Medical Student Government

As the M1 Class President, it’s been a great privilege to represent and advocate for my peers along with the greater Medical Student Government (MSG). Along with my fellow M1 MSG reps, we regularly meet with MSG reps from other year groups, as well as Deans for Medical Student Education, Medical Student Affairs, etc. It’s been a great opportunity to elevate the concerns of our fellow classmates as well as benefit from the wealth of knowledge and perspective that our deans provide. Peeking behind the curtain and sharing that perspective with my classmates has been an awesome experience. This role does come with a decent time commitment, so the ability to organize yourself and prioritize tasks is critical to not becoming overwhelmed. Thankfully, I have an awesome M1 MSG team and an amazing class as a whole to fall back on. 🙂

Hello! It was truly an honor to be elected as Community Engagement Representative (CER) for my class! I have had a blast as the M1 CER and have been able to work with some really neat people. All of the people in my role in the years ahead of me have been super kind and really helped me transition into the role. One of my favorite things about this role is being able to meet and work with graduate students across all disciplines that go to WashU Med. I’m looking forward to being able to work with members of our community to figure out how we as medical students can serve them best outside of the clinical setting.

The IT Liaison role works closely with the Educational Technology and Innovation Unit (ETIU) and Office of Education (OE) to streamline IT-related communication between students and the administration. Technology is critical to every part of medical education. Whether it is sharing technology tips, elevating IT issues, or testing rollouts of new platforms, the IT Liaison is a key player. This role is a great opportunity to have a large impact on your class and be a part of the ever-evolving Gateway Curriculum.

As the Medical Education Representative (MER), I help communicate the thoughts, opinions, and experiences of my class to faculty in an effort to continuously improve the Gateway Curriculum. Because this is a hefty job, I work with several other students, including the Committee on the Oversight of Medical Student Education (COMSE)/Phase 1 at-large member, module liaisons, and thread liaisons to solicit feedback and formulate written reports for faculty. These reports are discussed in fine detail with faculty in mid- and end-of-module meetings with the goal of continuously improving the experience of learners in the Gateway Curriculum.

Another part of my role is to help recognize faculty through the Distinguished Service and Teaching Awards (DSTAs). Recipients are selected based on student responses and celebrated in an annual ceremony.

Beyond this, I also participate in several monthly meetings with other Medical Student Government (MSG) members, faculty, and deans. These meetings allow an open dialogue between students and administration, facilitating an ever-improving learning environment.

The Officer of Student Representation (OSR) is a position in each class that has two roles. The first is to be the wellness representative for your class and host social events open to all four medical school classes. Past events have included a “Hallo-Wellness” with mini pumpkin painting and trivia, a Friendsgiving potluck, a Memorial Day Weekend picnic, a summer book swap, and more. The second role is to be WashU Med’s representative to the Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) Organization of Student Representatives (also known as OSR), which allows you to travel to biannual national, regional, and local conferences to discuss the changing landscape of medical education with deans and students from other institutions. (Note: these trips are completely paid for by WashU Med!) Other responsibilities include providing input on new student club applications as well as sitting in on meetings with deans to act as a liaison between administration and the student body. If you’re interested in promoting wellness in medical education, planning social events, or both, the OSR role is for you!

The Social Chairs are a part of the Medical Student Government, and they are elected positions by your peers. There may be up to four Social Chairs for each class, and we are nominated and give a speech to run. As Social Chairs, we are in charge of planning many of the social events for our class and receive a budget from WashU Med to make them happen. So far, we have hosted post-exam socials and sport activities, mixers with other medical schools and professional programs, and class-wide games like “Word Assassins.” We also have future plans for class bonfires, dinners, and more. The four Social Chairs meet multiple times throughout the year to plan events, maintain the budget, and discuss ideas for ways to generally increase good vibes throughout the class. We also work with Social Chairs in the class above us to organize inter-class events to help build relationships across different years. If you enjoy event planning, are creative, and like to host, this role is for you!