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 Position

August 13, 2020

The Canadian Federation of Medical Students will be hosting our Annual General Meeting (AGM), virtually from September 19th-20th, 2020. During this meeting, we look forward to electing medical students for the following CFMS 2020-2021 Executive Board positions: 

• Atlantic Regional Director (1)
• Quebec Regional Director (1)
• Ontario Regional Directors (2)
• Western Regional Directors (2)

Please note that Regional Directors are fully functioning and voting members of the Board and have the specialized role of ensuring that the board is kept abreast of up-to-the-moment developments at all of the member schools. Regional Directors serve as liaisons between the Board and the medical society representatives and presidents. They work closely with all VPs and other Directors under the direction of the President to ensure communication between the Board and medical societies. They are also expected to take on national projects and responsibilities on behalf of the Board.

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 – Atlantic Regional Director, Quebec Regional Director, Ontario Regional Director and Western Regional Director must be received no later than 7:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, September 13, 2020. Nominations will close strictly at this time. Interested individuals must complete this online form.

The form requires an interested individual 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. 

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.

To encourage transparency and program buy-in for board duties, medical students who are interested in running for the CFMS Executive Board should consider discussing the opportunity with their medical program before they run. 

Election Process:

• The elections will take place at the CFMS Annual General Meeting (AGM) which will be conducted virtually. 
• Elections will be held on the afternoon of Saturday, September 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.
• Votes will be submitted using an electronic form that will be provided prior to the elections. The form will include all names of individuals running for the position.
• All CFMS elections will be conducted in accordance with the CFMS By-laws and CFMS Elections Policy Document in a manner than maintains the highest level of process integrity. 
• Following the close of nominations, the nominees’photo, bio/letter of intent and condensed CV will be uploaded to the CFMS website for the General Assembly to review.
• Director candidates will be expected to deliver a short speech of no more than three (3) minutes to the General Assembly, either in via zoom video or by proxy (read by Past President) if no access to internet. The speech will be followed by a three (3) minute question period. Designated time constraints will be inforced by the Past President.
• If a candidate is not able to access internet, they will be voice-called into the meeting to answer questions after the Past President has read the speech on their behalf.
• Please note that video or webcast speeches are not permitted. 

Please notify [email protected] one week prior to the meeting if you need your speech delivered by proxy.

For planning purposes, please note, in addition to attending SGM 2021 and AGM 2021, 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. All newly-elected members of the board will attend a virtual breakfast handover meeting on Sunday September 20, 2020 at AGM.

Each position is for a one-year term. 

Please refer to the executive reports and the bylaws for further information on each of 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, 

 StephanieSmith

Dr. Stephanie Smith, BScN, MA, MD

Past-President & Board Chair, Canadian Federation of Medical Students

Available positions:

Atlantic Regional Director

The position of Atlantic Regional Director is a one-year term. Please learn more about the role by reviewing the Atlantic Regional Director Terms of Reference.

Please contact Clara Long for more information at [email protected]

Quebec Regional Director

The position of Quebec Regional Director is a one-year term. Please learn more about the role by reviewing the Quebec Regional Director Terms of Reference.

Please contact Corinne Cécyre-Chartrand for more information at [email protected]

Ontario Regional Director

The position of Ontario Regional Director is a one-year term. Please learn more about the role by reviewing the Ontario Regional Director Terms of Reference.

Please contact Avrilynn Ding and Felipe Farjardo for more information at ontario@cfms.org

Western Regional Director

The position of Western Regional Director is a one-year term. Please learn more about the role by reviewing the Western Regional Director Terms of Reference.

Please contact Henry Li and Devon Mitchell for more information at [email protected]