Standing Committee on Wellness
Standing Committee on Wellness
Wellness is the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind which can also be perceived as an approach to healthcare that emphasizes preventing illness and prolonging life.”
Mental Health problems are seen more and more commonly throughout the veterinary community with each passing year. Seeing that this problem is very real, several students at the International Veterinary Students’ Association created the Standing Committee on Wellness (SCOW). This committee is devoted - as its name suggests - into improving the wellness of the people in the veterinary profession and aims to promote the self-improvement of mental and physical health in the veterinary society, including veterinary professionals and students alike.
Mission
Help students identify stress factors by giving presentations at student gatherings and disseminating information
Share stories to help students realize they are not alone in experiencing these feelings and inspire them to seek help where possible
Share advice on how to make small positive life changes, such as increasing time spent on sports activities or hobbies, to reduce or avoid stress
Compile a list of different methods veterinary faculties and universities around the world use to provide help for struggling students in order to inspire those looking to create support systems within their own faculties
Projects
Vet Recipe Book
As vet students we have all struggled with keeping our diets healthy and avoiding the easy take-out food. The cookbook is a collection of healthy recipes, tested from students all around the globe, in one handy document. This way, students will not only be able to relish nutritious cuisines from different countries, but will also be able to start eating clean! It is a wonderful way of promoting a healthy and wholesome diet.
Click here to download the book!
Wellness Toolkit
The Wellness Toolkit is the “Playbook” of the mental and physical wellbeing of the average veterinary student. It contains every scam, con, hustle, hoodwink, gambit, flim flam, stratagem and bamboozle vet students need to survive their years of vet. school and be transformed from stressed caterpillar students, to wonderful-yet somehow, still stressed- vet butterflies.
Check out the Toolkit by clicking here!
Wellness Week
Wellness Week is a, as its name suggests, week-long tribute, to students taking care of themselves, promote wellness to their universities and getting to know each other. It usually takes place during the Spring months, and while wellness is certainly not a race, the Standing Committee on Wellness offers the people with the most wonderful wellness week a prize.
Mentor-Mentee Program
Are you a vet school student, especially during your first years of studies? Have you ever felt that sometimes veterinary medicine can be overwhelming and crushing? Have you considered asking your seniors for help and guidance?
The IVSA mentor-mentee program matches current IVSA students with a member of IVSA alumni, senior year students, or seasoned veterinarians, to help younger students through the twists and turns of veterinary school. This entails providing emotional support, as well as studying or any other student life tips and tricks they have learned in their own time.
Applications to be a mentor or a mentee are currently open-these forms will help us to best match you with a mentor/mentee who fits your interests!
Chair and Committee Structure
Committee Structure
Chair of Committee: Konstantina Louka, email: scow@ivsa.org
Secretary:
Scheduling SCOW meetings and taking minutes
Assisting the Chair in any work as requested by them.
Discharging the duties and responsibilities of the Chair when they are not available or is unfit to do so, with the approval of the IVSA Executive Committee.
Project Manager (3x):
Coordinating with all members of the SCOW to ensure the success of all events, projects, and activities.
Preparing proposals for events, projects, and activities relating to the mission of the SCOW which shall include the objectives, the timeline of activities, and any
resources that are needed for their success
Ensuring that all registration forms, certificates, feedback forms, and all other relevant details of events, projects, and activities are completed in accordance with
the timeline finalized by the SCOW.
Preparing post-events/project/activity reports, which should include any disruptions or incidents which may have occurred, and recommendations on how similar
events may be better handled in the future.
Wellness Toolkit Manager (2x):
Maintaining and improving the SCOW Wellness Toolkit page to enhance the experience and ease of access of users.
Managing, creating, or removing the content of the SCOW Wellness Toolkit such as posters, articles, music playlists, videos, guides, and others with the approval of
the SCOW Chair.
Coordinating and working with the Social Media Manager on cross-platform content.
Program Manager (3x):
Coordinating with all members of the SCOW, and other program heads outside of the SCOW but within the IVSA, to ensure the success of the
SCOW’s long-term programs (Mentor-Mentee Program, Ambassador Program, Etc.) to which they were assigned.
Engaging with the beneficiaries, members, and program stakeholders
Preparing proposals for future programs relating to the mission of the SCOW which shall include the objectives, the timeline of activities, and any resources that are
needed for their success.
Ensuring that all registration forms, certificates, feedback forms, and all other relevant details of events, projects, and activities are completed in accordance with
the timeline finalized by the SCOW.
Preparing quarterly reports on the progress and status of SCOW programs, including any incidents that may have occurred and recommendations on how these may
be addressed to improve these programs.
Social Media Manager(2x):
Maintaining and expanding the presence of reach of the IVSA SCOW through social media platforms.
Designing graphics, videos, and other media, in coordination with the Project
Managers and Program Managers for SCOW events, projects, activities, and programs.
Designing and creating content relating to wellness for social media posts.
Engaging in online interactions through messages/chats, comments, tags, stories, and the like.
Coordinating and working with the Wellness Toolkit Managers on cross-platform content.
Liaison Officer:
The Liaison Officer position functions as a link between their Committee and Regions & Communities and aims to facilitate collaboration.
Be in all of the communities and the ongoing projects.
Seek out collaboration with the communities and regions.
Have meetings with the IVSA secretaries and liaison officers to disseminate information about the committee.
Send content of the committee for the IVSA bulletin to IVSA Secretaries.
Attend Regional meetings and provide Committee updates.
External Relations Manager
As the external relations manager, you will ensure the maintenance of the relationship between SCOW and its current sponsors/partners, create
new partnerships and sponsorships forSCOW and ensure the committee’s MOUs with its current partners/sponsors are up to date and that SCOW is
fulfilling their responsibilities