CMSA Meeting Minutes Aug 12, 2026

CMSA Council Meeting Minutes

Date: August 12, 2026
Present: Ryan, Noam, Nicole, Antonio, Eliana, Ijun, Jaspreet, Duaa, Catherine, Sara, Rica
Absent:
Council: Ore

Updates

VP Communications — Eliana

• Quarterly Reports

  • Q1: For reference.

  • Q2: Please add your sections by mid-September.

  • Q3: Feel free to get started.

• Email

  • Sue-Ann is covering for Matthew, who is away until Monday.

• Sponsor Posts

  • Gold: Blurbs are in and will be posted this week.

  • Bronze:

VP Academics — Jaspreet and Nicole

Sign-Out Sheets: August 7 Review Session

• Dr. Wu clarified to the VPAs and directly to the Class of 2028 that:

  • “There are no plans and there have been no conversations about requiring students to sign out of any events.”

  • The sign-out sheets that were posted “will not be looked at.”

• Messages from the VPAs were posted in the Messenger chat during the Friday session, and again later Friday evening after receiving more information from Dr. Wu.

• The VPAs will follow up with Dr. Wu to prevent this from occurring again and to bring forward ongoing student concerns.

• Many students have expressed that the incident compromised their trust with the UME.

Baby Animal Exam Information and Study Tips Session

• The VPAs and Assessment Representatives, Calveen Basi and Simar Gill, co-created a presentation on:

  • The structure of RIME MCQ exams.

  • Study and note-taking tips for pre-clerkship.

• The session occurred during Week 1.1.3.

• Over 120 Baby Animals from the Lethbridge and Foothills campuses attended.

• Feedback was very positive, and students have requested a similar session before the Block 1 OSCE.

Anatomy Representatives Meeting

• The VPAs recently met with the Anatomy Representatives, Matt Penney and Mehr Malhotra, to discuss the future vision for anatomy content within the RIME curriculum.

• The representatives have been working with the Anatomy teaching team and hope to present their ideas to the broader UME team in the fall.

FMCE Small Group Feedback Survey

• Many students reported that their FMCE small-group sessions had a hostile and/or uncomfortable environment in which they did not feel safe sharing their opinions.

• There was previously no channel to report this feedback.

• Jaspreet created a Qualtrics survey to be distributed to the class.

• Anonymized feedback will be sent to Dr. Wu.

Class Updates with Dr. Theresa Wu

• Dr. Wu met with the Class of 2028 on Tuesday, August 4.

• Session notes were sent by email from Dr. Wu and shared in the Facebook Messenger chat by Nicole.

Clinical Skills

• There are current challenges with Block 3 preceptor shortages and last-minute cancellations.

• These challenges have resulted in large clinical-skills groups that compromise the learning experience.

• Solutions are being explored.

Anatomy

• Block 3 anatomy sessions are occurring in both classroom and ATSSL spaces, depending on the week.

• During the 3.9.3 session, the anatomy team stated that this change is partly due to a lack of available preceptors.

Student Groups

• Dr. Wu expressed concern that there are too many student-run events.

• She requested feedback on whether demand for these sessions is arising from gaps in the current curriculum, so that the UME can address those gaps.

• ATSSL is becoming overwhelmed by event-space requests and may significantly limit the spaces available.

VP Finance — Antonio

• Final gold sponsor.

• Clubs’ Fair and MedFest

  • Registration numbers.

  • Team.

• Clubs Funding

• Collecting the final four to five student fees from the incoming class.

VP Events — Catherine and Ijun

Stethoscope Ceremony

• Event is now complete.

• Professionalism concerns noted.

• Received great comments from Baby Animals about the event.

Med Gala

• Menu finalized; all meats changed to halal.

• Creating a lower-sensory space with alternative activities for attendees to take a break from loud music.

• DJ finalized.

• Currently at 165 attendees; maximum capacity is 300.

• RSVP deadline is August 22 and will not be extended. No exceptions will be made.

SLA

• A demand letter has been sent to the venue.

• Council will be informed if any payment is received or if SLA receives a response from the venue.

• Blackout period: August 15 to September 21.

Orientation

• DLRI BBQ and Med Olympics went well.

• Feedback:

  • Choosing a winner was challenging.

  • Next year, use a different scoring system.

  • Involve DLRI more actively in engaging with students.

• Approximately 160 RSVPs were received; approximately 88 participants attended.

Upcoming Events

• MedFest: Saturday, August 29.

• Update needed on student-club sign-ups.

• The Amazing Race: Planning is underway, incorporating a passport system.

• Baby Animals’ class-name nominations are complete, and the first round of voting is complete.

• SAMP students will receive accommodation support through SAMP, including Alt Hotel accommodations and mileage reimbursement.

• Clarify the role of VP Events in planning this.

• VP Events members are encouraged to be at booths for student groups they are involved with in case they are needed for support.

Jersey Representative

• Brainstorming a name change for the Jersey Representative role in the upcoming non-executive elections.

Rock Your Locks

• Very successful event.

• Shoutout to Clara.

Malpractice Mixer

• Date finalized: October 30.

• There is overlap with the Wellness Retreat, but this was determined to be the most feasible date after discussion.

VP Global Health — Sara

• Reaching out to the MGM group to plan a simulation event.

VP External, Provincial — Noam

CPSA

• Attending the CPSA meeting in Edmonton on September 8–9.

• Working with CPSA staff to develop better handover materials for future student representatives on the CPSA Council.

Fall RF

• Organizing a group of seven student observers to attend Fall RF on September 25–26:

  • Four students from the current class.

  • Two Baby Animals: one from Foothills and one SAMP student.

  • One spot reserved for the VPX Jr.

AMA Family Medicine Committee Representative

• The AMA requires a UofC student representative to sit on the Family Medicine Committee by September 30 for a one-year term.

• Reached out to FMRIG about collaborating on selection but has not yet received a response.

• An application process with blinded selection will be required.

• Pending a response from FMRIG, the application will be open to both classes.

• Reached out to Family Medicine and Rural Medicine student groups to be involved in selection.

• Seeking ideas for application questions.

Committee Commitment

• Minimum of nine meetings per year:

  • One per month except July, August, and September.

  • Joint meetings with SRM/PLE.

• No meetings are currently scheduled.

• Planned in-person meetings:

  • April in Calgary.

  • June in Edmonton.

• Retreat: October 22–24 in Banff.

Meeting with MLA Dr. Luanne Metz

• Ren, the GAAC, is organizing a lunchtime session for medical students to meet MLA Dr. Luanne Metz, NDP MLA for Calgary-Varsity, on September 16.

• The session will use a town hall format to answer questions about health care and current Alberta policy, from an NDP perspective.

• Ren is asking whether there is room in the budget to provide snacks.

• Antonio to advise on budget availability.

• CMSA will not fund political events.

• Dr. Metz will also try to arrange a separate joint meeting with SAMP and NAMP students.

• Potential contacts for coordination:

  • Dr. Andruski.

  • UofL room-booking contact.

Honoraria for Indigenous Health Committee Representative

• Goal: Ensure honoraria for lived experience are compensated separately from the medical-student perspective.

• Last year’s Council decided that any honoraria received by the AMA Indigenous Health Committee Student Representative(s) would be earmarked for the future or current Indigenous Medical Students’ Association (IMSA).

• Sydney Moore at the Indigenous Health Office has been contacted to ask whether progress has been made toward an IMSA at UofC.

• The UofA representative may now be receiving honoraria directly.

• The AMA is concerned this could be unfair if the UofC representative does not receive payment directly.

• More information will be gathered, but Council may need to decide whether to reverse the previous decision.

• Alternative options:

  • Allocate funds to Indigenous-related initiatives rather than to one individual.

  • Seek updated perspectives from the Indigenous Health Office and staff.

  • Consider providing tobacco in addition to honoraria.

VP External, National — Ore

• Western Regional Roundtable is planned and scheduled for next week.

• Will connect with Presidents and VP Externals from current CFMS partner Western medical schools:

  • UBC

  • University of Alberta

  • University of Calgary

  • University of Manitoba

  • University of Saskatchewan

• This is the initial meeting for the 2026–27 school year.

• Topics will include planning and scaffolding for the current cohort, as well as sharing thoughts, ideas, and concerns related to the Western Region.

VP Student Affairs and Wellness — Ryan

Student Groups

• Discuss whether surgery interest groups should overlap or remain specialty-specific.

• VP-SAMP offer required for all groups.

• Clarify whether non-CMSA groups can have booths at Clubs’ Fair.

• Seek Dr. Wu’s opinion on overlap among surgical groups.

• Consider using external resources to cover clinical skills not included in the curriculum through several focused sessions.

• ATSSL considerations.

Academic and Professional Development

• Plan an electives workshop or Q&A session.

• Discuss financial planning for clerkship:

  • Consider a class discussion or session on financial planning.

Clerkship Send-Off Ideas

• Lanyards.

• Mugs.

• Tote bags.

• Other ideas.

• Determine whether anyone has information on mugs.

Wellness Initiatives

• Time Management Workshop was completed with great speakers.

  • Attendance was affected by a conflicting event.

  • Consider offering another session.

• Meditation Retreat planned for next October in Canmore.

  • Jess is working on this.

  • It will be Wobbegong-specific; the next retreat will likely be for Baby Animals.

• Narrative Medicine project with Dr. Miles in SAWH is under discussion.

• Forum on Failure is being discussed.

• The WeCare team is doing an excellent job with monthly birthday celebrations.

VP EDI — Rica

• No updates provided.

President — Duaa

Patagonia Sales

• Reached out to Faireware regarding last year’s issues and what has changed.

• Also considering Green Paw as a new vendor.

Sprucing Up Foothills Green Spaces Initiative

• Connected with student leaders across campus to explore Quality Money applications to improve green spaces at Foothills.

• Connected with AHS to seek approval.

Elections and Student Groups

• Held a Q&A session for SAMP students to share details about upcoming elections and student-group processes.

• CMSA elections information session held for Foothills and SAMP on August 10.

• VP Communications will share the recording and PDF slides.

• Responding to student queries regarding student groups across the Classes of 2028 and 2029.

• Consider hosting an additional session before MedFest.

• A presentation deck has been created and uploaded to the VP Student Affairs portfolio.

• Finalized the Elections Manual and coordinated with Elections Officers to distribute it with timeline information to the Class of 2029.

Election Policy Updates

• Virtual campaigning will now be allowed through the Facebook Messenger chat only.

• Updated rules regarding students holding CMSA executive or non-executive positions who defer to join the next class:

  • If the position is outside curricular responsibilities, such as the WeCare Committee, the student may remain in the role until the end of the term for their previous class or forfeit the role and run for re-election with the new class.

  • If the position is curricular, the decision will be made case-by-case with input from the portfolio lead, Elections Officers, and President.

Western Deans and AGM

AGM Attending Members
Registration to be completed today; planning underway by VPX Sr.

• VPX Jr.

• VPA Jr.

• VPA Sr.

• VPSAW Jr.

• VP Global Health Sr.

• President Jr.

• Western Deans:

  • VP EDIA Sr./Jr.

  • VP SAW Sr./Jr.

  • VPA Sr./Jr. x2

  • VPX Provincial Sr./Jr.

  • VPX National Sr./Jr.

  • President Sr./Jr.

• Roundtable decisions pending.

• CMSA team activity.

Agenda

Previous Meeting Minutes Approval

Time: 2 minutes
Presented by: Eliana

Mover:
Seconder:

Action Items

• All portfolio leads to add their sections to the Q2 quarterly report by mid-September.

• VP Academics to follow up with Dr. Wu regarding the sign-out sheet incident.

• Jaspreet and VP Academics to distribute the FMCE small-group feedback survey.

• Antonio to advise whether there is room in the budget for snacks at the Dr. Metz session.

• Noam and VP External, Provincial to determine the application process and questions for the AMA Family Medicine Committee representative position before September 30.

• VP Communications to share the CMSA elections information session recording and PDF slides.