Attending the CFMS Spring General Meeting turned out to be a valuable experience. Having no prior experience with student politics, it was eye-opening to see the procedural workings of an organizational proceeding such as the SGM. Additionally, I gained an appreciation of the strengths and challenges of passing motions in a democratic assembly.  These types of knowledge gained at SGM will be useful in my future contributions in any type of professional or community organization. Some of the most enjoyable sessions involved meeting with delegates from other universities and learning how their universities are run, regarding both curricular content and administrative policies. I hope that either the SMSS or any U of S student can bring some of those components to our school to further improve our student experience.

I had the opportunity to attend the CFMS Spring General Meeting from April 26-28, 2018 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This was an opportunity to engage with students from medical schools across the country and learn about the issues that were pertinent to each region.  On Thursday, April 26th, I attended the global health program as the Global Health Liaison Senior for the U of S. This was a great opportunity to hear about the types of activities other GHLs were involved with at their schools and to share our own successes, particularly the ‘Making the Links’ program as well as some of our initiatives within the Global Health portfolio. I was able to make connections with a few others school and have followed up in hopes of gaining some support for our Global Health Conference in October 2018. The next day, we heard from representatives from the AFMC Student Portal, Canadian Residency Match, and the Medical Council of Canada. While this could be useful to students, the content seemed quite dry and not as appropriate for a national gathering of students. This information could have been passed on through other online means. We heard from a representative of the CMA National Physician Health Survey, which focused on the mental well-being of medical students, residents, doctors, etc. While this was also useful knowledge, it may not be appropriate for a national gathering of students. I highlight this point because, at least from my perspective, traveling to spend a few days with other medical students should focus on maximizing time spend discussing successes and obstacles of various parts of our medical curriculum with other students. The resolutions marketplace proved valuable to be able to speak to students who had developed position papers, for example, on relevant and pressing issues in medicine, from stances on marijuana legalization to improvements in education on the opioid crisis. Having dinner with Dean Smith and Dean Stobart was a pleasant opportunity to connect with the deans as well as other 1st year medical students. The resolution session was a valuable learning opportunity for me, as I had not been part of this procedure in the past. Albeit highly bureaucratic, this was a great window into how large institutions maintain democracy when engaging diverse opinions. Overall, I thought this was a great opportunity as the Global Health Liaison to connect with other students working on global health initiatives at their respective schools. I hope that in the future, there is more opportunity for students to engage with one another instead of hearing from speakers about general topics that could be shared through other means. I hope the SMSS continues to support students attending these national meetings and provide opportunities for leadership. Thank you