EDI Action Fund
CBN is a student club that organizes free, fun and engaging events that bring together international and domestic student at Temerty Medicine. Their events create welcoming environments that are ideal for cross-cultural socializing and much more.
On May 28, 2023, CBN hosted a hand building pottery class at the Gardiner Museum. Despite the limited spots, more than 70 graduate students across departments at the Temerty Medicine registered. On a first come, first served basis, 20 individuals participated, including 10 international students and 10 domestic students.
FAMS was supported to present their research on the under-representation of Filipinos in medicine at the International Congress on Academic Medicine (ICAM) in April 2023.
Their presentation and research was translated into a social media campaign in recognition of Filipino Heritage Month in Canada.
The HMSA hosted a panel discussion on Hispanic Health in the GTA: Cultural Sensitivity and Barriers to Care as their very first event, on March 28, 2023.
The panelists shared valuable insights into the healthcare needs of the Hispanic community in the GTA, and there was great discussion on how they can work together to address these needs.
Now known as the Canadian Association of Latin Medical Students (CALMS), the group looks forward to hosting more events like this in the future.
With the Reading the Margins Book Club, medical learners come together with the goal of reading books written by women of colour, in order to uplift marginalized voices and call attention to social justice/equity issues that are not otherwise covered in the medical curriculum. The book club currently has 64 members across all years of medicine, with the first meeting held on on May 16, 2023.
Through this book club, discussion on sensitive issues related to social justice, equity, and intersectionality is facilitated in a safe space. For example, books such as "Take My Hand" by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, "Firekeeper's Daughter" by Angeline Boulley, "As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow" by Zoulfa Katouh and "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri address a range of topics including medical racism, colonialism, the impact of war on health equity, and more. These novels paved the way for very insightful discussion between group members.
Diverse faculty and staff at Tanz were invited to participate as mentors for Tanz trainees. Considering that individuals stem from diverse academic and personal backgrounds, it is essential that everyone is provided an environment to prosper through support-equity.
This provided trainees at the Tanz an opportunity to interact with supervisors and peers in an informal setting enabling them to seek guidance, support and advice, an opportunity that is otherwise not available to them. It propelled students/post-docs and supervisors from a range of ages, educational level, and experiences to come together in a setting and share experiences in a growth stimulating and non-judgmental environment.
Each students’ questions and concerns for the mentorship program are collected and then anonymously shared with the supervisor mentoring, to address student needs using a target-based approach. Additionally, the small group setup enabled more close-knit interactions and have evidently fostered relationships across labs at the Tanz.
Food insecurity was an issue raised at the Tanz and this initiative indirectly targets that by offering lunch to students during these sessions, in this way, we can respect student privacy associated with food insecurity and minimize stigma around the topic. This initiative officially commenced September 2023 and is currently ongoing till May 2024.
RSI Disability Book Launch
This collection of books at the Rehabilitation Student Lounge showcases work from disability writers, scholars, educators, activists, and artists, highlighting ways of understanding and learning about disability outside of biomedical perspectives.
It encourages ongoing learning about disability while prompting critical reflection on how disability, ableism, and eugenics connect and intersect with other forms of oppression such as racism, classism, homophobia, and transphobia and the implications for rehabilitation research and practice.