Networking for the future of health care

Over 700 first-year medical students from across Ontario gathered in Toronto to talk about the importance of social networking in medicine and to begin developing new skills during the Ontario Medical Students Weekend (OMSW). The annual event was hosted at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from October 18 - 20.

This year’s theme, “Medicine is Social”, reflected the growing role of technology in day-to-day life.  As more people connect using platforms like Facebook and Twitter, many doctors are also increasing their online presence to help both their patients and the public.

It’s a concept that was woven into several of the weekend’s activities.

“People, even if they’re far apart, will be tweeting at each other, and engaging in a social determinants of health forum through Twitter,” said Latif Murji, OMSW co-chair.

The weekend gave participants a chance to meet students from other parts of Ontario.

“It’s nice to know what other people are doing at other schools, how their curriculum is set out, and to network, because these are going to be my colleagues in the future,” said Elliott Cohen, a student at Queen’s University in Kingston.

The three-day event also featured lectures from influential physicians, and introduced medical students to some basic clinical skills such as intubation, casting and baby delivery.

“A lot of us won’t be able to practice any of this until we start our clerkships, or even our residency, so having that glimpse of the types of skills that we can do definitely is a good start to the year,” said François Doiron, who is studying at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

OMSW Co-chair Sabrina Nurmohamed explained that Ontario’s medical community is unique, which makes the conference a valuable experience for participants.

“We have a huge density of hospitals, physicians, inter-professional practices, and so we want medical students to embrace this role. I think that once you enter medicine, it’s really easy to get narrow, insular in what you think about, and what you plan for, and we want people to think big and get excited about their future ahead,” she said.

More than 50 exhibitors, including universities and community hospitals, also welcomed delegates during the OMSW Career Fair, showcasing pre-clerkship, clerkship and elective opportunities.