CMSRC: Canadian Medical Student Research Competition

The Canadian Medical Student Research Competition will be an annual one-day event that will bring together up to 1 undergraduate medical student from each accredited Canadian Faculty of Medicine in each of two streams:

MD student
Combined-Degree student (e.g. MD-PhD, MD-Master Degree, MD-Oral-maxillofacial surgery, etc.).

Abstract selection

Abstract selection will be an internal review process from each participating university, selecting one representative in each stream for the CMSRC. Selected students will deliver an oral presentation at the national competition, which will be scored by a panel of 3 independent judges.

Participant Streams

Participants in an MD (or MD,CM) program will be grouped into one stream, whereas students in an MD-combined program will be grouped into a separate stream. In the case of a non-traditional education pathway (e.g. a break from medical school to pursue other academic work), the organizing committee will decide to which pathway a particular student’s education background most aligns.

Research Project Eligibility

Research projects eligible for submission can be from any field as long as the subject matter is deemed to be germane to physicianship and/or healthcare including, but not limited to: clinical research, basic science, medical education, quality improvement, in-vitro studies, animal models, AI/machine learning, health policy, humanities and others. All types of methodology are welcomed. Only projects which were initiated AFTER a student enrolled in their MD (or MD-combined) program will be considered (e.g. students cannot submit work that began before medical school).

Presentation

Each student will have 7 minutes to present and will have 3 minutes to answer any questions from the judges. The candidate with the highest overall score in each stream (MD or MD-combined) will be named as the winners of the CMSRC and will receive a prize of

Timeline Overview

August – September 2023

Rules and regulations of the CMSRC distributed to a representative at each school

September – November 2023

Individual schools may finalize their internal selection process

December 2023 – January 2024

Individual schools open submission process

February 2024

Name(s) of student(s) chosen to participate in the CMSRC sent to the organizing committee

April 2024

CMSRC takes place over one day as part of the CFMS Annual General Meeting

Each medical school selects up to 1 student in each of the MD or MD-combined degree (i.e., MD/PhD, MD/MSc) stream. All received applications are evaluated through an internal committee of clinician-researchers. The instructions for each participating school are below.