Electronic Summer 2023 | Issue 55

Introducing the 2023-2024 Executive Board of the IPS Medical Student Committee

By: Eliza Hofman and Julia Versel

Established in 2020 by a group of medical students who wanted to connect with other medical students in Illinois who were interested in psychiatry, the IPS Medical Student Committee has grown into a dynamic group focused on advocacy, education, and community-building. The IPS Medical Student Committee now enters its third year, with a new executive committee and big plans for 2023.

This spring, the committee elected Julia Versel, M4 at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, as Head Chair. Eliza Hofman, M3, and Nandita Gupta, M3, of Rosalind Franklin University will serve as Co-Vice Chairs. Additional leadership includes Roxana Parada, Tristan Hazebrook, Omar Khan, Hibah Arshad, Agnieszka Mynarska, Kurtis Lavelle, Kristine Khieu, and Sneha Palumapati, who will lead outreach, mentorship, advocacy, research, and volunteering initiatives. Dr. James Mackenzie will continue to serve as the IPS Medical Student Committee’s advisor and advocate.

The new committee will spearhead several exciting initiatives this year. Already in progress, the committee will hold a medical student research poster session at the IPS Annual Conference in October. Regular meetings are held the last Tuesday of the month and feature guest speakers, residency application support, and ongoing education in topics in psychiatry. Other areas of action include advocacy and volunteer opportunities for students. The committee also creates ongoing mentorship connections between students, residents, and early-career psychiatrists through its mentorship program. With more opportunities to connect in-person planned for this year, the committee organized a social event in May, where students and IPS staff members had the opportunity to meet each other outside of regularly scheduled monthly virtual meetings.

The committee welcomes all Illinois medical students interested in psychiatry to join our group, attend our monthly meetings, and become more involved in our ongoing initiatives!

Join the IPS Medical Student Committee listserv here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfnxpFJCR8MvR5t98y91k4Ai94yNzNMR250M80VZ1XSng96Sw/viewform.

For any questions, reach out to ips.medstudentcommittee@gmail.com.