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.About the CFMS
For over forty years the Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS) has been the national voice that represents over 9000 medical students at fifteen schools across Canada.
Our three-fold mandate seeks:
1. To communicate national medical education issues of importance to medical students and facilitate communication and connect medical students among member schools.
2. To provide services that support the needs of member medical students.
3. 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.
The Canadian Federation of Medical Students will be hosting our Virtual By-Elections General Meeting (VGM) on Sunday, August 6th, 2023. During this meeting, we look forward to electing medical students for the following CFMS 2021-2022 Board positions:
· Ontario Regional Directors (1)
· Atlantic Regional Director (1)
Requirements:
Interested individuals must complete this online form.
Nominations for all CFMS 2023-2024 Executive Board positions must be received no later than Saturday, July 29th. Nominations will close by the end of the day. Candidate documents must be received by the end of next day, Sunday, July 30th.
Nominations Process:
Electoral Timeline:
- Nominations Open: Tuesday, July 4th
- Nominations Close: Saturday, July 29th (complete this form by this date)
- Nomination Documents due: Sunday, July 30th (send your documents by this date)
- Elections (Virtual): Sunday, Aug 6th @ 2 pm AST for ARD and @ 3pm EST for ORD
Nominations Documents:
Send to [email protected] (Monty) + [email protected] (Chair) + [email protected] (Victoria Radburn) + [email protected] (Stephanie H.) + [email protected] (Alex Pham) + [email protected] (Gursehaj)
- Applicant Bio: 250 words
- Platform: 300 words
- Photo Headshot
- Relevant CV: Please include a max two page CV of experiences relevant to the role and/or you as a candidate
Candidate Reference Documents:
- Platform Templates
- General Advice
- Position ToRs
- Board Reports
- CFMS President SGM Updates
- CFMS TLDR
- Elections Policy
- CFMS Board Contact Info
Election Day Overview:
- Atlantic Regional Director @ 2pm AST
- 3 min speech followed by 3 min Q&A per candidate
- Deliberation time
- Announcement of results
- Ontario Regional Director @ 3pm EST
- 3 min speech followed by 3 min Q&A per candidate
- Deliberation time
- Announcement of results
- New this year the Board approved the ability of all members to see who is nominating themselves for CFMS Board Elections as they are nominated. This sheet is directly linked to this same form. Final candidate lists will be posted on the CFMS website after all documents are received.
Who can run?
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 that may help you gain further insight into the role and responsibilities. Applicants are also encouraged to read the Terms of Reference for positions they are running for. 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, 2SLGBTQ2IA, 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.
To encourage transparency and program buy-in for board duties given the significant time commitment, medical students who are interested in running for the CFMS Executive Board should consider discussing the opportunity with their medical program before they run.
For planning purposes, please note, those elected attend the Summer Board Meeting 2023 (June), AGM 2023 (September), Fall Board Meeting (October), Winter Board Meeting (February), SGM 2024 (April), and subsequent Summer Board Meeting (June) which are all 3 day meetings minimum.
Election Process:
Votes will be cast by medical student society representatives of the regional directors’ regions and members of the CFMS Board of Directors, as detailed in the CFMS By-laws. All CFMS elections will be conducted in accordance with the CFMS By-laws and CFMS Elections Policy Document in a manner that maintains the highest level of process integrity.
Term Details:
Newly elected board directors will officially commence their roles immediately upon election. Outgoing directors will still be available for support if needed. Each position is for a one-year term.
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.
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.