Christmas! The

season to be caroling, gath-

ering, and doing some char-

ity! On Tuesday December

18, 2012 the LAU medical

Students Association (LAU

MSA) organized a Christ-

mas Concert and Gather-

ing.

Around 200 people attend-

ed including our dean Dr.

Youssef Comair, faculty

members, students, friends

and family.

The event was held at Mail-

lon The Club, in Centre So-

fil, Ashrafieh.

Christmas songs were per-

formed by our medical stu-

dents in a warm and joyful

ambiance.

All proceeds (around 1700

$) went to FEED, an organi-

zation that provides food

and clothing for families in

need.

L A U M S A F i r s t A n n u a l G a l a

D i n n e r

L A U M S A C h r i s t m a s C o n c e r t

P U B L I S H E D B Y L A U M E D I C A L S T U D E N T S

Medics on the move

Fall 2012-2013 Volume 1, Issue 1

Fall 2012-2013

NEWSLETTER

The LAU Medical

Students Association

(MSA) organized on Febru-

ary 1, 2013 its first gala

dinner since the establish-

ment of the LAU School of

Medicine. The night was a

cause for celebration, a

reunion, a fundraising

event, and the start of a

n e w t r a d i t i o n .

Dr. Youssef Comair was

recently appointed as the

Dean of LAU SoM. There-

fore, the gala was a fitting

opportunity to honor his

longstanding record of

achievements, and cele-

brate the mission he

thrives for as dean.

This academic year is the

first year in which LAU

SOM consists of all four

promotions of medical

students: Med 1, 2, 3, and

4. It was an ideal time to

call for a reunion of facul-

ty, staff, and medical stu-

dents in a non-academic

and social context. There-

fore, on a random Friday

night at Le Maillon in Ash-

rafieh, many familiar and

unfamiliar faces got a

c h a n c e t o m e e t .

This gala dinner was also

a fundraising opportunity

for LAU MSA to help devel-

op and execute future

projects such as: the Diag-

nostic Medicine Day,

Medizine, the Research

Symposium, and many

others.

LAU MSA is grateful to the

constant support of its

advisor Dr. Maya Khairal-

lah, the School of Medi-

cine, and the LAU Office of

Student Affairs, which is

enabling it to grow and

broaden its scope of activ-

ities.

L A U M S A

U P C O M I N G

E V E N T S

April 9: Diagnostic Medi-

cine Day

April 13: Medical Students

Research Symposium

April 15: House Club

Session

July: Medizine 2013 issue

Release date

September: LAU MSA

General Assembly

Dean Youssef Comair and Mrs. Comair

at the first annual LAU MSA gala din-

ner.

Medical Students performing

on stage.

Medical educa-

tion is one of the most

important objectives on

the agenda of LAUMSA;

this is because it is an

essential makeup of our

body of potential physi-

cians. This committee uti-

lizes various methods of

learning to allow students

to grasp information as

swiftly as possible. It is

divided into numerous sub

-committees including the

“USMLE club”, “House

club” and “Jinia and

Friends”. The first aims to

enhance the learning ex-

perience of a student by

culminating in two weekly

goals: The initial goal in-

volves preparing student

summaries and the sec-

ond revolves around

weekly meetings were

med I and II students

meet to tackle USMLE

questions that are rele-

vant to the week’s main

learning objectives. The

second club, House club,

invo lves schedu l ing

monthly friendly meetings

of tech-savy, knowledge-

thirsty med students who

prepare extraordinary clin-

ical cases taken from var-

ied solid resources to be

discussed in class. The

latter, Jinia and friends,

revolves around tackling

the tough concepts.

more than 200 subjects

for blood glucose level,

blood pressure, body

mass index (BMI), and

other conditions that may-

be associated with an ad-

verse outcome of diabe-

tes.

We targeted students,

To celebrate the

World Diabetes Day on

November 14th, the LAU

Medical Students Associa-

tion launched an aware-

ness campaign by organiz-

ing an on-campus mini-

clinic.

Around 30 medical stu-

dents managed to screen

staff, faculty, janitors, se-

curity, and cafeteria per-

sonnel.

Our counseling station

issued some helpful rec-

ommendations for partici-

pants to reduce the risk of

acquiring such a disease

by practical healthy life-

style modifications.

LAU dean of students Dr.

Semaan getting screened .

M e d i c a l e d u c a t i o n b e y o n d t h e

c u r r i c u l u m

L A U M S A w o r l d D i a b e t e s D a y 2 0 1 2

P a g e 2

L A U M S A R e s e a r c h u p d a t e s

Case presentation at LAU MSA

House Club.

M e d i c s o n t h e m o v e

varied research spots offered by

mentors in LAUSOM and UMCRH,

our university hospital.

The next step in the right direc-

tions is our first Research work-

shop, a 4-session training mini-

course in which we expose re-

search-hungry med and pre-med

students to the tools that might

help them in formulating their own

research questions.

By the end of these sessions, eve-

ry student should be able to give a

research proposal and if endorsed

by a doctor should be able to start

We strongly believe as

medical students that research is

an integral component of

healthcare without which no ad-

vancement in the quality of thera-

py is possible. To this end, the LAU

MSA local research committee

(LRC) was initiated this year to

provide all medical students at

LAU SOM with research opportuni-

ties by building a direct link be-

tween students and their potential

research mentors. Our first step-

forward this year was the comple-

tion of LAU SOM's research data-

base; it aims at linking students to

their own project.

Last but not least, our major event

this year is the Research Symposi-

um, an annual event where all stu-

dent-researchers gather up to

share their work with the LAU med-

ical community. MSA-LRC never

fails to make this event a success-

ful one as famous keynote speak-

ers will be invited to talk about

their experience in research. Re-

search awards will be distributed,

and research excellence acknowl-

edged.

The Social Medi-

cine Society (SMS) in col-

laboration with Offre Joie,

delegated eleven medical

students who volunteered

to visit Aley prison for the

aim of improving the quali-

ty of life of the incarcer-

ated prisoners. Our goal

was to give Offre Joie a

hand to accomplish their

mission and be able to

finish their work by the

end of that week. Under

the umbrella of ‘team

work’, we succeeded to

paint the walls inside and

outside of the prison.

Moreover, we kept the

halls clean from unneces-

sary objects such as bro-

ken doors, closets, etc...

and eventually, we re-

moved the whole garbage

and ensured we had a

healthy environment.

What drew our attention

the most at the time, were

the slogans painted on the

walls, "Al mahabba tabni"

and "Al sadaka tajma”.

The aim was to boost

the prisoners’ hope in

life, and to help them

see the world from a

new different perspec-

tive. Furthermore, Leba-

nese flags and pigeons

were drawn as a symbol

and nursing students

joined efforts as they ex-

plained to students and

faculty, of different majors

and of all genders, the

importance of early detec-

tion and how to perform a

self-breast exam. Although

Breast Cancer treatment

has been advancing over

the past decades, early

detection remains the

In an attempt to

raise awareness about

breast cancer and its early

detection, the Social Medi-

cine Society (SMS) along

with the Nursing School

organized an awareness

campaign and a fundrais-

ing cake sale on the 19th

of November at the Leba-

nese American University

Byblos Campus. Medical

cornerstone in controlling

Breast Cancer. Self-Breast

examination starting from

as early as 20 years of

age as well as regular

mammograms after the

age of 45 helps in early

detection of Breast Cancer

and hence early treatment

and better survival rates.

help of Doctors and resi-

dents from UMCRH. The

Oriental School Zahle also

participated in this event,

by performing a Christmas

play written by one of our

own members for this joy-

ous occasion.

After lunch together, eve-

ryone shared their talent

as the elderly sang and our

students played music to

establish a warm and cozy

ambience. The event was

more than a medical diag-

nostic day, it was a day to

experience the morals that

we abide by as doctors.

The people we met in

Zahle will be a part of our

lives as we’ll continue to

follow them up.

To share the joy of

Christmas, a group of med-

ical students from LAU

decided to visit some el-

derly in Zahle who usually

spend the holidays alone

with no one by their sides.

The students performed

detailed history taking and

physical examination to all

elderly living there with the

Breast cancer awareness cam-

paign on LAU Byblos campus.

S M S V i s i t t o A L e y P r i s o n

S M S B r e a s t C a n c e r A w a r e n e s s

C a m p a i g n

P a g e 3

S M S V i s i t t o z a h l e

As we surf into the

secrets of the human

body, trying to seek

cures and health we

discover something

deeper than all the

science we learn;

“humanity”.

M e d i c s o n t h e m o v e

for freedom. We would-

n’t have been able to

achieve any improve-

ment without strong

will, team work and

Medical students volunteering in Aley

prison renovation.

On the 17th of

November, a group of stu-

dents and faculty from

varied health schools at

LAU engaged in an initia-

tive aimed at promoting

diabetes awareness, its

risk factors, and adverse

health outcomes among

200 residents in Shatila’s

Palestinian refugee camp.

Students from the Faculty

of Nutrition were im-

mersed in performing an-

thropometric measure-

ments while students from

the faculties of medicine

and nursing screened resi-

dents for hypertension

and hyperglycemia. Addi-

tionally they delivered spe-

cifically tailored counsel-

ing sessions for every pa-

tient after having complet-

ed an individualized pa-

tient health record. These

counseling sessions fo-

cused on decreasing the

burden of diabetes and

other cardiovascular risk

factors on an individual

basis. As the event drew

to a close, PACES chal-

lenged LAU’s pre-set

health team to a football

match in order to encour-

age physical activity as a

means to decrease the

burden of cardiovascular

disease. The residents

were provided with much-

needed knowledge that

may decrease their risk of

developing diabetes and

help them cope with such

an illness.

P a g e 4 M e d i c s o n t h e m o v e

take appointments at OPDs in various

Beirut hospitals.

Although not without missteps, the day

was a success. We managed to deliver

basic health services, and health

awareness to an especially vulnerable

population. Perhaps a progressive step

in the same direction would involve

reaching out to a larger community of

migrant workers in Lebanon with the

collaboration of an even larger pool of

NGOs and medical professionals; fur-

thermore, this would extend the aim of

advocating health equity, transforming

a migrant worker’s life away from home

into a healthier one.

On Dec 9th, 2012, the Migrant

Workers Task Force, comprised of a

team of physicians, residents, medical

students, and other volunteers, met in

the well-renowned Hamra street with a

single objective: Health. Immediately,

our booths were filled with an array of

migrant workers seeking medical atten-

tion.

The healthcare provided constituted of

participant interviews, physical exami-

nations, measuring blood glucose lev-

els, and doing pap smears. Upon the

necessity of further follow-up, the par-

ticipants were instructed on how to

W o r l d D i a b e t e s D a y i n S h a t i l a ( S M S )

W o r k e r s T a s k F o r c e ( S M S )

Shatila visit on World Diabetes Day.

“LAU educates the whole person”.

Medical students preparing for the

migrant workers history taking pro-

cess.

Mustaches symbolize raised aware-

ness.

L A U M S A M A n u a r y C a m p a i g n

January is Manuary

in 2013.

Manuary: noun. (man-yə-ˌwer-

ē, -ˌwe-rē) A month in the year

dedicated to raising aware-

ness about men's health while

growing a mustache in parallel

(at least based on the LAU

MSA Dictionary).

The LAU Medical Students

Association set up a tent on

January 9, 2013 with a photo

booth. Photos of various par-

ticipants in the Manuary cam-

paign were taken; mustaches

symbolized the awareness that

was raised.

Medical students were availa-

ble at that time to explain the

importance of prostate and

testicular cancer awareness,

prevention, and early detec-

tion; with an emphasis on the

importance of overall men's

health.

Supervisor:

Jean-Michel Azzo

Co-Editors and writers:

Fahed Al Ghanem

Abdo Barakat

Writers and Contributors:

Elie Najjar

Rayyan Abou Khouzam

Nibal Rizk

Jad EL Danaf

Stephanie Farah

Jinia El Feghaly

Ahmad Hachem

Loulya Chahine

SMS President:

Loulya Chahine

LAU MSA* President:

Jean-Michel Azzo

*LAU MSA is a chartered Medi-

cal Chapter at the American

Medical Students Association

(AMSA).

P a g e 5 M e d i c s o n t h e m o v e