Medical Students’ Initiative in China
Location: China
Contact: Xiao Zhu, xzhu2009@meds.uwo.ca
Medical Students’ Initiative in China (MSIC) is a student-run organization that annually conducts health outreach missions to China. MSIC aims to increase medical and social exchange between Canada and China; to facilitate a better understanding of the current Chinese health system, its paradigms and its problems; and to furnish medical students with an international perspective in the course of their undergraduate medical education. Since its inception in 2002, MSIC has visited over a dozen cities and medical and social institutions. Among the diverse experiences, students have observed surgeries, visited non-governmental organizations, educated high school students in healthy sexuality, and operated free roadside health screening clinics.
Opportunity Dates:
The mission takes place in the summer after the end of the school year. Date, duration (usually 6 weeks) and itinerary are flexible and dependent upon the wishes of the team members. The commitment is two years, of which the second year consists of new MSIC team selection and helping the new team with fundraising initiatives.
Eligibility:
Prospective team members are drawn from both first and second year classes, and should ideally have experience in leadership, teamwork, fundraising, or event planning. Prior international traveling experience as well as Chinese language skills are a plus.
Stipend (or fee if applicable):
Fundraising events are held annually and these funds constitute part of the operating expenses of the mission. Additional funds are obtained through faculty and corporate donations. Shortfalls are anticipated to be minimal and will be covered by the team members.
Application Information:
An information session will be held sometime early in the school year, at which time application forms may be obtained. Interviews will be arranged after all the applications have been received and processed.
Deadline:
Deadline for applications is variable and is announced at the information session.
Contact Information:
MSIC 2006 MEMBERS:
Teresa Chan: tchan2008@meds.uwo.ca
Olga Li: oli2009@meds.uwo.ca
Student Testimonial
Please rate your satisfaction with the following:
(VS = very satisfied, S = satisfied, N = neutral, D = dissatisfied, VD = very dissatisfied,
NA = not applicable)
Please rate your level of agreement with the following:
(SA = strongly agree, A = agree, N = neutral, D = disagree, SD = strongly disagree,
NA = not applicable)
What were your responsibilities in this position?
[No Answer Entered]
Describe your satisfaction with this opportunity.
[No Answer Entered]
Who might consider this Summer opportunity worthwhile?
[No Answer Entered]
What advice do you have for someone who might be considering this summer opportunity?
[No Answer Entered]
Are there any changes to the experience that you would advocate for?
[No Answer Entered]
Student Testimonial
Please rate your satisfaction with the following:
(VS = very satisfied, S = satisfied, N = neutral, D = dissatisfied, VD = very dissatisfied,
NA = not applicable)
Please rate your level of agreement with the following:
(SA = strongly agree, A = agree, N = neutral, D = disagree, SD = strongly disagree,
NA = not applicable)
What were your responsibilities in this position?
I was part of MSIC 2006, our team shared most of the workload while some specialized in areas such as communication with contacts in China and finance. Most of what I was involved in was fundraising and organizing various events. Fundraising involved faculty mail-outs, seeking corporate sponsorship and organizing events such as food sales, a Chinese New Year Celebration and a culture show. Daily responsibilities vary and we were able to tailor our workload around our academic schedules. The work in China included medical studentships in large academic centers such as Beijing and Shanghai where we followed doctors on rounds and observed surgery and traditional Chinese Medicine in practice. In more rural areas, we held health clinics and provided free blood pressure checks and distributed pamphlets on common health issues. We also visited NGOs that worked with the HIV/AIDS community, and toured areas where the standard of living were well below our own. We were also able to travel to various destinations on the weekends and days away from projects.
Describe your satisfaction with this opportunity.
The whole process from beginning to end was a tremendous learning opportunity and fascinating experience. Highlights included the various fundraising events. The food sales and Chinese New Year celebration were very successful and it was amazing to see everyone come out to support our cause. The Culture show also went really well, I was personally amazed at the talent we have at Schulich and brought in by other community volunteers. "Lowlights"? Well, adjusting to a very different culture in China was not an easy task at first, especially with the language barrier, but when you put in the effort to learn about the culture with an open mind, it became a very humbling, fulfilling and rewarding experience. The traveling around China was also very fun. The opportunity to learn, grow and travel with my colleagues was just an absolute bonus. I would definitely go back to China, because I can't stop thinking about it.
Who might consider this Summer opportunity worthwhile?
A person with a true curiousity in or passion for China would find MSIC thoroughly worthwhile. It will also have to be someone that is willing to put in a lot of effort and initiative in terms of planning and fundraising. Due to the intrinsic lack of structure in some the programs in China, the MSIC team must be able to quickly adapt to change and have excellent team work skills. A person with good spoken and written Chinese would be a great asset to the team.
What advice do you have for someone who might be considering this summer opportunity?
Talk to previous MSIC members. They will have lots of advice and stories to tell! Be sure that you want to go to China, read about it, and learn about it. MSIC requires a lot of team effort and compromise in terms of time and commitment. You get out of MSIC what you put into it the months before you leave the country.
Are there any changes to the experience that you would advocate for?
The faculty mail-out did not go as smoothly as we had hoped. We had no access to the mailing list and we had some faculty members that have consistently donated in the pass tell us that they never got a donation letter (i.e. our own faculty advisor). I would advocate for more student involvement in the faculty mail-out process and mailing list.