Six Liverpool student doctors have joined the British Oncology Network for Undergraduate Societies (BONUS). Here they discuss their ambitions for BONUS and their role in leading this national society.
BONUS is a national organisation that promotes medical, clinical, surgical, and interventional oncology amongst student and junior doctors. The society works to support undergraduate oncology education, facilitate student involvement in national, collaborative research projects, as well as establish a mentoring network to support students interested in oncology.
Final-year Student Doctor Sumirat Keshwara and Year Three Student Doctor Prince Josiah Joseph are BONUS Co-Presidents for the academic year 2021-22. Alan George, currently completing an intercalated MSc in Trauma Sciences at the University of Birmingham, is Vice President and Chair for Research. Emma Khoury and Arish Mustafa, both taking intercalated Master of Research degrees at the University of Liverpool, are BONUS Secretary and Website Lead, respectively. Natasha Aziz, Year Five Student Doctor and former BONUS Vice President and Network Lead, also supports the committee.
Vice President Alan George and Secretary Emma Khoury
BONUS was established in 2016 by student doctors in Scotland to create a network of students interested in Oncology. BONUS is a growing society with both a national and international following. Close to seven hundred medical students and doctors from 29 countries are members of the network.
Sumirat, Alan and Natasha joined the core committee in 2019-20, and Josiah, Emma and Arish in 2021. They work alongside other students and junior doctors from across the UK, with 23 UK universities contributing to the national society and its activities.
This year, those activities include a national research day to champion student-led projects alongside national education days to support students preparing for their end of year examinations. The BONUS weekly webinar series, covering a range of topics, including neuro-oncology, immunotherapy, and surgical oncology, was attended by delegates internationally.
The BONUS committee works with consultants and registrars from national and international oncology organisations such as the National Oncology Trainees Collaboratives for Healthcare Research (NOTCH), Association of Cancer Physicians (ACP) Trainees, British Association of Surgical Oncology (BASO), European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO), and the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR).
Website Lead Arish Mustafa and former Network Lead Natasha Aziz
Society President Sumirat shares, “it is a privilege to work with colleagues from across the UK to promote oncology. I am proud of what BONUS is becoming: a national body of student and junior doctors who are passionate about cancer care."
The unique aspect of BONUS is that it is pan-oncology, representing medical, clinical, surgical and interventional oncology specialities.
"It’s amazing to bring together students with a variety of interests, which reflects the multidisciplinary team approach to helping patients with cancer.”
Emma adds, “I have enjoyed the opportunity to network with my peers who all share a common interest in oncology. I have been able to join meetings with committee members from national societies such as the ACP. Another highlight has been watching the society’s growth this year and developing our national mentorship scheme. Joining a committee is a great way of finding out more about your speciality of interest and meet like-minded people. It’s a great opportunity to network and to develop your interests."
BONUS allows individuals to better their understanding of Oncology as a whole and get involved with national research and organisations at the same time.
Josiah adds, “This year, I decided to hone my interests in surgical oncology and join BONUS, which allows us as students to bring our own ideas into fruition, and that is an aspect of the society that I treasure.”
Alan comments, “I liked the environment created by the core committee members to allow for everyone’s personal and academic development. I learnt how a society should function: individual members working towards a unified goal, each benefitting from the committee's success.”
Arish says, “It’s been exciting to work with students and doctors from across the UK. It has made me realise how effective collaborative work can be and how many resources are available to us as students from established organisations such as the RCR and BASO.”
Natasha reflects, “Meeting new people from a diverse range of backgrounds and helping each other develop as future clinicians and leaders was the highlight of being on this national committee. BONUS network lead is a challenging role, yet equally rewarding."
I was able to facilitate student doctors from across the UK to implement their exciting new ideas and develop as individuals.
"I feel privileged to have been involved in BONUS at a time of considerable growth. These are exciting times for BONUS, and I feel confident that the society will continue to flourish."
Discover more
- Find out more about BONUS via the website and follow them on Twitter and Facebook.
- Interested in joining a Society? Take a look at the long list of Medical Societies registered with Liverpool Guild of Students.