The humanitarian trip to Vellore, India will take place from the 16th of December 2009 to the 20th of December 2009. We will be accompanied by a team of doctors and nurses from Singapore, lead by Prof Fong Poh Him, a renowned plastic surgeon from Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

The aims of the trip are two-fold. Firstly, our team will be doing surgery at the Sri Narayani Hospital & Research Center at Sripuram temple to supplement the services available there. We will be undertaking mainly cleft lip/cleft palate surgery, as well as any plastics and obstetric procedures referred to us by the local doctors.

Secondly, we hope to venture out into selected rural locations in Tamil Nadu, where we will set up makeshift clinics to provide locals with primary health screening, antenatal screening for pregnant women and basic dispensing services.

This is operation is projected to span five years, with 1 to 2 trips made per year. Throughout our involvement, we hope to share our clinical expertise and practices with the local healthcare providers, and also provide primary health services and advise to selected villages which do not have easy access to health services otherwise.

How Will the Donations Be Utilized

Your generous donations will be used to purchase medicine and medical supplies, including sterile obstetric delivery kits, which are used during child birth to reduce the chance of infection after labour. They each cost approximately Rs1000 (AUD/SGD 40). We are aiming to raise funds to purchase 100 units to be donated to the maternity ward in the regional hospital.

To donate, click below:

**Donations have closed. Many thanks to all who have donated!**

Hi everyone. We would like to introduce our latest collaboration, Healthcare Expeditions International.

Healthcare Expeditions International is a newly established NGO set up by students, for students with the aim of empowering volunteers to plan, lead and execute humanitarian expeditions.

Past expeditions include Project Khon Kaen (Thailand), with future projects in Thaliand, China and Africa under study. They have also built up a healthy database of contacts and are working actively to expand this for future expeditions, so exciting times lie ahead!

Join their mailing list at http://www.healthexinternational.org/Help.html, where you’ll be able to receive updates on HealthEx’s developments, sign up and lead expeditions, as well as access our resources for planning expeditions. You can also join them on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/edit.php?members&gid=179397055239#/group.php?gid=179397055239

Please feel free to email them at enquiries@healthexinternational.org for any queries!

SMSV is happy to announce our holiday volunteer programme at KKH Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore!

Are you an expert with kids? Want to practise interacting with them? Looking for an opportunity to work with and have fun together with the chidren? If so, we’re looking for YOU! Come together for a month of fun and charity as SMSV & KKH brings to you “SMILE!” where you will have heaps of chances playing, chatting or even entertaining kids! Come up with crazy ideas to bring a smile to kids’ faces and let us see what you’ve got!

Looking for 5 fantabulous volunteers this summer;
Dates are… 6, 13, 20, 27 of January 2010 (every Wednesday)
Fun begins from 2.30pm- 4.30pm at KKH Women’s & Children’s Hospital

Just let us know the following information and we’ll get in touch with you asap.
Name:
Contact number (Sg) and (Aust):
University:
Year level:

Best regards,
The SMSV team

SMSV has managed to get 6 more places of holiday attachments for preferably clinical students (pre-clinical students are still welcomed to apply but we cannot confirm spaces)

In your application, please include:

1. Name

2. Resume (Briefly regarding Completed courses, postings, grades, etc)

6. Area (s) of interest (please rank two or three specialties of interest)

7. Duration of posting and dates (recommended 1 week)

Please send your email to info@smsv.sg by 6th October!

Hello all!

The SMSV team

SMSV held it’s first ever Medical Students’ Forum, entitled “The Road Ahead; Choices After Medical School”  on the 21st of August 2009 at the Alfred Hospital. This event was aimed to be an interactive dialogue session with a prominant clinician, where students had the opportunity to discuss topics concerning all aspects of life in the medical profession.

For our inaugural Forum, we invited Mr Peter Hwang, Clinical Directory of Neuro Surgery at the Alfred Hospital to talk about his experiences training and working in Neurosurgery. Mr Hwang has experiences working and living in numerous countries, including Singapore, Australia, UK, USA and Germany, and his insights were undoubtedly fascinating as well as valuable. He also shared various aspects of his personal life, focusing on the vaious difficult decisions he had to make with regards to leaving home to pursue a career overseas.

After his presentation, students were welcomed to chat with Mr Hwang over sushi, pizza and soft drinks, where he addressed any burning questions not touched on earlier.

Overall, Mr Hwang covered many extremely relevant issues related to both the professional and social aspect of life as a Neurosurgeon, not forgetting the practical and monetary conciderations of practicing in Singapore versus Australia. It was an exceptionally inspirational and eye-opening experience for all who attended!

Dear members, please take note of the following if intending to travel back to Singapore this holidays.

MOH’s Travel Advisory

In a pandemic outbreak, when the H1N1 virus is all over the world, and may last for a long time, specific travel advisory may become increasingly impractical. We encourage Singaporeans to keep themselves abreast of developments of the country they are planning to visit, and take note of the total number of cases reported, number of deaths and export cases from these countries.

Travellers who have been to countries that have been considered by WHO to have sustained community transmission or to be in transition towards community transmission, as well as countries that have been reported to have exported cases (ie. Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Dominican Republic, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States of America) should immediately call 993 for medical assistance if they feel unwell within seven days of arrival. If you are feeling unwell, they should avoid travelling and should not engage in extensive community activities such as working, shopping and participating in mass activities.

If travel to these areas is unavoidable, we encourage travellers to take the following precautionary measures:

• Pay attention to announcements from the local government.
• Follow local public health guidelines, including any movement restrictions and prevention recommendations.
• Avoid crowded areas and contact with anyone who appears unwell.
• Maintain high standards of personal hygiene at all times.
- Wash hands regularly and thoroughly with soap and water, especially before touching the eyes, nose or mouth.
- Turn quickly away from anyone near if they are about to cough or sneeze.
- Cover the nose and mouth with a piece of tissue when coughing or sneezing. Dispose of the tissue paper properly in the dust bin after use.

After your return to Singapore from countries with sustained community transmission

Pay close attention to your health for 7 days, watching out for symptoms
such as :

• High fever (> 38 deg C)
• Sore throat
• Cough
• Body aches
• Runny nose
• Headaches
• Tiredness

If you have any such symptoms, you should call 993 promptly for an ambulance. You should avoid taking public transport or taxi to minimise exposure. To help in contact tracing, the public may find it helpful to keep records of their movements for 7 days (for example by keeping taxi receipts) after their return.

Source: Ministry of Health, www.moh.gov.sg