{"id":680,"date":"2018-09-10T18:25:07","date_gmt":"2018-09-10T08:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thejugular.org\/?p=680"},"modified":"2018-09-10T18:25:07","modified_gmt":"2018-09-10T08:25:07","slug":"a-conversation-with-ke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/index.php\/2018\/09\/10\/a-conversation-with-ke\/","title":{"rendered":"A Conversation with Ke"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>12 Minute, 4 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>

by MASHAAL HAMAYUN<\/p>\n

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He was elected as President of UNSW’s Medical Society for 2018. Before that he was Secretary and\u00a0Membership Director. Always found around Wallace Wurth with a smile and chat to offer, his name has become synonymous with all the qualities and ideals associated with medicine, a leader and team member at heart. I had the chance to sit down with Ke Sun and reflect on his time as President – the influences, challenges and future.<\/em><\/p>\n

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What\u2019s been the greatest influence on your term as president?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think you definitely need a very good leadership team behind you. More importantly, you want to be working in a team where each member has their own visions. I think that distinguishes between a leader and a boss. A leader is not so much about ordering others around, but rather how you can motivate and inspire people to achieve their goals. That\u2019s something I\u2019ve been really proud of this year. So many self-driven achievements, such as your team with The Jugular,<\/em> and the Academics team doing extra things on the side. That motivates me to go that one step further as well.<\/p>\n

Seeking advice from previous presidents like Beryl Lin, has guided me too. It is scary being president. Sometimes you feel like you have to be leading every single step and you get lost yourself. How can a lost person lead others?<\/p>\n

Did everyone pull their weight?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[cautious laughter] That might get some spicy responses! I think we just have to expect that in all student societies, there will be volunteers who are doing this for their CV. We just have to learn how \u2013 not necessarily just how to deal with them, but how to identify what they can actually contribute and use that to our advantage.<\/p>\n

What was the greatest difficulty you faced this year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

After the hype of getting president was over, the reality hit. I\u2019m president of<\/em> the largest medical society in the country<\/em>. [a weighty sigh] I was lost in the beginning. Where to start? What to fix? Advocacy? Events? Academics? Faculty meetings, AMSA councils, NSWMSC councils\u2026 A lot of scary terms were being thrown around. The initial responsibility of all of that plus<\/em> a whole team that\u2019s just waiting on you to make the next move, that was very daunting.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when talking to previous presidents and my executive team really helped. And as crazy as it might sound, the 52-page horrific election document I put together, I\u2019d often refer to it and see what my election promises were, and make sure I was delivering.<\/p>\n

Despite what you said about feeling directionless, as part of MedSoc I found that one of the biggest positives of being under your leadership was the strong direction propelling us forward, pushing innovation throughout the year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, yeah actually, that is another challenge; How to remain calm on the outside when there\u2019s a massive storm raging inside. [laughs] It\u2019s hard. We run so many events at the same time and there\u2019s issues across different phases. Being able to have a birds-eye view over everything is quite challenging. It was difficult to ensure that work was evenly distributed, and that no one was getting overburdened or left out.<\/p>\n

Did you experience any burnout during your term?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Uh\u2026 [a contemplative huff] I\u2019ll be honest, I think I got close to burning out last year as Secretary. Those mailouts were heavy, and on a weekly basis as well. We had so many events, so many external opportunities. I put so much work into it, I wanted people to actually read it. I was spending at least 4 hours on it every Sunday.<\/p>\n

This year has been OK. Being Secretary last year gave me a pretty good insight of what the President role would be like. I know my signs of burnout, which is important, and having a really good team to support you is essential. Around exam periods, it gets hectic. I have to stand in for other people but I\u2019ve got my own stuff to do as well. Sometimes we forget that we\u2019re still doing medicine on top of all this. At the end of the day, we have to admit that we\u2019re just student volunteers. Our academia, our mental health, our extra-curricular passions, our family \u2013 the things that are important to our wellbeing and values should always come first.<\/p>\n

You mentioned the great time-sacrifices of leadership. Do you have any regrets?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not in that sense. All the time I sacrifice for MedSoc, I enjoy because I know someone else will benefit from it. That\u2019s a comforting feeling. I do I wish I had more time to better support my team members. Also, subcommittees \u2013 greater recognition for those who do a lot of work. It\u2019s a mixed bag; some people slack off, but some people silently achieve a lot and it flies under the radar. I just have to ensure the incoming team knows all of this, so that the society doesn\u2019t take any step backwards.<\/p>\n

You keep returning to the importance of a good team. What do you think of people campaigning to be elected as an exec team? Should we be electing teams or individuals?<\/strong><\/p>\n

With the new restructure, there\u2019s a clearly defined core exec and then a general exec, so it\u2019s easy to campaign as a small core exec team. I have mixed feelings about it. One strength is that you know each other, you\u2019re likely to work cohesively as a group. But on the downside, it dissuades individual candidates from running for core positions. They might think, \u201cWho would choose just me over this well-established group running together?\u201d I would hate for that to happen. We\u2019ll have to see how it plays out in this year\u2019s election.<\/p>\n

Why do you think international student representation is so poor in terms of MedSoc exec numbers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That does bother me. After talking to some international students, some of them seem a little intimidated. Getting elected does require a fair bit of self-promotion. Hopefully that\u2019s something that will improve in future years. We have had some excellent international students in the team though. Our current Sponsorship director, Jonno, is a Singaporean student and he\u2019s been absolutely amazing. Our International Rep team has been great too.<\/p>\n

Do you think that MedSoc is exclusive?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No. I think that\u2019s an opinion a lot of students hold; that we\u2019re a little society of elitists doing things of questionable benefit. It\u2019s hurtful. Everything we do is for the students. There\u2019s a difficult lack of transparency surrounding our accomplishments. One of my goals is to break down that barrier. We did try to reach out to students as much as we can, with regular progress updates on the Med Noticeboard. How successful that\u2019s been, I really don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

How did you find dealing with Faculty this year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Faculty\u2026[grins] that\u2019s a word that triggers many people! I can\u2019t emphasise this more than I have already\u2026faculty do care about students<\/em>. They\u2019re governed by higher authorities. They\u2019re busy clinicians. On top of that they\u2019re academics trying to ensure you receive a good medical education. Exciting changes include more transparency and the re-introduction of the Dean\u2019s list to celebrate your achievements. Shout out to Phoebe and Naomi! They\u2019ve managed all the Year Reps from 1-6, sat on faculty meetings, with Phase 2 seeing a complete restructure. For myself, meeting Jonathan Pheasant, the Faculty Director, makes it seem like we have a spy in faculty, someone committed to students who is helping us push for everything.<\/p>\n

My biggest personal difficulty was speaking up at faculty meetings \u2013 learning to say \u2018no\u2019. I mean they are your seniors! It took me probably a good one to two months to adjust and stand up for myself. But once you do it\u2019s very rewarding because you realise they\u2019re not as firm as they may seem on the outside and once Professor Velan starts to crack his lame jokes you know everything\u2019s good.<\/p>\n

Personally, the greatest lesson I\u2019ve learnt from MedSoc is letting go of responsibility and delegating tasks despite the temptation to take it all upon myself and \u2018do it right\u2019. What\u2019s the greatest lesson you\u2019ve learn from your entire tenure in MedSoc?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some people think that when you\u2019re in a position of power and you bark orders, people will just listen. \u2018I\u2019m in charge! Dictator time!\u2019. But I\u2019ve learnt that true meaning of leadership is the complete opposite. It\u2019s about serving others before yourself, even instead of yourself. It\u2019s people who don\u2019t have the passion to cope with that sacrifice who end up being most damaging to the team. Once you have someone like that, it\u2019s like stepping on the accelerator while someone else is pressing the brakes. That\u2019s reality, though. The perfect team is a myth.<\/p>\n

Leadership is like climbing a mountain; the path is not always upwards. Sometimes you have to wind around, or even descend a little before you can turn back upwards. As long as you know you\u2019re heading to the summit, eventually you\u2019ll get there. That\u2019s life. Sometimes you\u2019re at the crest, sometimes you\u2019re down below.<\/p>\n

\"40519811_2119046084772729_3617547517723410432_n.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Your campaign slogan was \u2018The Ke to Success!\u2019. I think you had one of the most successful runs as president ever. What you promised, you achieved. It was inspiring to see a president committed to tangibly improving student-life. So, what is your \u2018Ke\u2019 to success?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you, that means a lot. [a pause] My Ke to success? [sighing] I struggle with self-promotion, I find it difficult to talk myself up. I have to work on that. Well, I suppose, it was ensuring the tasks that accompanied our vision were realistic, that we didn\u2019t overstretch ourselves. It\u2019s easy to say \u2018I want to do it ALL.\u2019. Up until June, that was my mindset. I wanted to change everything. But Rome wasn\u2019t built in a day. We can only achieve what\u2019s possible today, and have a plan for what\u2019s coming tomorrow.<\/p>\n

What do you think your legacy is?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My legacy\u2026? <\/em>[a daunted deep breath followed by laughter] That\u2019s a big question!<\/p>\n

Well, you hear American presidents always talking about what legacy they\u2019re creating.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never really thought to much about that. But, yes, having a vision is really important. Please excuse all the analogies \u2013 but no pilots fly a plane, or even take off, without knowing where they\u2019re going to land. I suppose what I\u2019m proudest of our team accomplishing this year would be the MedSoc restructure. Also, formulating the MedSoc Strategic Plan for 2018-2020, eliminating redundant positions, creating a good internal reporting system and transparent communication. Honestly, I do feel quite stressed with having 14 exec teams to manage, and sometimes when my VP would step out for exams it was just me. We need two VPs.<\/p>\n

Just looking at SIGs events in recent years they\u2019ve become almost like little pseudo-MedSocs. Some events are just tutorials regurgitating lecture notes. And there\u2019s so many of them. We wanted to reign it back. So, with the restructure we\u2019re trying to give students a little taste of everything and focus more on how to get into these specialities.<\/p>\n

Regarding student advocacy, we recently established a new working group with MedFac called SWAG [laughs] which stands for Students Wellbeing Action Group. Hopefully through SWAG, which is a joint student-faculty initiative, we\u2019ll see improvement. We\u2019re already talking about clinical mentorship in Phases 2 & 3, pairing students up with registrars.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re working on our relationship with other MedSoc affiliates as well to present a more unified image. I know that sounds communist [laughing]. We\u2019re making a bigger commitment to global health, promoting GP as a specialty and rural representation, with MSAP, GPSN and RAHMS. So, everything is slowly coming together.<\/p>\n

I think events will be the biggest challenge; diversifying, avoiding repetition, engaging Phase 3 students, staying relevant, catering. Quality over quantity.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re finally bidding MedSoc farewell. Where to from here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where to\u2026[reflective pause]. That\u2019s one of the most asked questions. I mean retirement isn\u2019t always a bad idea! It definitely will be hard to let go all of a sudden after spending three years on the executive team; MedSoc withdrawal symptoms will come out. With the Student Advisory Group and Faculty committees I\u2019ll still be in touch however.<\/p>\n

Okay a few rapid-fire questions. Favourite MedSoc events?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exec meetings? No! [horrified laugh] Most memorable this year was MedBall.<\/p>\n

Favourite MedCamp memory?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s just say I have many loyal customers that visit when I\u2019m on welfare year after year. I mean after four MedCamps now\u2026[resigned sigh then laughs]. This year was the first I received a dance\u2026 I can\u2019t exactly say I thoroughly enjoyed that.<\/p>\n

Last book you read?<\/strong><\/p>\n

How would you define a book \u2013 like a textbook? Probably the Bible, and I do thank God for everything I have achieved.<\/p>\n

Last film that you watched?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hmm, when you have Netflix, you can\u2019t remember what you watched. You watch too many.<\/p>\n

I started watching Nightcrawler on Monday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I hate that film! I couldn\u2019t finish it, I just felt so uneasy\u2026 how does he get away with it? These days I tend to watch happy films, my favourite is definitely \u2018Up\u2019! You never realise the power of silence.<\/p>\n

Undoubtedly true. Any final words?<\/strong><\/p>\n

To students who see MedSoc as an exclusive, bureaucratic political society, they should rethink their views on MedSoc. I\u2019m not trying to say their views are flawed. But when you think about MedSoc we run most aspects of your student life in medicine \u2013 everything from academic events like hospital tutorials, to social events like Medball, to leadership conferences, to all the issues we raise and fight for you, the list goes on and on. It\u2019ll be a pity if next year\u2019s team isn\u2019t as committed as this year\u2019s one. Don\u2019t be afraid of running. Step forward. Take the challenge.<\/p>\n

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Thanks also to Jumaana Abdu for assisting with the transcript.<\/em><\/p>\n

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