Association of Medical Students ireland
Ning Xuan Ho UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
The Association of Medical Students, Ireland (AMSI) is the National Member Organization (NMO) to the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA). Founded in 2013, AMSI engages with an inspiring and engaging network of thousands of students from all 7 medical schools in Ireland. One of our aims is to bring medical students together from around the globe to exchange, discuss and initiate projects to create a healthier world, thus, providing them with the skills and resources to become future health leaders.
AMSI is proud to be part of two programs initiated by IFMSA – Professional Exchanges (SCOPE) and Research Exchanges (SCORE), both of which are endorsed by the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME), the World Organization of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians (WONCA), the Federation of European Neurosciences Societies (FENS) and the European Society for Emergency Medicine (EuSEM).
Post-World War II, IFMSA founders came together in a period of history where growing disparities in the socioeconomic and political arenas challenged the health and wellbeing of people around the world. IFMSA was created to foster cooperation and collaboration among medical students by breaking down social barriers through promoting opportunities for dialogue and creating clinical exchanges via the Standing Committee On Professional Exchange (SCOPE) (1951) and Standing Committee on Research Exchange (SCORE) (1991).
Ever since the program’s establishment, over 13,000 medical students have been given the unique opportunity to embark on a journey to explore healthcare delivery and health systems in different cultural and social settings each year. This is achieved by providing a network of locally and internationally active students access to research and clinical exchange projects, which usually last four weeks. UCD-AMSI is proud to be part of this international platform for clinical and preclinical exchanges within the medical student global community.
All exchanges are carried out in a bilateral basis, where each participating country exchanges one of its students with another. The students are offered a place in the department or on the research project of their choice, as well as accommodation and social programs. Participating students will be assigned to a mentor during their entire exchange to ensure that they are able to achieve their maximum potential.
The SCOPE program is a quality educational and global experience where medical students in their clinical years are given the opportunity to participate in a 4-week clerkship in a chosen medical field in various hospitals across the globe. The language of instruction is either English or the language of the host country. In order to complete the clerkship, the exchange student must show adequate knowledge of the English language or the native language of the host country.
Presently, the SCORE program involves more than 65 active NMOs, offering over 3000 research projects to medical students worldwide. Providing the opportunity to learn the basic principles of medical research such as literature studies, data collection, scientific writing, lab work, statistics and ethical applications. Types of research projects presently offered include basic research laboratory projects, clinical research projects, and global action projects.