INTERVIEW | Discover the portrait of Gérald Chanques, Vice-Dean for General Affairs, Heritage and Campus Life!

Every five years, a new dean's team, comprising vice-deans and project managers, is appointed by the dean to represent him or her in defined missions. This year, Professor Gérald Chanques has been appointed Vice-Dean for General Affairs, Heritage and Campus Life. Read his interview here: find out more about his background and the projects he hopes to implement as part of his mission!

 

You were appointed by Dean Isabelle Laffont. Could you tell us a little about your background and your speciality?

I spent my baccalaureate and my studies in Montpellier, so you could say I'm a quarter Parisian and ¾ Montpellier native. I loved my studies so much that it was difficult for me to choose a "specialty". I chose anesthesia-intensive care for a number of reasons, first and foremost for the cross-disciplinary nature of its medical knowledge, but also for the human and material arsenal available to our teams to provide safe care, including pain management and the most critical situations.

 

How do you plan to reconcile your activities as vice-dean with your other professional commitments?

It's a project that has matured within my hospital department with my colleagues and my department head, who has always supported and encouraged me in my professional career. My involvement with the faculty has been progressive since my appointment 8 years ago. I maintain a clinical activity that constantly enriches my teaching and research. Conversely, my understanding of university institutions structures all my missions as a PUPH. The Faculty and its singular history, and the University (I'm elected to the Training and University Life Commission and to the disciplinary sections of the Academic Council), give me food for thought in every facet of my practice, from care to teaching and innovation. The societal changes that are taking place in our relationship with others (the fight against inequality, sexual and gender-based violence, etc.) are a major turning point for our institutions.

 

What are your contributions and objectives? What projects would you like to carry out in your role?

I gradually discovered the importance of teaching and passing on knowledge to younger people, as well as the importance of having a faculty with several campuses (Nîmes and Montpellier, modernity and heritage) and a University spirit with a capital U that makes sense for our patients, our students and society as a whole. The Faculty has an urban history. It is at the interface with the general public.

There are many issues at stake for our faculty today, in terms of the organization of the institution, its campuses and the promotion of its heritage: that the university community (students, teachers, administrators) take ownership of this past and future history, letting it shine through to others - our colleagues in other parts of the University, our colleagues in the healthcare sector, and the general public. The general public includes potential patients. The image we project of the faculty through our history and heritage must be in line with today's requirements: innovation, excellence in care, but also taking into account precariousness and access to care. It's the whole package that makes up our faculty, and we can't sleep peacefully if we don't strive to meet all these challenges. The union of the management team around our dean will ensure the strength of the institution, involving all its teachers and administration, as well as those of previous teams, and preparing for future generations.

 

What motivated you to accept this appointment?

My desire to support a dean's project oriented towards the collective and benevolence, listening, with ambitious objectives for the institution. I was very grateful for this appointment, as it enabled me to continue in a coherent manner the work carried out over several years with Dean Mondain and Vice-Dean Lavabre-Bertrand on complex projects (preparation of the State-Region Plan contracts for long-term work on the historic building, studies for the learning-center, interface with the general affairs of the Faculty and the University for the development of a large number of projects involving institutions, local authorities and companies as part of the 800-year celebrations...).

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#ProudOfOurStudents | Discover TASM3, the graduate tutoring association!

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Did you know? The Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine has its own tutoring association for post-graduate health students! Named TASM3 and easily identifiable thanks to THOR, its turtle mascot, the association is chaired this year by Siham BELMIR. Read her interview below!

 

In a few words, what is TASM3?

It is a not-for-profit companionship association offering guidance and educational support to medical and midwifery students from their 2nd to their 6th year.

By the way, should we call you TASM3 or Thor Tutosup'?

TASM3 is the official name of the association, but we're more commonly known as Tutosup'. Thor is just our mascot, like Oscar for ACM or Freddie for Med'ley.

What activities do you carry out throughout the year? Can you tell us about them?

  • For DFGSM2 :
    • A P2 SPR with reminders of biophysics and cell biology/histology
    • Wooclap revision sessions on all UEs that fall in the mid-term exams
    • Anatomy monitor
    • Debriefing sessions in small groups

 

  • For DFGSM3 :
    • Semiology sessions
    • A methodology and information conference on R2C and how to work with colleges
    • Debriefing sessions in small groups

 

  • For DFASM :
    • ECG reading / medical imaging sessions
    • Suture and sterile dressing workshops
    • A conference on externship and how to admit a patient to hospital
    • ECOS preparatory sessions

 

  • For midwives :
    • Revision sessions

 

  • For all :
    • Raffles to win reference materials and medical equipment
    • Discounts in partner stores

Why did you join the association in a personal capacity?

I joined the association after 2 years of tutoring 1st year students. I'm passionate about teaching and it was quite natural for me to take over the association. With the R2C reform, I think it's important to have a TAS worthy of the name to best support and accompany students. I really wanted to develop the association's activities to widen our scope of action on the Montpellier and Nîmes campuses.

What does your association offer students? Why do you think you should join your association?

It helps students consolidate their knowledge and provides a sense of serenity before upcoming mid-term exams and internships. We provide pedagogical and psychological support to students in their studies, which are known to be demanding and difficult. Our association is based on companionship and peer learning, which are key values in health studies. We take a different approach to teaching, as our sessions are run by students for students. The tutors are much more accessible and available, and act as interlocutors between the students and the teaching staff.

How do I join TASM3?

Membership of our association is free and automatic from the moment you enter your 2nd year of medical or maieutic studies. It gives you access to our sessions and to information circulating on our Facebook and Instagram pages. On our social networks, we publish offers from our partners, as well as practice MCQs and clinical cases.

A few words about the 2022-2023 office?

Our office is made up of 3rd and 4th year medical and maieutic students from the 2 sites of Montpellier and Nîmes. We're very involved in the association's development, and we'd like to expand the content offered within our tutoring program and set up new initiatives to best meet students' needs. We're very proud of the fact that so many of our projects came to fruition this year, notably the suture/sterile dressing workshops and the SPR P2, and we hope to keep up the momentum.

 

TASM3 page
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#Fiersdenosétudiants | Our Nîmes students on mission in Dakar

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Our students have talent and ideas to spare! While our Montpellier students are mobilizing for a solidarity project in Togo, our Nîmes students have chosen Senegal and the city of Dakar for the annual humanitarian project run by the Crocos du Monde association. It's a wonderful initiative that we didn't want to miss. Report and interview.

 

 
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Les Crocos du Monde: a Nîmes-based humanitarian association

Created in 2007, ''les Crocos du Monde '' is an association of health students from the Faculty of Medicine on its Nîmes Campus. The aim is to enable students to get involved in humanitarian activities and to raise awareness of global disparities. The association takes part in international solidarity projects focusing on health and education, made possible by fund-raising activities carried out during the academic year. Several actions have already been carried out in countries such as Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Morocco and Togo.

What is Project DAKAR?

This year, Crocos du Monde is taking action in Senegal. For the 2021-2022 project, the association is focusing on collecting subsidies and medical and paramedical equipment to be sent to Fatick. During the school year, the students had the opportunity to meet several associations: AAD, MRCCR and OSD, to exchange equipment and knowledge. The CHU de Nîmes contributed to this cause by providing equipment as part of a partnership and international hospital cooperation set up between the CHU de Nîmes and sites in Senegal.

A project made real!

With the help of the administration and CDM members, the container was loaded at the Faculty of Medicine in Nîmes. It was taken to Fos sur Mer, from where it left on June 22, arriving at the port of Dakar on June 30, 2022.

To check that the equipment had arrived safely and was working properly, 3 DFGSM2 students visited the site from July 15 to 20, 2022, accompanied by the association's President. The visit was an opportunity to meet local contacts and visit the Fann University Hospital, as well as the Fatick Hospital for next year.

 

To find out more about the ins and outs of this project, we went to meet the 2021-22 President of Les Crocos du Monde, Joffrey Buland! Check out his interview below!

 

Hello Joffrey, could you introduce yourself and tell us about your role in this project?

Hello, my name is Joffrey Buland and I'm now in D2 medicine at Nîmes. During the Crocos du Monde "Dakar 2022" project, in D1, I had the role of president in the association. The role of the president, in collaboration with the small office, is to organize the international project. We were in charge of communicating with local contacts, requesting quotes for the container at the end of the year, and organizing transport and travel to the site.

 

Can you tell us more about this project? What did it involve?

This was a new project for Crocos du Monde, our ambition being to set up an international action that would be more permanent, a long-term partnership that could be updated each year. It was with this long-term objective in mind that we came up with the idea of a container, to give a second life to the equipment we had collected over the year. As Les Crocos du Monde is all about sharing and sustainable development, the idea seemed appropriate. The aim was to collect medical and paramedical equipment throughout the year via various partners, which was then transported to Senegal, more specifically to the Fatick Hospital, 150 km south of Dakar.

 

Why did you choose Senegal? What motivated your choice?

We turned to Senegal thanks to a doctor at the CHU in Nîmes, Dr Christophe Boisson, who helped us enormously in setting up our project. Dr Boisson had already been sending containers of medical equipment to Dakar for several years, and it was with him and our local contacts that we decided to turn our attention to the Fatick hospital. This was followed by an official partnership between Carémeau University Hospital and Dakar University Hospital, of which Crocos du Monde and Fatick are a branch. This partnership covers 3 main areas: the delivery of equipment, in which we have taken part, medical and paramedical training via the simulation center, and training for biomedical engineers and technicians.

 

How did you organize the material collection?

The collection of materials began with an expression of needs from the hospital, which provided us with a list. From this list, we selected the equipment we were able to collect and which was within our reach. The "Dakar 2022" project was therefore essentially focused on the nephrology cluster, which is undergoing rapid development in Fatick. Once the target was set, we turned to our partners - individuals, other associations and, above all, the Nîmes University Hospital and Dr Boisson - and began our search and collection.

 

In the end, what type of material did you manage to collect? What volume?

By the end of the year, we had collected enough to fill a 33 m3 container, i.e. 2.5 tonnes of equipment. This was mainly urology and nephrology equipment, with catheters and urinary stoma kits, but also some surgical equipment such as ventilation circuits and laparoscopy kits. We were also lucky enough to find some major electronic equipment, 7 emergency stretchers and a delivery table. As the aim was to give a second life to what we sent, all expiration dates were checked and all electronic equipment was tested and refurbished if necessary via Apelem, an association of biomedical engineers and technicians involved in the partnership with Nîmes University Hospital.

 

You were part of the trip in July. How did it go? What did you and your colleagues gain from it?

The four of us set off with three P2 medicine students from Nîmes, two of whom are now part of the small office. The aim was to show them around places like the Fatick hospital, for which they'll be collecting their equipment, so that they'd have a clear idea of their future 2023 project. At the same time, we wanted them to meet our local contacts and contacts of trust, so that we could communicate more effectively over the coming year, and so that they could visualize the why, the how and the for whom. This trip has been very enriching in human terms, enabling us to see and understand different hospital and cultural operations, with means that also vary from one structure to another.

 

Does this motivate you to get involved in humanitarian medicine?

Humanitarian medicine has always been a major project for me, and I've always wanted to join Médecins Sans Frontières or other organizations to go on missions. When I discovered the Crocos du Monde association, and my friends and I were lucky enough to be able to get involved in my own way as early as D1, I didn't hesitate. This year has enabled me to deepen and strengthen this dream once I've graduated.

 

What's next for Crocos du Monde?

To answer this question, I'd like to hand over to Chloé Messines, the new President of Les Crocos du Monde for the 2022/2023 term.

Chloé: Les Crocos du Monde's eyes are always focused on the partnership between the CHU of Nîmes and Dakar, and more specifically on the creation of the container of medical devices. Most of our internal investment and the events we organize are aimed at financing the project. What's more, it's important for us and our Senegalese colleagues to meet up and witness the successful reception of the container. Like last year, the Crocos du Monde are keen to visit Dakar and Fatick to talk to the people who made this project possible. Now, our aim for this year is to create a real community life for our members by proposing more varied events (cleanwalks, interventions in schools, marauding, etc.), with an inter-community aspect (collaboration within the Nîmes en rose project led by the midwifery corporation, the pep's week with the Tutorat Santé Nîmes). We rely on the motivation of second-year medical and midwifery students to ensure the association's development.

 

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