The WMSC covers all matters of importance to medical students in Wales and acts on their behalf. We do this by informing, liaising and, where appropriate, collaborating with the Welsh Government, Cardiff and Swansea medical schools, local health boards and Health Education and Improvement Wales.
The committee also works closely with the BMA Welsh council and the UK MSC.
Our priorities
Mental health
Raise awareness of student mental health issues and assess the scope of the support offered by medical schools in Wales.
In 2020, we conducted a mental health survey of medical students in Wales to learn about mental health at university.
Widening participation
Promote access to medicine regardless of background and monitor differential attainment.
Accommodation standards
We lobbied for improvements in the standard of accommodation for students on placements and continue to monitor these standards.
Grassroots engagement
Improve communication with students in order to increase awareness of the BMA and encourage engagement with WMSC.
Assessments
Monitor the implementation of the MLA (Medical Licensing Assessment) and medical schools’ own assessment procedures.
Medical Student Finance
Lobby for improvements to the NHS bursary in Wales and sufficient and equitable travel expenses for those medical students on placement in Wales.
Our people
Chair: Vacant
Deputy Chair: Sarah Osborn
Cardiff 1st Year
Vacant
Cardiff 2nd year
Ioan Hamm
Cardiff 3rd Year
Ciara Ella Edwards
Cardiff 4th year
Arsh Mallick
Cardiff 5th year
Eliza Hyde
Swansea 1st year
Vacant
Swansea 2nd year
Polly Payne
Swansea 3rd year
Burcu Brieskorn
Swansea 4th year
Sarah Osborn
North Wales (Bangor) 1st year
Vacant
North Wales (Bangor) 2nd year
Latifah James
North Wales (Bangor) 3rd year
Niamh Kelly
North Wales (Bangor) 4th year
Vacant
North Wales (Bangor) 5th year
Vacant
Intercalating: Vacant
Immediate past chair: Fatemeh Tajdin
MSC representatives 26/27 (Chairs are voting on MSC)
Cardiff: Taniya Kuba
Cardiff: Viktoria Andanova (deputy)
Swansea: Sarah Osborn
Swansea: Annabel Haywood (deputy)
Bangor: Esther Adeola Adegbola Olusegun
Bangor: Hamza Amin Bhatti (deputy)
Take part in one of our free courses designed to give you the right skills to:
- break down equality and inclusion bias (CPD-accredited)
- value difference and inclusivity
- live our BMA behaviour principles.
Our meetings
We meet four times a year to discuss the latest issues affecting medical students in Wales. These meetings are open to WMSC members only.
Meeting dates:
- Wednesday 14 October 2026
- Wednesday 9 December 2026
- Wednesday 10 February 2027
- Wednesday 12 May 2027
All meetings take place from 6.30pm to 9pm either virtually or at:
BMA Cymru Wales
5th Floor
2 Caspian Point
Caspian Way
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff
CF10 4DQ
How to join
There are many advantages to becoming involved in our committees. You can actively influence BMA policy-making and negotiations, represent your colleagues' voices and develop your leadership skills.
Each committee has a few routes to becoming an elected member. In the case of WMSC, these are:
- Seats/term - every year, both medical schools in Wales elect a representative to UKMSC for a one-session term. These representatives have non-voting seats on the WMSC.
- Timeline - elections usually take place in March or April.
- Eligibility - all student BMA members are eligible to stand and vote in this election.
- Seats/term - every year, both medical schools in Wales elect two representatives, and an intercalating representative, from each year for a one-session term.
- Timeline - elections usually take place in May or June.
- Eligibility - all student BMA members in Wales are eligible to stand and vote in this election.
There is also a co-opted representative position for the Cardiff Medical school C21 course run at Bangor University.
The election section below is kept up to date with details about any running elections, so make sure you keep checking it throughout the year.
Elections
The Welsh medical student committee is made up of one representative from each academic year group at each medical school in Wales (Cardiff, Swansea and North Wales) and one intercalating representative.
There is no fifth year at Swansea as it is a graduate entry course and first years for each medical school will be advertised in September at the start of the academic year.
Get in touch
If you are interested in finding out more about the work of the WMSC, please contact us or call 029 2047 4696.
The BMA is working to meet the challenges that women face in the medical profession.
Stand for a BMA committee and be part of this change.