IAP Young Physician Leaders Alumni Steering Committee launched

In June 2020, the IAP Young Physician Leaders (YPL) programme Alumni held their first Global Ward Round, where alumni from different countries presented on their countries approach to COVID-19. 

“This raised much interest in continued alumni engagement on both clinical as well as leadership and professional development activities. As a result, an alumni committee was formed consisting of alumni who have all volunteered their time and energy to establishing a sustainable committee with activities to bolster engagement, learning and networking across the various cohorts,” explains IAP YPL Alumna Atiya Mosam. 

The current committee consist of the following members (in alphabetical order), who have all volunteered their time and energy to establishing a sustainable committee with activities to bolster engagement, learning and networking across the various cohorts:

1. Atiya Mosam (South Africa, 2019 Cohort), Public Health Medicine Specialist and Senior Researcher at the SAMRC/WITS Center for Health Economics and Decision Science, Johannesburg, ZA
2. Biljana Gjoneska (Macedonia, 2011 Cohort), Research Associate at the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje MK
3. Dipendra Khatiwada (Nepal, 2018 Cohort), Surveillance Medical Officer  at the World Health Organization, Janakpur, NP
4. Jaifred Lopez (Philippines, 2019 Cohort), Assistant Professor at the College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila, PH
5. Juan Carlos Nuñez-Enriquez (Mexico, 2016 Cohort), Clinical Research Associate at the Mexican Institute of Social Security, Hospital de Pediatría Centro Medico Nacional Siglo XXI, MX
6. Mary Ashinyo (Ghana, 2016 Cohort), Deputy Director Quality Assurance  at the Institutional Care Division, Ghana Health Service Headquarters, Accra, GH
7. Omary Chillo (Tanzania, 2017 Cohort),  Head of Department  at the Department of Physiology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, TZ
8. Suraj Bhattarai (Nepal, 2016 Cohort), Research Fellow and Founding Executive Member at the Global Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, Kathmandu, Bagmati, NP
9. Taopheeq Rabiu (Nigeria, 2012 Cohort), Consultant Neurological Surgeon at the Department of Surgery, Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, NG

The committee members will meet on a monthly basis with aims to foster cooperation among alumni and increase recognition of the programme, as well as transfer knowledge and experience to aspiring physician leaders.

At the initial meeting, the committee considered several possibilities of future activities revolving around education (i.e., workshops and webinars), socialisation (i.e., virtual reunions), cross-collaborations (with sister organisations), and joint publications (for science and media outlets). 

The committee would like to hear from the IAP YPL alumni on their preferences and insights regarding these proposed activities and a link to a short survey was sent via email to all the alumni (for more information please contact Giovanni Ortolani, IAP Communications Assistant, at gortolani@twas.org).

Still, the biggest priority is the next round of Global Ward Series themed around COVID-19, as a way to strengthen the cohesion among YPL alumni and provide joint response to the biggest public health urgency of the moment.

To date, the IAP YPL network of alumni includes more than 200 leading young professionals, under the age of 40, who were nominated by their national academies. Their details can be found in the dedicated YPL Directory.