Public Health

Welcome to SCOPH – the Standing Committee of Public Health. This is one of the most active committees within MMSA where students share their knowledge with the general public to help improve their lifestyles and their awareness on various health issues. SCOPH has many campaigns which are coordinated by different coordinators to ensure that different areas of public health are addressed correctly. Some successful campaigns are World Diabetes Day, World Heart Day, outreaches for anti-smoking and awareness about mental health, eating disorders and obesity.

SCOPH is what allows us medical students to experience one of the main goals many of us have when asked why it is we want to become doctors; to help people. Through our events we meet with a lot of people of different ages; starting from kindergarten and primary students during Teddy Bear Hospital and the FOOD campaign, to secondary students during the First Aid, mental health and eating disorders campaign, and older people during World Heart Day (this year celebrated on the 30th of September) and World Diabetes Day (this year commemorated on Saturday 12th November). The general public is always very responsive to our events and this is what encourages us to remain active. Apart from the experience we gain by interacting with all these different people, we get a break from our studies and get the opportunity to practice what we spend hours learning. I believe that this is an essential part of our training as it’s not the books that will make us good doctors, but our ability to interact with the patients to better understand them to help us conclude on a better diagnosis. Other skills such as time management, project planning, interpersonal communication, leadership and teamwork are all exercised in SCOPH.

The public health realm does not only stop at the Maltese border! There are a multitude of opportunities out there for people who hold SCOPH at heart. Conferences, international meetings and the amazing IFMSA General Assemblies are all events that you can attend being part of SCOPH. Something I find truly incredible when I attend such events is the amazing SCOPH spirit that everyone present at these meetings shares. It is a sense of goodwill that is at the forefront of all the global health discussions that go on, a feeling of ‘We can do this! We can make the world healthier!’. It’s not easy but it’s not impossible either, and this is the constant positive thinking that is behind each and every single campaign we organize and hold.

SCOPH is a very special Standing Committee to be part of. The smile on the face of a little six-year old after you cure her teddybear, heartfelt thanks from a couple after you give them information about diabetes, or a pat on the back and an ‘Awguri!’ from an elderly man after you trade some of his cigarettes for an apple are some instances of what make it all worthwhile in the end.

Do not hesitate to contact me, or any of the coordinators (emails found in the coordinators list) with any questions you might have, or if you want to work with us :)

Eleanor Borg
National Public Health Officer ’11-‘12
scoph@mmsa.org.mt