This page is from 2023. CFMS and CMA are currently talking about the possibility of offering this opportunity to our members again in 2024. A possible future call for nominations will be announced in the CFMS Monthly Newsletter when the time comes. Please make sure you are subscribed and don't miss any opportunities.

Building Leaders CFMS Conference Fund

The Building Leaders CFMS Conference Fund was established to support medical student attendance and participation in leadership, wellness and/or global health conferences. This fund was made possible through a generous grant from the Canadian Medical Association (CMA). With over $10,000 available, we encourage all interested students to apply!

The funding will be disbursed over 3 rounds.

Round 1 Deadline - February 1, 2023 (Closed)

Round 2 Deadline - April 15, 2023 (Closed)

Round 3 Deadline - June 1, 2023

In order to be considered, two (2) sets of criteria must be met:

Applicant Eligibility Criteria

You must be:

A current CFMS member
Currently enrolled, actively studying and in good standing at a Canadian medical school at the time of the funding application and time of the conference - for final year medical students the conference must occur before July 1, 2023.

Conference Eligibility Criteria

The conference must:

Occur between the funding deadline (i.e. Feb 1, Apr 15 or Jun 1) and October 1, 2023. We will not fund past conferences/those that occured prior to the deadline date.
Directly relate to the stated themes of leadership, wellness and/or global health conferences
Should NOT be reasonably perceived as subspecialty specific (i.e. anesthesiology conference, general surgery forum, dermatology update, etc would not be eligible)

Students that meet both sets of criteria are welcomed to apply. The highest preference will be given to applicants who may be speaking/presenting, or those attending the CMA Health Summit, Canadian Conference on Physician Leadership or the International Conference on Physician Health. Preference will also be given to students attending conferences within Canada.

We ask that interested applicants fill out this google form, which will remain active across all 3 deadlines. If you have any questions, please email Zack Chuang, CFMS VP Finance at [email protected]

Previous Winners - Round #1

Name: Madeline Tweel
School: Dalhousie University
Year of Gradation: 2025
Conference (Location): Conference of Atlantic Medical Students (Halifax)
Description: CoAMS is the Conference of Atlantic Medical Students; to network, promote knowledge sharing and future collaboration. This year it is hosted at Memorial University in NFLD from Mar 31 to Apr 2, 2023. The theme is Shining a Light on Underserved Populations, which focuses on vulnerable populations who receive fewer healthcare services and/or face barriers to accessing care. Topics will focus on understanding the cause of disparities in healthcare, solutions to addressing lack of care, and working with underserved populations. I will be presenting a poster at the conference and organizing/delivering a Hackathon focused on innovative solutions to reduce wait lists for people without access to a family physician, as part of the conference.

Name: Sandy Lum-Wang
School: University of British Columbia
Year of Graduation: 2026
Conference (Location): Canadian Conference on Physician Leadership (Vancouver)
Description: The 2023 Canadian Conference on Physician Leadership will be in Vancouver from May 26-May 27, with an estimated turnout of 400 attendees. Organized by the Canadian Society of Physician Leaders, the event will offer participants the opportunity to strengthen their leadership and management skills in healthcare by offering new insights and tools, teaching new practical skills about implementing positive change, providing a setting for networking with and learning from peers, and providing inspiration for stepping up as leaders in healthcare.

Name: Soomin Lee
School: University of Toronto
Year of Graduation: 2025
Conference (Location): Crossroads Interdisciplinary Health Research Conference (Halifax)
Description: Hosted by the Graduate Student Society at Dalhousie University’s School of Health and Human Performance, the 19th Crossroads Interdisciplinary Health Research Conference is a nationwide, peer-reviewed academic conference that will be held Halifax, Nova Scotia from March 10-11, 2023. This annual-run conference will provide a forum for interdisciplinary learning and collaboration between students and experts in health-related fields where a diverse range of health topics will be discussed, including addressing barriers to achieving equitable health, tackling challenges of food insecurity, to digitizing health. Featured events will include panels, mini-courses, and keynote speeches, followed by oral and poster competitions. Attendees of this conference will consist of undergraduates, graduate students, and experts from various disciplines and health-related fields across Canada. The Healthy Populations Institute at Dalhousie University provides the organizational backbone for the conference by providing physical space and institutional memory storage.

Name: Anjolaluwa (Angie) Antonio
School: University of Calgary
Year of Graduation: 2025
Conference (Location): Black Medical Student Association of Canada AGM (Toronto)
Description: The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Black Medical Student Association of Canada (BMSAC) is an annual event held for and by Black Canadian Medical Students to discuss and strategize around important issues pertaining to the Black experience in medicine and Black health in Canada. Through collaborative efforts, the conference allows for the generation of ideas to promote and advocate for culturally-sensitive and equitable improvements in the health and well-being of Black Canadians. This conference will be held on the 1st of April 2023 in Toronto, Ontario. All Black medical students across Canada were invited in 2020 and over 159 delegates attended. Access has since improved for Black applicants to medical school, therefore it is suspected the number of applicants will increase.

Name: Wayne Tse
School: University of British Columbia
Year of Graduation: 2025
Conference (Location): CMA Health Summit (Ottawa)
Description: The CMA Health Summit is an interactive conversation on how we can transform healthcare in Canada. Panelists include physicians and key stakeholders (e.g. healthcare leaders, politicians, healthcare staff, patients etc.) These conversations are intended to bring attention to key problem areas in healthcare and how we can effect change.

Name: Deea Dev
School: University of British Columbia
Year of Graduation: 2026
Conference (Location): National Health Leadership Conference (Toronto)
Description: The National Health Leadership Conference (NHLC) is the largest national gathering of health system leaders from all walks of life across Canada. This year, the conference will be held on June 4-6 in Toronto, Ontario. The theme for the conference is REUNITED! – it aims to present a platform for world-class leadership development, mentorship, meaningful discussions through plenary sessions and networking spaces. Throughout the conference, the five domains from the LEADS in a Caring Environment Capability Framework will be highlighted (Lead self, Engage others, Achieve results, Develop coalitions, Systems transformation).

Name: Mahan Maazi
School: University of British Columbia
Year of Graduation: 2026
Conference (Location): Canadian Conference on Physician Leadership (Vancouver)
Description: The Canadian Conference on Physician Leadership in Vancouver from May 26-27 is an opportunity to learn about initiatives, goals, skills, and current topics on leadership in medicine in Canada. I will have an opportunity to gain important knowledge and network with other medical students, residents, and physicians across the country. The attendees will include many people within medicine including future colleagues and mentors. I hope I have an opportunity to meet like minded individuals and learn from them.

Previous Winners - Round #2

Name: Tiffany Dickinson
School: Queen's University
Year of Gradation: 2025
Conference (Location): Canadian Conference on Physician Leadership (Vancouver)
Description: Canadian Conference on Physician Leadership (CCPL), occurring May 26-27 in Vancouver BC. Conference is being held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Content of the conference will include several keynote speakers and breakout sessions all focusing on different aspects of physician leadership. I assume attendees will be primary physicians, however the conference is open to medical students and non-physicians.

Name: Gisele Tucker Belliveau
School: University of Alberta
Year of Gradation: 2025
Conference (Location): Canadian Conference on Physician Leadership (Vancouver)
Description: The 2023 Canadian Conference of Physician Leadership will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver, BC on May 26 and 27, 2023 with a theme of “Healing our Health System: Leadership for Renewal”. This conference offers Canadian physicians at all stages of their careers, including medical students, the opportunity to develop practical leadership and management skills, to network, and to celebrate physician leadership. During this conference, we will listen to and learn from excellent keynote speakers and be provided with the opportunity to customize our experience by registering in workshop sessions that align with our leadership interests.

Name: Isham Umair
School: University of Manitoba
Year of Gradation: 2025
Conference (Location): Canadian Conference on Physician Leadership (Vancouver)
Description: Canadian conference on physician leadership is taking place in Vancouver, BC between May 26-27 with an estimated turnout of 400 attendees. The conference program will provide new insights and tools to enable and encourage attendees, as leaders, to step up and make the positive changes needed to heal of our ailing health system. The conference also provides an excellent opportunity to come together, network, share experiences and learn from others who have the same passion for leadership.

Name: Harram Memon
School: University of Manitoba
Year of Gradation: 2025
Conference (Location): Canadian Conference on Physician Leadership (Vancouver)
Description: Canadian conference on physician leadership is taking place in Vancouver, BC between May 26-27 with an estimated turnout of 400 attendees. The conference program will provide new insights and tools to enable and encourage attendees, as leaders, to step up and make the positive changes needed to heal of our ailing health system. The conference also provides an excellent opportunity to come together, network, share experiences and learn from others who have the same passion for leadership.

Name: Farhad Ghaseminejad
School: University of British Columbia
Year of Gradation: 2025
Conference (Location): CMA Health Summit (Ottawa)
Description: The Canadian Medical Association’s (CMA) Health Summit is an opportunity for health care providers, advocates, health leaders and learners to bring their expertise together and explore innovative ways of transforming health care in Canada. As this is a crucial time in Canadian health care, this summit facilitates pertinent conversations between stakeholders and allows for collaborations necessary for instigating change

Name: Michele Zaman
School: Queen's University
Year of Gradation: 2025
Conference (Location): 2023 North American Refugee Health Conference (Calgary)
Description: I am extremely grateful for CFMS and the building leaders fund for alleviating some of the financial burden associated with me attending NARHC 2023. I am very passionate about global health, specifically migration and refugee care. This is a topic I hope to advocate for as a future physician and being able to connect with health care workers from all over North America who are also passionate about this topic will be very beneficial to me. I’m so grateful also to be able to share my research project that I worked tirelessly on throughout the past two years on top of medical school. This project means so much to me and I’m very excited for this professional opportunity. Thank you to CFMS for helping making it all happen!

Name: Mary Hoekstra
School: Queen's University
Year of Gradation: 2024
Conference (Location): 4th Canadian Plant-Based Nutrition Conference 2023 (Toronto)
Description: The 4th Annual Plant-Based Nutrition Conference will be held in Toronto this year. This conference aims to provide evidence-based education in the field of plant-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine for prevention and treatment of chronic disease. The theme this year is transformation, both at a systems level and personally. The 3 keynote speakers include multidisciplinary experts from Canada and the US, including Dr. Frank Hu, the Chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School. Both health professionals and members of the public are invited to attend.

FAQ

I’m not applying to one of the preferred conferences, should I still apply?

Absolutely! As a brand new CFMS program, we expect applicants to apply to many different conferences. While preference is given to the conferences listed above, any conference that meets the stated theme requirements is eligible! Please make sure you review the conference eligibility criteria.

How much money can I get? What is covered?

The portion of the fund awarded to each applicant will be based on the discretion of the VP Finance. Successful candidates will be asked to meet (virtually) with the VP Finance for a brief chat. Sign up fees, presenting fees, poster costs, travel (ground and air) and hotel accommodations are all eligible for coverage, pending the conversation with the VP finance. Remember, the CFMS operates on a reimbursement model so you must keep your receipts in order to receive a cheque!

When will I be informed if I was chosen?

We will do our best to notify all applicants, successful and not, within 10 business days of each deadline.

Can I submit more than once?

You can only submit each conference once, but you are welcome to submit more than one conference!

Can I apply as an MD/PhD Student?

Yes, MD/PhD students are eligible to apply, even if you are currently completing your PhD years.

Can I apply during a gap year?

It depends. You must be an enrolled and active student at the time of the funding application and the time of the conference. For example, if you are an unmatched student completing a fifth year, you are eligible during the fifth year. If you are currently on a break from your medical studies, you would not be eligible.

Can I attend conferences in the summer?

Yes, conferences can occur during the summer. However, if you are a final year medical student, they must occur BEFORE you start residency on July 1, 2023.