Tag Archives: SMA

sma conference

Over the weekend we had our annual SMA Conference for healthcare students and we looked at the topic of integrity – which is so broad, and so relevant that it overflows into everything we talk about.

It was awesome. So many of our committee members and volunteers came together to make things run smoothly, we had excellent speakers with experience in the field and amazing personal testimonies about God in their practice.

And most importantly we had time for people to connect to the speakers and to each other and just to talk through some of the challenges that we face and be prayed for. Couldn’t have asked for more, and it’s an awesome indication of the work that God is gonna do in our area.

One idea that really struck me during the conference was the idea that we sometimes look at Christianity in the workplace and think of it negatively, and look at “what not to do”, or “where to draw the line”. But imagine a day in our healthcare system where the Christian staff are a dream to work with, because they genuinely care about their coworkers and patients. They fully embody the fact that they are fallible, but live by grace and in turn give grace. And the phrase isn’t “Christians in healthcare… geez they need to drop that Jesus thing”, but “CHRISTIANS IN HEALTHCARE – they’re doing a good thing, even if I think their beliefs are weird”.

The day when our medium (our lives and the way we conduct ourselves) better reflects our message (the grace of Jesus Christ in our lives, and the fact that we are all fallible and we all need God).

12. Give a very well written speech

I don’t really know if I can cross this off the 101 list, but the speech was well received, even if it wasn’t very well written.

It was delivered last Tuesday at the SMA Sundowner, and I outlined a few things that were important to address as the President of SMA, and was hoping that through my words God would set the tone of the year. I don’t quite have it verbatim, and it would make a very long post, but here’s a little bit about the name SMA, and why we’re keeping it despite poor marketability.

SMA stands for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Not a great organization name by any measure, purely because it’s really hard to remember for those who don’t know it already. And often we’ve been asked “does it stand for Student Medical Association?” or “Save more Asians”… But there are a few reasons why we keep this name. Firstly, these are the names of three men who stood up for their beliefs in the face of fire (quite literally – full account in the book of Daniel chapter 3). They didn’t compromise their faith, in a very antagonistic environment, and God saw them through it. The nation saw the glory and power of God through their act of obedience, and they were given positions of power – where God used them to bless others.
Finally, Shadrach Meshach and Abednego are actually the names given to them, and not their birth names. In the same way, in our marketplace, we might be called a Doctor or Dentist or Physiotherapist or Social Worker, but we know that our identity is found in Christ as a Disciple.

Back in the blogging game.

It feels like I’ve lived a year in the last 2 months. Just sitting here now writing this post, I’ve only been back in the country for about two months (since my return from the epic 6 week trip that I may not have blogged about at all (but will get to), and a few too many things have happened.

In terms of Church, this year has seen the official launch of the name “Thyme Court Christian Fellowship“, and the website as well as a restructuring of the connect groups, several early outings/events and a recent conference over the last weekend. We’ve had an Australia Day Sundowner, a Beach BBQ, Opening Dinner and the launch of the video testimony ministry. March 2-5 saw us heading down south 150km to Camp Logue Brook in Harvey for our first ever annual (hopefully) young adults conference called “IMPACT”. It was a great chance for us to spend time together and reflect upon what it means to be an impact in the places God has put us. We had the director of redmeetsblue share his testimony about putting God first in his business, and heard great messages from Hien one of our board members, and I even got a chance to share a bit about on-campus ministry and how God has used it to mold my faith.

SMA in 2012 has been an exciting time, as (by default) I’ve been placed in the position of President. It’s a humbling experience, realising that things don’t always come together exactly as you plan, but God works through it all anyway and it still turns out the way He intends. Part of the role also includes attending the CMDFWA (Christian Medical Dental Fellowship of Western Australia – SMA for graduates in the workforce) meetings, and it’s been encouraging to see the willingness of doctors and dentists who have been there before, to invest right back into the future of SMA. I’ve had the chance to head over to Canberra for the annual Vision conference for student leaders on campus, get connected to my counter-parts in the other states and getting a bigger picture of what it means to be involved with on-campus ministry, and how that extends to what God can really do in our industry. Also had the awesome privilege of running a leader’s retreat for a few of the committee members in Guilderton, where we ran through the direction and vision for the year with a study on Jonah, and got on the same page in terms of what SMA would be doing this year. We also had our first event on Tuesday night, the SMA Sundowner, and it was really a great opportunity to sow the vision into the attendees and provide a venue for networking and the beginnings of mentor relationships. Not everything went according to plan, as anticipated, but praise God that all of the 75 attendees got the most that they could out of the event. And just quietly, this year is the 20th anniversary of the start of SMA… so something big may be in the pipeline.

Medicine is incredible. There’s not much to say except that each subsequent year of Medicine is better than the last. I just finished a 6 week General Medicine term at Joondalup, and as a friend of mine put it best, we seem to be learning a lot through osmosis. Concepts that were so hard to define in 4th year suddenly click in 5th. Complicated treatment schedules make sense in light of the patient’s complete medical picture. And best of all, somehow my marks are reflecting it – Praise GOD. Straight 5 out of 6s (which in the Medicine work unfortunately doesn’t equate to 83.33%, but 75%). And now just starting an Oncology term at Royal Perth Hospital which will definitely be challenging, but will be a great opportunity to improve my history skills, get a better understanding of the concepts surrounding cancer, and get used to the hustle and bustle of our hospital in the city centre.

I am well and truly broken in this year, but definitely not broken down.

catch up

Had a catch up with a friend of mine this morning, and we talked a bit about what SMA is going to look like next year.

A few new initiatives, new names for old strategies and among other things the emphasis was on putting forth something enduring. Principles and initiatives that would stand the test of time, and continue after our time has passed, and well into the new course changes.

One of the things that I am looking forward to next year is a conversion of SMA Camp to SMA Conference. Traditionally, SMA Camp has been for the hardcore SMA-ers, who are willing to make the drive to Advent Park in Kalamunda, to spend the better part of a weekend in fellowship with the other SMA members from various years. Unfortunately because of the location, it’s a bit of an investment in travel time.

SMA Conference seeks to circumvent this by being easily accessible, and providing more for the Christian in Medicine/Dentistry/Healthcare who isn’t necessarily a huge participator in SMA but still wants to get involved in some way. One conference where they can come, receive, and be empowered to make a change.

The problem with this is, traditionally, SMA was meant to be for ALL the Christians in healthcare, and somewhere along the way it got a little cliquey. Or it seemed like too much of an investment, and yet another commitment to make.

So the question became clear: Does SMA have an image problem?

a real post

It’s been a while since I wrote a real post, but I thought I might take this brief respite from study to share a little bit about what’s been going on.

It’s been an amazing period of transition, with a lot of things coming to an end, and a lot of doors opening for the future.

I’m officially the president of SMA next year (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) our student-run organisation within the Medicine and Dentistry faculties that, let’s see: seeks to equip and empower healthcare students to glorify God in their spheres of influence.

It’s a huge challenge, but thankfully I’ve got the backing and support of years of previous presidents from my time and from before my time in med school.

Also facing the biggest exams I’ve ever had in my life, starting this Friday, so study has been a bit intense.

The struggle has been very real, but so has the encouragement.

I’ll leave you with this post, from Steven Furtick. Really enjoying reading his blog, and going through the backlog when I have a free few minutes.