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 Board of Directors Positions

May 17, 2021

Deadline Extension for all Board Member Nominations & Addition of (1) Ontario Regional Director Position Applications are now being accepted until July 5, 2021 at 1159 PM EST.

The Canadian Federation of Medical Students will be hosting our Special General Meeting (SGM), virtually on July 11th, 2021. During this meeting, we look forward to electing medical students for the following CFMS 2021-2022 Board positions: 

• President (1)
• Vice-President Communications (1)
• Quebec Regional Director (1)
• Ontario Regional Director (1)

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 positions on the CFMS 2021-2022 Board must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, July 5th, 2021.  Nominations will close strictly at this time. Interested individuals must complete this online form.

The CFMS recognizes three separate elections per year:

1. Election of the President
2. Election of the Vice-Presidents and Portfolio Directors
3. Election of the Regional Directors

Please note, individuals are permitted to run for up to one position in each of the above three elections. For example, an individual may submit nominations for President, Vice-President Communications, and Quebec Regional Director at the same time. The election categories will be elected in the order that they are listed above, starting with President and ending with the Regional Directors. Should an individual be elected to a position, their nominations for subsequent positions will automatically be withdrawn. Individuals interested in running for multiple positions must complete the online form for all positions ​ no later than 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, July 5th, 2021. .

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.

The CFMS is committed to furthering equity, diversity, and inclusion at all levels of the organization. It is critical that we have leadership that reflects the diversity of the medical profession and the communities we serve. We encourage nominations from candidates of all backgrounds and experiences, particularly those who have been historically underrepresented in medicine such as women, LGBTQ2S+, Indigenous Peoples, Persons with Disabilities, visible minorities/racialized groups, and other underrepresented groups.

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.

Make sure you are registered for the 2021 Spring General Meeting with you Medical Society before July 8th, 2021 11:59 PM EST. You can reach out to your school’s CFMS representative for more information.

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 at the CFMS Special General Meeting which will be conducted virtually. 
• All elections will be held on Sunday, July 11​, 2021 at 12PM EST.
• 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&nbsp:CFMS By-laws  and CFMS Elections Policy Document in a manner than maintains 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 Chair to ensure efficient management of time.
• Speeches will be delivered either in via zoom video or by proxy (read by Chair) if no access to internet.
• If a candidate is not able to access internet, they will be voice-called into the meeting to answer questions after the Chair has read the speech on their behalf.

• Please note that video or webcast speeches are not permitted. 

•  Designated time constraints will be inforced by the Chair.

Please notify the Chair of the Election, Franco Rizzuti ( [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 AGM 2021, SGM 2022 and AGM 2022, the CFMS Executive Board attends a 2 day Summer Board Meeting, 3 day Fall Board Meeting, 2 day Winter Board Meeting and another 2 day Summer Board Meeting.

Term Details:

Newly elected board directors will officially take office at the time of election on July 11, 2021 until the Annual General Meeting 2022, pending approval by the membership. 

Please refer to the executive reports in previous meetings, and the bylaws for further information on each of position. A brief description of each position can also be found below along with their Terms of Reference. For questions regarding the elections process, please contact the Election Chair, Franco Rizzuti, at  [email protected] .

Please consult the attached document for descriptions of the available positions. We 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, 

The 2021-2022 CFMS Board of Directors

Available positions:

President

The President is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the CFMS. Most Presidents have had experience on the CFMS ​board​ and 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. Following the end of their term, the president assumes the official role of past-president for a one-year term. Please learn more about the role by reviewing the President Terms of Reference.

Vice-President 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 learn more about the role by reviewing the VP Communications Terms of Reference.

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.

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.