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Canadian Federation of
Medical Students
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About the CFMS
The CFMS is an organization representing over 8,000 medical students from 15 Canadian medical student societies from coast to coast. We represent medical students to the public, to the federal government, and to national and international medical organizations.
Call for Nominations: CFMS Executive Board Positions
March 29, 2020

The Canadian Federation of Medical Students will be hosting our Spring General Meeting (SGM) virtually from April 18th-19th, 2020. During this meeting, we look forward to electing medical students for the following CFMS 2020-2021 Executive Board positions: 

What is the CFMS? 

For forty years the Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS) has been the national voice that represents over 8,300 medical students at fifteen schools across Canada.  

Our three-fold mandate seeks: 

1. To support medical students by representing their voices among the national organizations that direct or influence the policy environment or delivery of medical education in Canada. It also represents medical students in organizations with broad health care mandates.  

2. To provide services that support the needs of member medical students. 

3. To communicate national medical education issues of importance to medical students and facilitate communication and interaction of medical students among member schools.  

Nominations Process:

Nominations for the CFMS 2020-2021 Executive Board – President must be received no later than 9:00 p.m. PST  on Monday, April 13, 2020. Nominations will close strictly at this time. Interested individuals for the President position must complete this online form.Please note, unsuccessful applicants are eligible and encouraged to apply for Vice President or Director positions and will be permitted to submit an application after the regular deadline as outlined below.

Nominations for the CFMS 2020-2021 Executive Board – Vice President Communications, Vice President Finance, Director of Education, Director of Global Health, Director of Government Affairs and Director of Student Affairs must be received no later than 9:00 p.m. PST on Monday, April 13, 2020. Nominations will close strictly at this time. Interested individuals for Director and VP positions must complete this online form

Please note, Individuals that were unsuccessful in the President election, are encouraged to apply for Vice President or Director positions. The application must be received no later than 9:00 p.m. PST on Saturday, April 18, 2020. Nominations will close strictly at this time. Interested individuals for Director and VP positions must complete this online form

The form requires an interested individual to submit their name, email address, a photo, a brief bio/letter of intent (no more than 250 words) and a condensed CV (no more than 2 pages).

As per the CFMS By-laws, “Only individual medical student members and individual members-at-large who have attained the age of eighteen years, are in good standing with the Federation and the federal government as per the Act, and have the capacity to contract shall be eligible for election to the Board of Directors”. While previous experience with the workings of the CFMS is strongly encouraged, it is not required. 

Applicants are encouraged to reach out to individuals in the position they are running for, or others than may help you gain further insight into the role. Applicants are not permitted to campaign through advertisements of social media. 

All applicants should review the CFMS Code of Conduct prior to submitting a nomination, to ensure you are comfortable with the expectations of a CFMS Executive Board.

Given the time commitment expected of CFMS Board members, it is recommended to consider seeking support from your medical school before applying.

Election Process:

The elections will take place during the virtual CFMS Spring General Meeting (SGM). Presidential elections will be held on Saturday, April 18th,2020 and the Director and VP elections will be held on Sunday, April 19th,, 2020. Votes will be cast by medical student society representatives and members of the Federation’s Board of Directors, as detailed in the CFMS Bylaws. Given election process will be conducted virtually, votes can not be collected in person and must be sent to the Chair, Dr Franco Rizzuti at [email protected]

All CFMS elections will be conducted in accordance with the CFMS By-laws and CFMS Elections Policy Document in a manner thatmaintains the highest level of process integrity. Immediately upon the close of nominations, the General Assembly will have access to the nominees’ letter of intent and CV.

Presidential candidates will be expected to deliver a virtual speech of no more than five (5) minutes to the voters, followed by a ten (10) minute question period. 

Director and VP candidates will be expected to deliver a short speech of no more than three (3) minutes to the voters, followed by a three (3) minute question period.

Questions will be submitted through the virtual technology chat and asked by the Past-President to ensure efficient management of time.

Designated time constraints must be respected.

Please note, the elected members of the 2020-2021 CFMS Executive Board will be required to attend the AGM in London, Ontario from 18-20 September 2020. In addition to attending the AGM and SGM, the CFMS Executive Board attends a 3 day Fall Board Meeting, 2 day Winter Board Meeting and 2 day Summer Board Meeting.

Term Details:

Newly elected board directors will officially commence their roles at the conclusion of Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2020 in London, Ontario. All newly-elected members of the board will attend a breakfast handover meeting on Sunday September 20, 2020 at AGM.

Each position is for a one-year term. The period between SGM and AGM is meant to serve as an opportunity to prepare for the role

Please refer to the executive reports and the bylaws for further information on each position. A brief description of each position can also be found below. For questions, please contact CFMS Past-President and Chief Returning Officer, Dr. Stephanie Smith at [email protected]

Please consult the attached document for descriptions of the available positions. I sincerely encourage you to consider applying for these positions. This is an excellent opportunity to get involved, make a difference, and be an integral part of an effective and reputable student organization. 

Yours sincerely, 

Dr. Stephanie Smith, BScN, MA, MD

Past-President, Board Chair and Chief Elections Officer

Canadian Federation of Medical Students

Available positions 

President

The President is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the CFMS. Most Presidents have had experience on the CFMS boardand should have detailed knowledge of all policy and activities of the organization. In addition to setting the priorities of the organization, the President acts as the primary contact on important issues for students and external organizations. The President attends many external meetings as the representative of Canadian medical students and will often travel an average of two weekends a month for the duration of the one-year term. Major commitments include CFMS representative and liaison with the Association of Faculties of Medicine (AFMC), Canadian Medical Association (CMA), Canadian Residency Matching System (CaRMS), Physician Resource Planning Advisory Committee (PRPAC), Resident Doctors of Canada (RDoC) and a multitude of task forces and subcommittees. The President will often be asked to present at different meetings and speak with the media about issues affecting medical students. 

The President is also heavily involved in all activities of the board and works with other board members to ensure that the priorities of the organization are achieved. Time on email (internal and external) can exceed 2 hours per day during busy periods. Agendas and planning for executive meetings and teleconferences as well as the three meetings of the CFMS board also fall under this position. Presidential responsibilities also include liaising with the General Manager on a regular basis and ensuring that the infrastructure of the organization is in good order. 

The position of President is a one-year term. Following the end of their term, the president assumes the official role of past-president for a one-year term. 

Please contact Victor Do for more information at [email protected]  

Director Education 

The Director Education (Dir. Ed) represents all Canadian medical students to various national medical organizations including various committees of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC), the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS), the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC). The Dir. Ed may also represent students on various working groups and task forces established internally by the CFMS or external organizations for short-term medical education projects. The Dir. Ed collaborates with VP Educations and VP Academics on best practices and bridges our member schools on matters related to medical education. The Dir. Ed works on initiatives related to the AFMC Student Portal, the Medical Student Performance Record review, Canadian medical school accreditation, medical education advocacy efforts, interprofessional education, global health education, CFMS Transition to Residency/Match Book Guide and supporting Unmatched Medical Students.

Please contact Rishi Sharma for more information at [email protected]

Director Student Affairs 

The Director Student Affairs (Dir. SA) takes responsibility for overseeing the CFMS Student Wellness portfolio and for coordinating the CFMS member benefits and services. This position collaborates with the National Wellness Officer, National Services Officer, Wellness Representatives, and Local Representatives, as well as with various external partners. The Dir. SA helps to oversee the projects of the National Wellness Officer and Wellness Committee, participates in Wellness Committee meetings, and serves as a coordinator and representative for other CFMS wellness projects and activities. The Dir. SA also serves as the CFMS representative on the AFMC Student Affairs committee and the Resident Doctors of Canada Resiliency Curriculum Working Group. Other major responsibilities of the role include developing and maintaining partnerships that will provide services and benefits to student members, administering and overseeing internally created member services, promoting member benefits, and working with the VP Finance on sponsorship relationships and benefits, including the oversight of the CFMS Leadership Awards. The Dir. SA will also be expected to play an integral role in the development and maintenance of web-based services.   

Please contact Sarah Zahabi for more information at [email protected]

 Director Global Health 

The Director Global Health (Dir. GH) is responsible for coordinating the CFMS Global Health Program. The Dir. GH takes the lead in forming and maintaining dynamic partnerships with Canadian and international organizations with respect to global health, international development, and public health. The Dir. GH works in partnership with the international program of the FMÉQ (IFMSA-Quebec) to implement programs that intersect the mandate of the CFMS Global Health Program and the strategic direction and initiatives of the International Federation of Medical Students (IFMSA). The Dir. GH serves as the President of the Canadian delegation to the IFMSA, and may attend the IFMSA Regional Meeting in January and AGM in March (locations TBD). The Dir. GH directly oversees seven National Officers, with portfolios as diverse as indigenous health, reproductive health, partnerships, human rights and peace, exchanges and global health education.

Please contact Achieng Tago for more information at [email protected]

Director Government Affairs

The Director Government Affairs (Dir. GA) has a variety of duties related to leading and coordinating the CFMS’s local, provincial, and national political advocacy efforts. More specifically, the Dir. GA oversees and helps facilitate the CFMS Government Affairs and Advocacy Committee, the Committee on Health Policy,  the Day of Action Topic Selection and Research Committees and the Rapid Response Team, alongside the respective leads/National Officers. The Dir. GA also leads the CFMS National Day of Action in Ottawa. The Dir. GA is responsible for encouraging and facilitating local advocacy efforts at member schools. Occasionally, the Dir. GA will also represent the CFMS to various external committees and organizations as deemed necessary by the president and executive. 

For more information please contact Helen Teklemariam at [email protected].

VP Communications 

The Vice-President Communications (VP Comms) is responsible for internal and external communication, including strategy and policy, the website, and the publications of the CFMS. The VP Comms actively moderates the representative email listserv and other servers. They are responsible for maintaining regular contact with individual CFMS representatives and medical society presidents. The VP Comms is responsible for some communication with external organizations and should be familiar with the exercise of writing a press release and circulating information in the media. The VP Comms works with the Annual Review Editor to produce the CFMS Annual Review. The position involves close collaboration with the National Information Technology Officer and the website host. The VP Comms has overall responsibility for the web presence of the CFMS, including ensuring that all content on the website and in the Communique is up-to-date and reflective of the overall CFMS communications strategy.  

Please contact Adel Arezki for more information at [email protected]

VP Finance 

The Vice-President Finance has overall fiscal management responsibility for the CFMS and must have an intricate understanding of the breadth of activities of the CFMS in order to advise the Board and General Assembly on budgeting and work-planning. They are responsible for managing the CFMS bank accounts, investments, expenses, revenue, and payroll. The VP Finance must maintain at least weekly contact with the General Manager and President. The VP Finance is responsible for long-term strategic planning together with the President. They actively work to broaden the financial resource base of the CFMS by seeking alternative sources of revenue through grants, advertising, donations and sponsorship. They are responsible for the development of policy relating to finances. The VP Finance is expected to have a detailed understanding of accounting principles and documentation. They should be comfortable using electronic booking software and spreadsheets.  

Please contact Anson Lee at [email protected]

   

 

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