been ratified, I can start to reimburse those who are eligible.
PLEASE don’t forget to include attendance numbers on the request, and to record them for
your 2014-2015 execs!
Please note that from this point onwards, reimbursements under 50$ will be given in petty
cash.
Things to look for in the next month or two:
1. An online FAQ page for funding requests. Who and what are eligible for Hippo
Funding? How should you request reimbursement? When will you find out about the
funding?
2. Changing reimbursement request forms. The transition from Scotiabank to Schulich
is taking a little longer than expected – there are always a few snags! I will try to
keep you updated, but there will be new forms coming in the near future. I will also
be rewriting (and posting) the financial bylaws once the new policies have been
established.
3. The USC is giving away grant money, with proposals due on the 10th of each month.
If your club, or even you personally, are looking for some funding for a great
initiative, these grants may be a great way to help you accomplish something great! I
will be compiling an FAQ document for these proposals as well. (Thanks to our USC
rep, Melissa, for the information!).
VP Internal: Paul Foster
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VPI request form on website: http://www.uwomeds.com/facilities-requests
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What to do with facilities issues, e.g. broken door latches and other safety concerns?
I don't want urgent issues coming to my inbox and not seeing them until Monday.
Waiting to hear back from Kevin about what he would like us to do.
Need to add examples of proper use and what we can actually deal with vs. what
needs to go to Kevin
Peer Support Center training was a success
o Jess Kiley is already working with the Clinical Skills Learning Program to
improve SP training surrounding genderqueer and trans health care issues
o We would like to bring her and other PSC facilitators to give talks, perhaps in
a non-lunch talk format to avoid falling into the "same old same old" trap
o Rich, USC volunteer co-ordinator, gave an excellent talk on self-awareness
and formation of assumptions (e.g. recognizing privilege, awareness of your
body language and paraverbal communication, realizing what unconscious
assumptions you are making about people). It would be fantastic to get him
involved in first year PCCM and SST talks.
o Women's Issues Network (WIN) was present and we are in talks to bring
them for either training or presentations on gender issues in health care
⁃
Working with SST to get further training for them
The clock in the lounge works now. Yay!!!!!
Dr. Kim will be coming in soon to give the "How to Choose a Specialty" talk. Timing is
being worked out.
Working on setting up a meeting with librarians
o To do: reading week hours, assess resources available for medical students,
improve access to medical textbooks, look for ways to distribute valuable
resources other than those suggested in courses (e.g. online resources from
other schools that lecturers may not be familiar with)
Garden: fall clean-up/plant will be happening soon. Nathalie knows what the best
timing is so I'm waiting for her go-ahead.
Global Health News: Jessica Salituri
1. New CFMS members selected
Julia Parkman – LORSH
LEO Sr. - Saad Ahmed
LEO Jr. - Jacob Matusine
LOGHE Sr. - Matthew McNevin
LOGHE Jr. - Pei Zhao
GHAs - Supriya Singh & Helene Baldwin
2. Creating Windsor Global Health Rep Position
Daniela and I have spoken about creating this new position to better represent Windsor in
global health activities. Nataliya Moldovan is interested in the position for this year. For the
upcoming year it may have to remain an “unofficial” position until it can be formalized come
spring election time. More details to follow as we learn more about the process for creating
a new position.
3. First Global Health Committee Meeting Tuesday October 15, updates to come at council
meeting.
Tachycardia Fun: Anthony Chow
Dates & Times
Tachycardia will be held at Sir Frederick Banting S.S. (125 Sherwood Forest Square).
Rehearsal time in the theatre this year has been confirmed by the school and each class will
eventually be allotted specific time slots:
○ Saturday, March 22nd – 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
○ Sunday, March 23rd – 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
○ Saturday, March 29th – 8:00 am – 6:00 pm (tech)
○ Monday, March 31 - 5:00 pm - 10:30 pm
○ Wednesday, April 2th – 5:00 pm - 10:30 pm
○ Thursday, April 3th – 5:00 pm - 10:30 pm (dress rehearsal)
The show dates are set as follows:
○ Friday, April 4th – evening
○ Saturday, April 5th – matinee and evening
Administration Liaison
Administration has been contacted about Tachycardia this year and is on board with new
alcohol and substance policies. Negotiations are underway with respect to Windsor travel
and class arrangements on and around rehearsal and show dates.
Tachycardia Charities
The Tachycardia charities have been voted on by the General Tachycardia Council.
Main charity: Regional HIV/AIDS Connection
Front of house, Saturday evening: Rotholme Women’s and Family Shelter
Front of house, Friday evening: MedOutreach
Front of house, Saturday matinee: SERT
USC Application
Once the budget is approved, we will proceed with the USC Application, which, among other
things, will give us insurance coverage.