Student Leaders
Presidents
We coordinate efforts of all committee members and provide a connection point between faculty advisors, the Office of Student Affairs, and the Student Wellness Committee. We aid in selection of committee chairs and provide support for all initiatives carried out by the Student Wellness Committee. The presidents manage the budget and serve as a contact point for Wellness programs at other medical schools. It is the responsibility of the presidents to ensure that the SWC is continually searching for ways to evaluate and improve itself while integrating new ideas into practice.
Mentoring Committee
The Senior Mentoring Wellness Committee Chairs are responsible for promoting the academic mentoring and personal wellness of Vanderbilt medical students. We coordinate the Student Affiliate Advisor program by selecting senior students dedicated to providing mentoring to junior students and organizing wellness events for their College. We oversee SAA involvement in larger medical school activities such as College Retreats, College Cup, and orientation events such as MAG and MOO. We also organize direct mentoring events such as Intro the Wards, immersion electives selection workshops, and Boards Bash with Careers in Medicine.
As Junior Mentoring Chairs, we match bigs and littles to create diverse and engaging college communities, oversee the Big/Little Program and foster communication and bonding between the first- and second-year classes with sporting events and big/little activities, and oversee academic mentoring for first year class (tutorials, block overviews, and need-to-knows).
Body Committee
The goal of the Body Committee is to facilitate physical wellness as a routine in the Vanderbilt community’s lifestyle. Physical wellness does not need to be daunting or seemingly unreasonable in the medical professional’s life. In fact, it should be just the opposite! As future physicians and teachers for the community, it is our responsibility to care for our own bodies so as to lead by example for the patients that we will someday treat. As such, the Body Committee offers a number of ways to heighten, simplify, and learn about your body-mind well-being. We hope that our programing will serve as a source of inspiration, education, and stress relief. We wish you the very best in caring for yourself so that you may care for others. Most importantly, we hope to help you in any way so that you may make the most of your time at Vanderbilt. Relax and enjoy! Some of our activities include College Cup, Stairing Contest, Nutrition Education, and Lunatic’s Lunacy Run.
Social Committee
The Social Committee organizes events that offers students the ability to take a break from clinical duties, to relax, and to have fun. These events also bring the entire medical school together creating a community and providing times to make connections with students in other years. The committee also collaborates with the Super Social Committee to streamline and improve medical school social events. The social committee plans an outdoor activity in early fall such as paddle boarding or floating down a river, College Cup after party, and Night at the Gallery.
Mind Committee
The mission of the Mind Committee is to promote the mental well-being of students through community-oriented programs that highlight the importance of mental health and equip students with the tools to recognize and address issues of stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout.
Our activities include:
- Open House, Biofeedback, and Intro to CBT collaborations with the University Psychological Counseling Center (UCC)
- Annual Puppies and Popsicles Event
- Sips and Strokes
- Night at the Osher
- Mindful Eating
Community and Safety Committee
We create and maintain a safe, healthy environment for the VUSM community, while also promoting relationship-building between VUSM and the broader Nashville community. We ensure that student spaces on campus are clean and well-maintained. In conjunction with VUPD and VUSM administration, we hold an annual safety orientation for incoming first-year students. We also create opportunities for students to improve our Nashville community by acting as chairs of the Super Service Committee, composed of the vice presidents from all four VUSM classes. The Super Service Committee hosts an annual, springtime Day of Service in collaboration with community non-profit organizations. We are the go-to leaders for questions and ideas regarding wellness at the community level.
Social Rounds Committee
As Social Rounds committee chairs, we host monthly gatherings for the medical student community. This school-wide function serves as a meeting point for students and faculty from across the institution to bond and catch up while enjoying light appetizers and beverages. While the intent for these events is primarily to provide time to relax and get to know students and faculty from across the medical school, we hope students will use it as an opportunity to engage in mentoring other students. Social rounds occur once a month throughout the school year and we hope you will join us in the fun and wellness!
Education Chair
The goal of the Education Chair is to continue to expand the knowledge on wellness among our School of Medicine community and our Wellness Committee. We aim to stay up-to-date on popular topics in medicine by reviewing research data, and fostering discussion on the best ways to stay healthy through journal clubs. The Education Chair is heavily connected to increasing accessibility to wellness resources by updating the Wellness website.
MSTP & Year-Out Liaison
The MSTP/Year Out Liaison facilitates wellness specifically among Vanderbilt medical students who are either doing their PhD or are taking a year out for a second degree or for research. In addition, the committee chair facilitates joint programming with wellness-oriented groups and offices across all Vanderbilt undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools. The goals are to maintain an updated list of wellness resources and events on campus, as well as to establish partnership with other programs and introduce new approaches to promoting students’ well-being.
