Global Health Opportunities

The CFMS Global Health Program represents CFMS medical students at the International Federation of Medical Students’ Association (IFMSA) General Assembly meetings (GAs). These GAs occur twice a year, in March and August. A delegation of 8-10 people are sent per meeting which are 7 days long and exceptional opportunities for connecting with medical students from around the world on projects and initiatives, updating the IFMSA on the CFMS’ activities, and building global health diplomacy and leadership skills for delegates.

IFMSA March Meeting 2023 Report

Here is our official delegation report for the IFMSA March Meeting 2023 that took place in Estonia.

CFMS IFMSA March Meeting 2023 Delegation Khalidha Nasiri, Director of Global Health, Head of Delegation Madeleine Kruth, IFMSA Coordinator, Co-Head of Delegation Lauren Wong, National Exchanges Officer (NEO), SCOPE Kanwarpreet Karwal, National Officer of Public Health (NOPH), SCOPH Jun Kim, National Officer of Global Health Education (NOGHE), SCOME Bonnie Liu, General Delegate, SCORP Michelle Lisonek, General Delegate, SCORA Angie Hu, SCORE Advisor, SCORE

March Meeting 2023 delegation from left to right: Madeleine Kruth, Michelle Lisonek, Jun Kim, Lauren Wong, Bonnie Liu, Khalidha Nasiri, Kanwarpreet Karwal, Angie Hu

Testimonials

The experience of attending the MM23 provided me with new insights into global health, medical education, and advocacy. The meeting acts as a forum for those who are most engaged in their NMOs and who represent the interests of medical students in their country, so the privilege of attending and meeting other delegates is fantastic. Learning about the successes and challenges of medical education, care, and provision others face internationally helped me contextualise the current challenges we see in Canada and reinvigorated my desire to seek creative and novel solutions in collaboration with other medical students, practitioners, and advocates, both in Canada and abroad. - Madeleine Kruth, MS1 University of Alberta

Madeleine Kruth, Khalidha Nasiri, and the CFMS Canada official mascot “Timmy Beary Horton

Representing Canada at the March Meeting was an unbelievably amazing opportunity. I am grateful that I was able to meet so many medical students from around the world, learn about other cultures and engage in meaningful discussions about enhancing medical education at a national and international level. I was inspired by what groups in other countries have accomplished, and am excited to apply my new learnings to future initiatives at CFMS Canada. - Lauren Wong, MS2, University of Alberta

Jun Kim doing roll call for CFMS Canada during a plenary session

The IFMSA March Meeting is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent CFMS Canada on a global stage in terms of plenary voting, while learning about important human rights & peace issues (e.g. international human rights, migrant health, medical student professional obligations during disaster events, etc) and how other countries champion advocacy based on their unique local/national issues. Over the course of the week, I was able to make connections with medical students from all corners of the world (e.g. Brazil, Australia, Sudan, Serbia), compare their vs our medical education, and find commonalities in our shared experience as a medical student. I’d like to sincerely thank my amazing delegate team of CFMS and IFMSA Quebec as well as my supportive NORP whom I’ve gotten to get close with over the whirlwind of a week. - MS1, Bonnie Liu, Western University

Holding voting cards up during a vote. Can you find the CFMS Canada flag?

We usually have 1-2 spots for general members to attend with our delegation. General members who attend with the delegation have their accommodation, food, and registration costs covered, as well as most of their flight costs. To stay updated on our call for general delegates, please subscribe to our newsletter and bookmark our LinkTree (check out our “Global Health & IFMSA Opportunities” page), and follow the cfms on social media @cfmsfemc. You can also get in touch with our IFMSA Coordinator at [email protected].

Lauren Wong and Angie Hu at the Exchanges Fair

CFMS merch at the Exchanges Fair