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European Medical Students‘ Association August 2011 Best Buddy Project Handbook

Handbook - Best Buddy

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Page 1: Handbook - Best Buddy

European Medical Students‘ Association

August 2011

Best Buddy ProjectHandbook

Page 2: Handbook - Best Buddy

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Message from the Director 3

Organizing Commitee 4

Amount of People 4

Setting up the OC 4

OC Meetings 5

Tasks and division of labour 5

Time Line 6

Writing a project proposal 6

How to find Partners 7

Workshops/Trainings 8

Promotion 9

Participants 9

ECTS 9

Evaluation 10

Final Word 10

Appendix 11

Content

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Dear EMSAi,

The EMSA Best Buddy Project is an ideal project for EMSAi to be involved within the community. Our targetgroup is young people with disabilities, including children with physical disabilities, learning difficulties and children with fewer opportunities.

After gathering partner institutions, medical students are paired with the young people . They become each other’s’ „Best Buddy“ and they participate in various activities, in pairs or with a larger group. Our main objectives are to increase knowledge, awareness and tolerance of medical students towards young people with fewer opportunities, and also support the community. Medical students who participate in this project attend training sessions lasting up to one and a half hours per session with professionals such as doctors and child psychologists.

This year, as the European Integration Director, I decided to take a step further and create the Best Buddy Handbook, which I believe it will be a great contribution not only to promote the project itself but also to help FMOs in organizing it. We, as future medical doctors, have a lot to benefit from volunteering work, and what can be better than helping the community and complementing your medical curriculum at the same time?

Last but not least, I would like to thank two people: Naomi Begemann, my predecessor, who has always helped me along the way, and Ellen Stolker, National Coordinator of The Netherlands and member of the workgroup, who worked together with me on making this handbook a reality.

Europeanly yours,

Sofia RibeiroEuropean Integration Director 2010/2011European Medical Students’ Association

Message from the European Integration Director 2010/2011

Director‘s Message.

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ORganiSing cOMMitee

Amount of People:

Usually it is enough to have an OC of two to four people to organise the Best Buddy Project. However, keep in mind that this is a project that goes on year-round, and people should be able to commit for a long time.

Setting up the OC:

Chose the members of your local EMSA group, or send out a call about the project with for example a short description of what Best Buddy Project is about, what are the main tasks involved, what can they gain from it and any useful information you might think of. To make sure that the call reaches as many people as you can, use mailing lists and announcement boards at your faculty.

The call should be made as soon as possible. Again, please be clear about the tasks and the responsibilities.

Example 1:

Subject: Call for applicantsThis email is to ask for 2 or 3 reliable and fun-loving students who want to organise the eMSa Best Buddy Project during the year x. the tasks involve finding partner institutions, contacting teachers and externals for training and lectures and recruiting participants among our fellow students.Interested? Contact us and tell us your motivations

Organising Commitee.„Usually, the OC is a team of two to four people.“

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OC Meetings:

The OC should ideally meet once every week, or at least be in constant contact through devices such as email, phone and skype. a first meeting where the project and its objectives are presented is mandatory, as well as setting the work plan with clear objectives, at least for the next 6 months. This way it is ensured that all members of the OC know what the others are doing, what has been achieved so far and what still needs to be done. Also, even though tasks can be divided, sometimes it is easier to think of solutions together, or work on things together (e.g. the final planning or the creative aspect of thinking of things to do). it might be easier or less intimidating to go for a talk with a potential sponsor together. It is also much more fun, when you notice that you are not doing all the work by yourself and when your work is seen and recognized by others.Those meetings do not have to be formal at all, but you should keep your local EMSA group updated regularly on the stage of preparations, as they certainly have a profound interest in this and also to double check if everything that ought to be done is getting done, as sometimes one or two people forget things. Those who are not directly involved can look at the whole process from the outside and can point these things out.Do not forget to have regular gatherings during times when there is not (too much) Best Buddy work to do, to focus on teambuilding and knowing each other. People often tend to forget that involvement on personal level, keeps people involved and motivated to work for a common greater goal.

Tasks and division of labour:

Even though the OC is a team of 2-4 people working closely together, it is advisable to divide the tasks, as this reduces the amount of work per individual. It is also recommended to choose one person who is coordinating the OC, and is responsible for supervising all the work. To make communication easier, create a mailing list (googlegroups/yahoogroups) and share all the important documents related to the project with everyone, for example through googledocs.There are many different ways how the tasks can be divided, which of course greatly depend on the individual and the local facts and realities. However, it’s important that it’s made clear at the very first Oc meeting who is doing what. in this way the chance is smaller that aspects are being forgotten or not done at all, because everybody thinks the other person is taking care of it.

OC-Meetings.„Divide the tasks, as this reduces the

amount of work per individual.“

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TIME LINE

Before starting to write a project proposal, gather participants or set up the program, make a time scheme. In the time scheme you make deadlines for when certain things in the preparation have to be finished, such as contacting partner institutions and teachers and sending the call to students.

WRiting a PROJect PROPOSaL

The project proposal is a very important part of the project. Maybe some people at your faculty have already organised a Best Buddy Project. In this case, you could perhaps use their project proposal as a guideline.

The project proposal helps you to get a better view of what your project will actually look like. It can include a general description about EMSA and the Best Buddy Project, a description of the partner institutions, a more specific description of Best Buddy, the program and your time scheme. You should also explain the aims of the project and in which ways the students will be able to benefit from it.

Depending on the rules of your faculty you may first have to present the project proposal to your local committee or national committee to vote on it before you can proceed. You can also send your project proposal to potential sponsors. Remember that a good project proposal will give them trust in your project.

Time Line.

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HOW tO FinD PaRtneRS?

You have the Oc, you have your strategic plan, now you have to look for partner institutions. this is the key for a successful Best Buddy Project. First of all, you have to do research on who could be your partner institutions. Here are some examples of fields you can do research in:- Children with physical disabilities- children with learning difficulties- Children with fewer opportunities

While you’re doing the research, create an excel file in which you keep on noting down the most important information about each institution. This will be crucial not only to the development of your project, but also for handover. Important information could be:- Name of institution- Field of action- Location (address)- contacts (website, email, telephone)

Then, when this is done, arrange a meeting with the OC to discuss which institutions you will contact. You can divide them among the members to decrease the work level. there are two main ways you can use to contact them: phone or email/letter. You can combine both by calling first, explaining your project and asking for the most appropriate person inside the institution to send an email/ letter. this is usually the most efficient way.

The letter/email should contain the following information:- Short explanation about the FMO- Project description, including its aims - In which way would you like to contribute with volunteer work (including the expected number of students, activities, etc).

If you have already written the project proposal, you can send it together with the letter/email. Be creative, be polite, and show that you are available for negotiation. Above all, don’t give up! If they don’t answer you in one-two weeks, call again or re-send the email.

When they contact you, they most probably want to arrange a meeting. Make sure that you are prepared, and try to negotiate respectfully, having in mind that the idea is to achieve a win-win situation, in which both parties get something positive out of this experience. Also get the most information you can about the institution, including its main target areas and activities.

if it turns out to be successful, congratulations! You’ve done one of the most difficult parts. again, don’t forget to note down all the information for handover.

How to find partners?

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Workshop / Training.

WORkSHOP / tRaining

After getting a partnership, you need to start thinking about two things: how can you help the institution and from where can you get extra information to train the students that will volunteer their work.

the first step is to know exactly what the characteristics are of the intervention you will make on the institution.

This includes:- Number of students accepted- Frequency and duration of contact (how many days/hours a week the student has to go to the institution)- Tasks to be performed- knowledge needed

Once you know all this (by asking the institution), you can take the next step: getting teachers and people from the institution to give participants lectures and trainings. The institution should be able to provide you basic training, but if you’re dealing with a specific medical condition (autism, for example), it would be desirable to obtain extra specific training given by a doctor.

You can contact a doctor in your hospital, again with a letter (preferably), containing the following information:- Short description about FMO- Project description- What do you need from him/her (topic, needs)

Then again, wait for the answer and insist if needed. Don’t forget to note down the information for handover!

“get teachers and people from the institutionto give participants lectures and trainings.”

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PROMOtiOn

You have partner institutions, you have the lectures and trainings, and now… You have to get the participants! For that, a strong and efficient promotion is needed. You can use the following means:- Posters- Flyers- Emails- Facebook- …

Be creative, be catchy, and make sure all the information is there. give participants a deadline for application and make yourself available to any questions that might arise!

PaRticiPantS

After choosing participants, you have to notify them and schedule a meeting to discuss their tasks. One of the most important things is to make clear that although they will be doing volunteer work, they have to commit and be responsible. This means they have to attend the meetings and the sessions on the institution. Discuss with them when they will be available for the training session, and try to match it with the availability of the teachers and institution as well. Make sure you have their contacts and alert them for the importance of reading the emails.

ectS (european credit transfer System)

If your university is working with ECTS, then why not converting those hours passed on the institution into credits? That is possible. Contact the Dean, explain the project and your ideas, and propose right away an official credit form (you can find it at the end of this book). it might not be the easiest thing at all, but this will give the project a lot of reputation (as well as to your faculty) and students will feel rewarded for their work. This is best done when you have more experience on the project, because then you can present the awesome reports you did on the past!

Promotion.“Be creative, be catchy!”

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EVALUATION

Evaluation is one of the most important parts in any project. Only by doing it you can realize what went well and what went wrong, and improve those things in the future. There are several ways you can use for evaluation, but a survey seems to be an appropriate one for this project. Therefore, prepare different surveys directed to:- OC members- Participants- Institutions- Teachers

Results of the survey should be analyzed carefully and put together in a report. this report, together with the relevant documents will be very important for an effective handover.

FinaL WORD

now that you have the tools, it’s up to you to start! You can always share your doubts, fears and improvements with other EMSAi, and if you need help, you can contact the European Integration Director anytime. If you have a particular experience that might set an example, then write an article to eUROMeDS!

good luck!

Evaluation.“How did the project go? How was the co-operation?

What can be Improved next time?”

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Appendix.

©2011European Medical Students’ Associationc/o CPME Standing Committee of European DoctorsRue guimard 15,1040 BrusselsBelgium

compilation:Sofia RibeiroEuropean Integration Director [email protected]

layout:ingmar RinaseMSa Public Relations Officer [email protected]

EMSA Best Buddy Project

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European Medical Students‘ Association

European Medical Students’ Associationc/o CPME Standing Committee of European DoctorsRue guimard 15,1040 BrusselsBelgium

[email protected]