CMSA Meeting Minutes March 11th, 2026

March 11th, 2026

Present: Ryan, Noam, Nicole, Antonio, Ore, Eliana, Ijun, Jaspreet, Duaa, Catherine, Sara, Rica
Absent:
Council:

Minutes

Updates

VP Communication - Eliana

• CMSA website has been updated by Kai!

• Quarterly Review - a public outline of what the CMSA team has been up to. See last year’s Jan - Mar review for an example: Jan-March 2025 review

• Team: please begin creating your sections, with your activities divided by month, since you started your duties. Aim to send it to me by March 28th

  • Can be bullet points

VP Academics - Jaspreet, Nicole

RPCC (February 6th)

• Main update from the previous meeting was reduction (9 shifts) in CEL dates for Class of 2029. Dr. Wu sent an update and clarification out via email for our class and what that looks like.

• Upcoming meeting on Friday

CFMS Academic Round Table

• POCUS/Imaging: All schools who were in attendance at the meeting reported that POCUS was part of their curriculum. Area of identified improvement for UME, and Dr. Smith (Block 3 Director) is eager to collaborate with students about bringing POCUS to pre-clerkship.

• Tracking attendance is a major discussion as more schools are making lectures mandatory. Most schools use a QR code, with many requiring students to scan at both the beginning and end of class.

Block 2 Meeting (February 24)

• Met with the Block 2 Director (Dr. Carolyn Wong), Cards Representatives, Block Representatives, and Assessment Representatives

• Dr. Wong is looking to integrate imaging into tutorials with the goal of bridging the gap between anatomy and curricular content

Student Research Representatives

• We received 11 applications; four from LiM and seven from general MD

• We appointed Brooklynn and Annie

• We had a meeting with them to get them acquainted with the process of these meetings

UMERC Meeting (March 9th)

• Currently working on guidelines for conducting research during medical school, both scholarly project/external

• Our student representatives also joined us for this meeting

• Idea is that we have protection in place for students and a clear set of expectations for both supervisors and students

UMEC (March 6th)

• Noted that some students had a CEL shift after their fundamentals 5 exam, this should not be the case.

• At this meeting we mentioned that we had met with Dr. Wong and our student representatives to address issues.

• UME is currently working on moving things around within Unit 6 to frontload it and make the latter weeks lighter.

Clerkship Committee Meeting (March 10th)

• There have been 2 clerkship information sessions for the Class of 2028. One from SAWH (Dr. Killam) and one from UME (Dr. Weeks).

• More clerkship information sessions are to come, particularly before the Core Electives lottery (June/July 2026).

• Students are encouraged to schedule career planning appointments with SAWH for guidance.

VP Finance - Antonio

Budget approval

• Expected deficit and student fees to manage

• To reach a balance budget we would need to increase fees by $100 for the incoming year without adjustments or ~15% underspend

• Increase is going to happen regardless - consider increasing the initial fees

• Could consider a 5% cut to budget

• Perspective on where to increase budget

• Deficit of $25,000 currently

• Team: Each exec to review budget and make a note of anything that can be taken out/costs that can be lowered

• Can also consider whether sports only clubs can get funding from other avenues.

• Funding is allotted based on main activities of the club

• Feedback form to go out to the class, to gain insight on student perspectives

• Will approve budget virtually or by next meeting

VP Events - Catherine, Ijun

Refunds for Winter Formal

• All processed except for three

• Catherine has had to do a lot of e-transfers recently and will finish it up Friday

• Final email will be sent out to class, individual emails have gone out

Stethoscope ceremony planning has begun! Events x EDIA

• Jersey order submitted

• Next steps for other orders discussed

• Budget questions - more funding from UME is ideal, less from EDIA

MMI

• Good first weekend

• Urgently need more volunteers

• Yay for video!!

• Thank you cards for MMI reps: Jaspreet has some cards we can use

Orientation

• No current vendor for t-shirts ***

• Logo voting for incoming class opening up to wobbey’s soon

Ice Bowl

• Confirming fees associated

• No previous knowledge / hasn’t been run for while

VP Global Health - Sara

Budget:

• CMSA budget is CMSA funded

VP External (Provincial) - Noam

• Attended CPSA Meeting in Edmonton last week (March 5 and 6). Honoraria payment should follow.

• AMA Spring RF in Edmonton on March 13-14.

  • Taking about 7 student observers from UofC.

• PDoA in Edmonton on March 15-16.

  • Topic: Reducing ER wait times. Voted on by students in the survey.

  • Working on finalizing the policy brief. We are aiming to send out the materials on Friday.

  • 16 UofC students will be going to Edmonton as delegates.

  • Organized a roundtable meeting with NDP Caucus and 5 meetings with other MLAs so far

  • We were requesting extra funding in budget as it has been tight this year.

  • We have gotten extra funding ($4500) for this year’s event. Need to make sure that any leftover money goes towards future PDoA’s. This will likely allow us to keep our budget unchanged for next year as leftover money goes towards next year’s event.

  • Have also applied for funding for next year’s PDoA - to discuss with VP finance how we can put that money aside for next year.

• Chaired AMA Committee on Student Affairs Meeting on February 10.

  • We will be adding two more spots at future AMA RFs for Lethbridge students to attend.

• AMA is also recruiting a student for a workforce planning day in Calgary. There will be an honoraria (between $1000 and $2000) attached that will be routed to CMSA.

  • They are looking for a later-year student that has more clinical experience. Jake and I thought that Maren Kimura (Lunky VPX-Provincial) would be a good candidate and she agreed to go.

  • To provide student perspective to AMA

• This work may transition into requiring a student for the whole year for AMA’s Physician Resource Planning Working Group will need a student rep for April from UofC. The term is April 2026-March 2027.

  • The AMA will send me the information soon and I can open an application for UofC students, with a blinded application review process to select a candidate.

  • This role alternates with UofA every year.

VP External (National) - Ore

• RRT roundtable meeting biweekly attendance, working towards in person meeting during ICAM

• Joined CFMS Representatives Roundtable (RRT) in March 2025 and discussed Match day, snow day policies, national educational experiences and Success in Medicine Curriculum, as well as Board Updates and CMSC Reminders

• Helped with the marking and evaluation of two rounds of Student Initiative Grant (SIGs) applications.

• Distributed National survey - CFMS: Student Experiences With the AFMC Electives Portal 2.0 Survey

• The Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS) represents medical students on AFMC committees that oversee the AFMC Electives Portal. This past year marked the first cycle under the Portal’s new Capacity-Based Model, including changes to how visiting elective capacity is allocated via a lottery-based distribution.

• We’re collecting feedback from final-year students who used the Portal this year to better understand what worked, what didn’t, and where student advocacy is needed moving forward. There is strong interest in these findings from the AFMC and electives offices across Canada, and the CFMS will share a summary of results with relevant stakeholders to support concrete improvements to the visiting electives experience for students.

• Sent acceptances for Round 4 of CMSA Conference Funding with the Conference Funding Committee (VPX-Provincial, VP Finance).

VP SAW - Ryan

Jan/Feb Events:

• Dr.Kilam Q&A

• Review session on student supports on April 20th

  • PFSP will be present

  • SAWH will be there

  • MHT representatives

• Met with CFMS Wellness reps to

Student Groups

• Thoughts on using Wellness money to support wellness events for groups?

  • Case by case basis depending on scope of each event/student group

• WeCare birthday celebrations are back up and running!

• Still continue to attend National Wellness Roundtables

• CFMS Budget- $1500 to budget

• Weekly Wellness update from Jess in the newsletter

VP EDI - Rica

• Started planning for class of 2029 Welcome to the Profession with VP Events

• Advocating for more funding for EDIIA - discussing with Antonio.

President - Duaa

Referendum or Budget Feedback:

• We might want to ask students whether they want to fund med sports clubs hosting sports gatherings only, or whether they should explore creating a club under the SU (open to all university students)?

Survey & Funding Application Revisions:

• A class-wide document has been created → dates will be finalized before sending out later today. A Q/A after class would be helpful for students who may have questions/concerns.

ACTION ITEM: The club approval survey needs to be revised and link shared on document to be sent to the class:

• Clubs must state how they are fairly recruiting

• Whether similar groups exist and how they might collaborate

• How they are ensuring proper outreach to the student body regarding club activities

• Must also list executive positions held to ensure compliance with bylaws

ACTION ITEM: Funding applications also need to be revised to include an environmental scan

ACTION ITEM: I propose that club approval and funding applications to fall under a VP Student Affairs (with council oversight/management)

Funding for AGM (Fall 2026):

• Need to decide who attends with budget in mind. My thoughts:

  • President Sr./Jr.

  • VP National Sr.

  • VP Academic Sr./Jr.

  • VP Sr.

• Seniors vs Junior attendance ideas

  • Junior and seniors should attend together

  • Juniors go to Western Deans (in Edmonton) instead of AGM

ACTION ITEM: Also need to decide date for SGM pre-brief

Sponsorship Structure:

• Examined public sources and reached out to group chats with executives across western MSAs:

  • UBC – Accepts sponsors for specific events and hosts paid presentations

  • USask – MNP, Scotiabank, MD Financial, RBC

  • UofA – Accepts paid presentations and is looking to have paid booths during student fairs

  • UofM – Manitoba Doctors

• According to MedHousing, UofA, UBC, NOSM, and Dalhousie all have tiered sponsorship for O-Week

  • Discounts and fees in exchange for digital advertisements

  • Coordinate with Eliana, Kai (sponsorship page on website, help attract other sponsors)

  • Event specific sponsorships

ACTION ITEM: We should create a Student Sponsorship Committee (SCS) under the VP Finance portfolio along with a sponsorship policy that complies with university policies, in case student groups choose to seek sponsorship in the future and need guidance. I have created a draft document.

Revenue Generation Proposal:

• Met with Shannon to seek approval for revenue streams. I have created a proposal document detailing these revenue streams and feedback being sought from VP Finance and Events.

ACTION ITEM: Need to send Shannon and Amy the completed proposal for approval.

• Need to reach out to MedHousing, financial institutions (MNP, RBC, Scotiabank/MD Financial, and other groups (UniBanq, QBank, UWorld, etc.) regarding sponsorship.

• Already met with UniBanq who is keen to sponsor.

• I have created a draft sponsorship package to share with these groups. This document needs to be reviewed by VP Events and Finance, then shared with the broader council. The goal is to trial this year with orientation week, etc.

ACTION ITEM: Connect with Kai regarding creating a sponsorship page on the website.

Unselected Jersey Logos - Update:

• SAWH has button-making tools they can provide for use and have shared the website where they purchased the pin-making tools (sizes1.25” size and 2.25”) https://www.sixcentpress.com/buttons

ACTION ITEM: Reach out to logo designers to seek permission for the use of their logo.

ACTION ITEM: Approximate budgetary costs regarding button/pin materials and sticker costs (stickers can be made in-house by bookstore, $0.60 each for matte, $1 each for vinyl if min. 200 ordered)

Agenda

Previous Meeting Minutes Approval

2 minutes–Eliana

• Mover: Catherine

• Seconder: Jaspreet

VP & President Updates

20 minutes

UME Jersey Update

10 minutes–Catherine/Ijun, Duaa

• T-Shirt + Placard Quotes

Student Groups Update

10 minutes–Ryan, Duaa

AGM Funding & Delegate List

5 minutes–Duaa

Sponsorship Structures

10 minutes–Duaa, Antonio, Catherine/Ijun

Action Items

Please flag any items under your portfolios that are no longer relevant to your current scope or have changed since the last constitution revision. The best way to do this is to download a copy of the constitution and keep tracked changes of any flagged items. This will make it easier during time for ratification.