BSMA Winter 2020 Newsletter Part 1
Yearly wrap-up
Salaam everyone,
We hope you are keeping well and wish you and your loved ones the best of health. We are very pleased to bring you our Winter newsletter- which from now on will be hosted on Substack.
We hope you enjoy reading the newsletter. If you feel that there is something we can add or just want to leave us some feedback - please comment below.
A quick look back to 2020…
To say this year has been crazy would be an understatement. But it has also brought the best out of the BSMA and its members. It has been fantastic to see what we have been able to achieve as a community.
Despite the curveball of COVID, we have successfully organised numerous events where we exchanged thoughts and lessons - not only for ourselves but also for our community as a whole.
Community Mental Health Workshops
After a very successful inaugural BSMA Gala Dinner in December (where we also raised more than £300 for charities back home) - we went straight into our first community Mental Health Awareness Workshop in Leicester, in collaboration with a local group, Women4Change.
This event proved to be incredibly popular with great engagement from the Somali community in Leicester. The following month, the community team led by Dr. Samira Hassan held an even larger mental health workshop, this time in Birmingham.
With more than 200 community members attending and Universal TV recording the event, we can be very proud of the positive impact the BSMA has had in raising awareness of Mental Health within the Somali community.
Inshallah, we aim to continue with these community interventions in 2021 - with the support of our members! Due to COVID, these sessions are likely to be remote for the foreseeable future.
If you want to join us deliver such Community events, or are a BSMA member and want to join our Community Team, please drop us an email at membership@thebsma.org
BSMA COVID Campaign!
After the COVID lockdown was announced in March, the BSMA got active in raising awareness of COVID in the Somali community.
We took first to Youtube to spread essential public health messages in Somali. Despite the lack of any form of formal funding or professional media support, we created our own videos - so strongly did we feel about our responsibility to raise awareness and tackle the spread of misinformation.
Intending to reaching an even wider audience, our Dr Samira Hassan hosted our first live Q&A on COVID via Instagram. This was swiftly followed by another informative Instagram Q&A by A&E Doctor Dr Yassin, who gave an insight into those working on the frontline and their respective experiences dealing with COVID.
April 2020 bought in what was probably our most important event of the year so far- the BSMA COVID Conference.
With an overwhelming number of participants, ranging from community members to medical professionals - this event proved to be much needed within our community. A special thanks to the speakers as well as the organisers who did this whilst also working through the pandemic.
In May, we worked with Doctors of the World to produce a detailed 10 minute COVID guidance video in Somali thanks to Dr Abdirashid Takar.
Towards the end of May 2020, we were all shocked by the killing of George Floyd and stood in solidarity with protesters taking a stance against Institutional Racism.
Membership, Mentoring and Makeovers
August 2020 proved to be yet another busy month for the BSMA, this time focusing on delivering support to our Members.
First up was our ever-popular International medical graduates (IMG) Course which is now in its 2nd year and more in demand than ever. Of course, because of COVID this year for the first time, it was delivered online. Many thanks to our IMG Lead Dr Hafsa Ahmed and co!
Our second course in August was a Tips and Tricks course for our new F1 doctor colleagues. Unfortunately, COVID ruined our plans for a graduation social - it would have been great to celebrate the qualification of the COVID cohort before they set out on their journey.
In September, we finally got round to commissioning a professional logo design and it turned out amazing!
In November 2020, we also organised a support session for our new F1 doctors. This was an opportunity to hear about their experiences in a supportive environment. Settling into the role of a doctor can be challenging without the backdrop of a global pandemic, so we are incredibly proud of our new colleagues and their contributions to the NHS.
In early December 2020, we ran our Medical School Interview Course for current medical school applicants. Designed to help Somali and BAME students perform to their potential in daunting interviews, this course has helped many students secure an offer to study Medicine. Our special thanks to Dr Sumaya Gurhan who took over running the course as our new Mentorship Lead.
Last week we had had the first session of our monthly IMG/IMS catch-up. The aim of these sessions is to deliver tailored talks and provide Q&A opportunities for international students and graduates looking to enter and thrive in the UK healthcare system. As always our IMG work would not be possible without the amazing work by Dr Hafsa Ahmed and the team.
But to cap off this unprecedented year, we recently had our second COVID Conference- primarily to address the COVID vaccine which has a source of concern for the community and of course the subject of lots of misinformation.
Our experienced and knowledgeable panellists provided the 250+ strong live stream audience with crucial information on COVID and the vaccine and answered their questions - all in af-Somali.
In case you missed it, the conference in its entirety is on Youtube for you to watch at your own leisure.
That’s it for now…
So after a busy year, let’s take a collective deep breath. Join us in extending our gratitude and many thanks to our Committee, our members, and of course our community for helping us every step of the way.
We will be aiming to release another newsletter very soon after this. So be sure to look out for Part 2 and find out about our conversation with the Somali Health Exchange.
How you can support us…
Well, this is easy as 1,2,3...
If you are a Somali medical student or doctor - you can join the BSMA (send us an email).
Follow us on social media, so that you are up to date with our newest developments. Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin.
Donate to our crowdfunding page and help us deliver more projects to our community.