In August, we had the opportunity to attend the Canadian Medical Association’s (CMA’s) 149th Annual Meeting and General Council (GC), as part of a program designed to get more students, residents and early-career physicians involved: the CMA Ambassador Program.
In case you didn’t know, GC is like the Parliament of medicine and welcomes over 600 health care leaders to a different city in Canada each August. During the four-day meeting, we had the opportunity to join our peers in discussing current issues affecting our profession, such as indigenous health, climate change, resiliency and palliative care, to name a few. We even had the opportunity to participate in an exclusive Q&A session with the federal minister of health.
We’re proud to be CMA Ambassadors because we know that, as our national association, the CMA is committed to giving us a voice as physicians of the future. Plus, the CMA makes it easy to get involved and share your input. For example, you could:
- Host a discussion group within your medical school, residency program or peer group to discuss topics that are important to you and your peers.
- Join the CMA’s MD-MP Contact Program, which matches members with their local Member of Parliament and provides support for grassroots advocacy.
- Participate in the CMA Member Voice e-Panel, and receive surveys 4–6 times per year to weigh in on emerging issues affecting the profession.
If you’d like more information about any of these programs, you can contact the team at yourvoice@cma.ca. We believe we should all consider being engaged with the CMA ― we guarantee that it’s worth your time and will make a difference.
Josh, Gurmeet, and Bryce
Photographer: M. Holleron, © Canadian Medical Association 2016
