Tag archive for: Ademmoos
Every five years, a new dean's team, composed of vice deans and project managers, is appointed by the Dean to represent him or her in specific tasks. Each year, a student Vice Dean is appointed by their peers elected to the Management Council to represent them on the Dean's team. Following Florian Mary and Théo Lacoste, Paul-Arthur Valet is now taking on the role of Student Vice Dean and President of Ademmoos. Read his interview here to find out more about his background and the projects he hopes to implement as part of his role!
Hello Paul-Arthur, for those who don't know you, could you introduce yourself?
Hello, my name is Paul-Arthur VALET, I am 21 years old and I am in my fourth year of medical school in Nîmes. This is the first time that the vice-dean has come from the Nîmes campus. I am also an elected student representative on the management board and president of ADEMMOOS (the association of elected student representatives from all disciplines). Although my future specialty is changing from internship to internship, I have my heart set on becoming a surgeon.
You were chosen from among ADEMMOOS members to be Vice-Dean of Students, succeeding Théo Lacoste. How did this transition go?
The handover went well, but the start of the term was a little unusual, particularly given the national situation. We had to organize a mobilization, in consultation with the SILR, ACM, and CCC, whom I would like to thank for their help. The mobilization brought together 400 students, which is historic for Montpellier-Nîmes. This was followed by the release of our VSS and student mental health surveys, which is the starting point for a paradigm shift that we are beginning to see.
What made you want to take on this role?
Since my second year, I have been a member of ADEMMOOS, first as VP Communications, then as treasurer, and finally as president/VDE. I have always had a strong interest in representation, being in direct contact with students, and being able to help them. In addition, working with the dean's team is very rewarding, especially within a caring and attentive team.
How will you balance your duties as vice dean with your obligations as a student?
It is, let's say, relatively complex, but I knew that when I accepted these responsibilities. It requires a high level of organization, but these positions (president and VDE
) are incredibly rewarding. To successfully balance everything, it is essential to delegate, and I would like to thank the association's board, particularly the vice president, Soukaina Mouh Mouh, who was elected to the educational council and does such important work behind the scenes.
What are your goals and priorities for this term? Do you want to continue the student "Well-Being" project initiated by your predecessor?
Regarding the "Well-Being" project, we have two vice-presidents in the office, Emma PETON & Florent BENOIST, whom I have every confidence in to fulfill the mission entrusted to them
. They have already organized stands for No Smoking Month and Solidarity Christmas, which aims to bring together students from the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine who wish to get together for a Christmas meal.
I also strongly believe in inter-association work. Student associations bring life to our campus and play a structural role on both of our faculty's sites. On a personal level, my priority is to combat sexual violence and allow victims to speak out.
What actions would you like to implement for students?
In addition to continuing existing projects such as publishing back-to-school guides and the Internal Future Forum, I would like to relaunch certain projects that had to be put on hold due to COVID-
, such as the cafés reprez’, which were opportunities to talk with ANEMF administrators and your local representatives.
Overall, I believe that national representation is just as important as local representation, which is why we have two members dedicated to this task: Zoé DOLADILLE (ADEMMOOS) and Rémi BOUCHARD (ADEMMOOS) for Montpellier. Overall, I believe that national representation is just as fundamental as local representation, which is why we have two members assigned to this task: Zoé DOLADILLE (ADEMMOOS) and Rémi BOURGAUX (ACM) for Montpellier, and Manon VALETTE (ADEMMOOS) and Elise DE LOTH (CCC) for Nîmes.
Any final thoughts?
The issue that is particularly close to my heart is gender-based and sexual violence (GSV). What I want is for people to speak freely, in order to break the code of silence that
prevents victims from speaking out.
Thanks to our investigations and the responses from faculty members, people are starting to speak out. It is up to us not to betray the courage that victims have shown in speaking out.
“The shame must shift to the other side.”
Each year, students elect a representative to represent them at the dean's office level. This year, Théo Lacoste, a fourth-year medical student at the ADV campus, was chosen to represent you. Learn more about him and Ademmoos' activities in this interview! Portrait.
Hello Theo, first of all, who are you? Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Théo Lacoste, and I am a fourth-year medical student at the ADV campus. I am also an elected student representative on the academic council and president of Ademmoos (elected students from all disciplines). I am aiming to become a doctor, of course, but I don't necessarily have a specific specialty in mind, other than specializing in something cross-disciplinary like emergency medicine. But I'm open to other possibilities. I think it's important to do several internships in different fields to be sure about your future!
You are president of Ademmoos: can you remind us what this association does?
It should be noted that our faculty has several campuses and several programs. Student representation on the various councils is therefore ensured by elected student representatives. This is a very significant undertaking. In 2016, we therefore decided to create this association to free elected students from the groundwork (particularly everything related to communication, infographics, etc.) but also to develop projects with other student associations. The aim is really to bring together, unite, and coordinate associations and, through them, students.
The members of the association are students elected to various representative councils, but we also have non-elected members. They often contribute very interesting insights from a different perspective at our monthly meetings.
Can you give us some examples of projects coordinated by Ademmoos and other associations?
Yes, for example MAP (Montpellier Artistic Project), which is an association focused on the arts. We organized an art therapy workshop with them, led by a professional, for students, with the aim of combating stress related to their studies. But the projects we lead/coordinate can also be carried out outside of our associations. I am thinking in particular of the "Dry January" challenge (see Instagram post below) that we recently ran in collaboration with the ICM, or the "Tobacco-Free Month."
See this post on Instagram
In addition to being the president of Ademmoos, you are now Vice Dean of Students. Can you tell us more about your role in this position?
I have three main responsibilities: First, an academic responsibility, which is very institutional. I work closely with the dean's team, particularly Dean Isabelle Laffont, but also with the teaching and administrative teams to represent the students' views. This involves regularly attending meetings, but also listening to what is happening both at the student level and at the faculty level. I act as a kind of "shuttle" to pass information up and down the chain of command. I pass this information on to the student representatives, who then disseminate it to the various departments, sites, and classes.
The second mission focuses on the Ademmoos association. I have to provide "guidance" on the policy for our term of office. I will come back to this later, but the idea is to divide up the important issues among the 40 students in the association: some will deal with reforms, others with welfare or coordination with other associations.
My third mission is really to be in direct contact with the students. I can be contacted for this purpose by the class representatives, but that's not enough, as information can get lost. So, I make it a point of honor to organize as many face-to-face meetings as possible with the different classes to discuss, "take the temperature," and gather information directly from the students about their needs and feelings. This information is then useful to me in my first academic mission, in order to convey the students' wishes as accurately as possible.
What are the priorities of your term of office?
There are several priority areas. First, there is a slightly more academic and administrative aspect, which mainly involves continuing the work of my predecessors, Salomé Duteurtre and Florian Mary. They both worked on what I call the "Educational Alliance." That is to say, the co-construction of our student life journey, with all stakeholders: teachers, students, and the faculty's administrative staff.
It seems simple from the outside, but it is actually quite complex, because we have to reconcile everyone's opinions and ultimately succeed in finding agreements based on our disagreements! However, this is done with everyone's goodwill and mutual understanding. We must work together and look at the issues to be resolved through each person's perspective, so that the solutions adopted are beneficial to everyone. This duty to live together is truly essential, and we regularly remind the whole team of this, most recently to the newly elected student representatives on the management and teaching councils.
Then there are all the considerations surrounding student well-being. This is something that is fairly new, which wasn't talked about much a few years ago and which has been brought to light by the health crisis. Today more than ever, this issue has become our top priority.
But we can't take action without knowing the extent of the problem! So we set ourselves the initial goal of gathering students' opinions and experiences through surveys. We collected more than 1,000 responses to our first questionnaire on mental health, which was distributed during the winter— I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who responded! The results of this survey are currently being processed. In addition, a few weeks ago we began distributing a new survey on gender-based and sexual violence that students may experience at the university, in the evening, or at their workplace/internship in order to define the scope of the problem and thus identify corrective actions to limit incidents or even punish them if necessary.
In practice, do you implement measures to promote student well-being?
Yes, from a practical point of view, this year we created a wellness center with two project managers who are medical students (Ulysse Godin and Maribelle Dossou-Yovo). Their mission is to organize awareness-raising events. For example, there was a conference on addiction with Professor Hélène Donnadieu-Rigole, Tobacco-Free Month, Dry January, etc. In March, we will have a conference on psychosocial risks and workaholism. These events are quite popular with students.
There are also other practical projects outside the theme of "well-being," such as the Internal Future Forum, which is led by former Vice Dean Florian Mary and aims to connect fifth- and sixth-year students with interns so they can share their experiences.
What motivated you to take on this elected role as Vice Dean?
My motivation came from my previous commitments, both at Ademmoos and at ANEMF (Association Nationale des Etudiants en Médecine de France), because last year I was very involved in issues surrounding R2C (reform of the second cycle of medical studies) at the national level. This made me want to get even more involved at the local level, on issues that we encounter on a daily basis.
Of course, discussions with my predecessors also had a strong influence on me. Everything then fell into place very naturally, with the desire to help future students guiding my choices. I wanted to see my studies from a different perspective.
Afterwards, yes, it's very time-consuming. It can sometimes be a bit difficult to juggle everything! So it's important to surround yourself with the right people and know how to delegate. In this regard, I would particularly like to thank Florent Benoist, who is General VP of Ademmoos and representative on the Educational Council. He helps me a lot and enables me to organize myself effectively.
How is one elected Vice Dean?
The Vice Dean is nominated by the student representatives on the Management Board. He or she is often included on the list of elected students. The Council then votes for or against the proposed student. This proposal is discussed internally within Ademmoos beforehand. Once elected, the Vice Dean serves for two years, but we often resign after one year in order to focus on our studies.
Thank you very much for this conversation: do you have any final words?
Yes, regarding one of the priorities of my term, well-being. I would like to convey the following message: it's okay not to be okay. Health students come from a highly selective system where you always have to be the best. Culturally, it's difficult for us to say when we're not doing well; we tend to hide our weaknesses. However, it's not abnormal to feel bad! There are support services available on the Faculty's website. We need to break the silence surrounding this taboo and take advantage of the resources developed jointly by students and the faculty to feel better. Alone, we go faster, but together, we go further!
Last week, we met with the Association Carabins Montpelliéraine to learn more about student life for medical students. Today, Salomé Duteurtre, the student Vice-Dean, answers our questions!
In a nutshell, what is ADEMMOOS?
ADEMMOOS is the Association of Student Representatives of Montpellier-Nîmes in Medicine, Speech Therapy, Orthoptics, and Midwifery. It brings together nearly 40 elected student representatives from different fields of study.
We work every day:
- in Interprofessionality : all of the faculty's departments are represented;
- in Intersite, through a collaboration between Montpellier and Nîmes residents;
- for Represent all UFR students to the administration, the faculty, and the university hospital.
What activities or actions do you implement throughout the year?
Above all, our year is punctuated by our student representation activities.
We are therefore represented on two major committees within the faculty:
- The educational council facilitates consultation between the various stakeholders in the faculty (teachers, administrators, and students) regarding the courses offered by the UFR. In particular, it addresses the methods of knowledge assessment and the re-evaluation of teaching tools.
- The management board is the faculty's decision-making body, which votes on and revises internal regulations, the budget, agreements entered into by the faculty, and training projects.
Our goal is therefore to give students a voice, often through surveys, which allow us to carefully gather students' opinions and positions on various topics that arise during the academic year.
On the other hand, we are also carrying out multiple projects to improve our training conditions. For example, several of our actions concern health promotion:
- Improving student well-being in all its forms is one of our priorities. In the context of our challenging and demanding courses, some students may find themselves in difficulty: we try to support them and redirect them to resources that can help them.
- We are promoting flu vaccinations to encourage students, who are future healthcare professionals, to get vaccinated. In particular, we organized a vaccination day on campus.
We also support initiatives aimed at promoting student life on campus. We attend Open Days and European Heritage Days to lead tours and engage with the public. But we also help to design living and working spaces.
We keep students informed about faculty news. For example, during the COVID crisis, we regularly updated them on the situation and changes to our courses.
We support medical interns in choosing their specialties through the Future Intern Forum (FFI), which we organize in conjunction with the Languedoc Roussillon Interns Union.
Finally, we work with all of the faculty's student associations:
- We support student-led support and educational projects: PACES tutoring, tutoring for upper-year medical and midwifery students, iECN preparation conferences, etc.
- We participate in student representation at the local level (AGEM) and at the national level in our respective departmental associations.
What does the association offer students?
Our association promotes several things:
- the support and representation of all students enrolled in the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine at the University of Montpellier;
- promoting improving student living conditions (in terms of the quality of studies and educational offerings) within the UFR by establishing ongoing dialogue between students, their elected representatives, and associations from all disciplines belonging to the UFR;
- the gathering of students from different departments of the UFR, in particular through the development of joint student initiatives, in order to overcome the divisions inherent in different courses of study and to encourage emulation by bringing together different skills.
Furthermore, no financial contribution is required from students. Simply by being enrolled at the university, students can benefit from all the activities offered by our association.
A few words about the 2020-2021 board?
Our association's board is made up of students, whether elected by their faculty or not, who are appointed for a one-year term from October to October to coordinate the team of student representatives.
Renewals for 2020-2021 will begin in the summer: please feel free to contact the current office if you are interested in any of the positions!
Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have about student representation!
- On Facebook: ADEMMOOS – Elected representatives of the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine
or Zelda Demmoos - On Twitter @ademmoos_
- By email: ademmos.elus.etudiants@gmail.com
