Let’s build an OMSA that every medical student not only knows about, but feels included in and represented by. No one advances an organization alone. It’s like riding a tandem bicycle; if people pedal at different times, progress is slow, but when investing efforts in sync, we move farther.
My platform priorities:
1) Increase OMSA visibility:
– Improve how we introduce OMSA to students
– Celebrate committee members to spotlight achievements
– Enhance council connections with OMSA committee members
– Outline pathways for OMSA involvement
2) Equitable campus engagement:
– Build relationships with students and medical societies
– Improve connection to satellite campuses
– Address barriers to OMSA involvement
3) Internal efficiency:
– Initiate event-specific finance procedures with improved portfolio cohesion
– Refine VP External role to include passion projects
– Prioritize implementing feedback collected from OMSA committee members
– Cultivate a council atmosphere for healthy discussion
4) Externally amplify:
– Strengthen relationships with provincial leaders and medical societies across Canada
– Establish media exposure for our advocacy efforts
– Advance position papers and longitudinal governance into sustainable outcomes, aligning with OMA priorities
These priorities reflect OMSA’s strategic plan and our core values of inclusion, transparency, connection, and growth. As VP Operations, I’ve advanced every one of my platform commitments and will bring this same accountability to the President-Elect role. My team and I have streamlined hiring, created a strategic plan tracker to evaluate progress, led the onboarding of TMU to OMSA, and implemented a student feedback tool. My goal is simple: ensure every medical student in Ontario benefits from OMSA.
As a current OMSA Grants & Awards Committee Co-Chair, I have worked closely with student leaders across Ontario and seen both the strengths of our organization and the gaps that directly impact students day-to-day. My goal as President-Elect is to focus OMSA’s work on clear, high-impact priorities that address what students are experiencing now.
1. Improving CaRMS transparency and preparedness for students. Many students feel underprepared and lack clear guidance on expectations across specialties. I will advocate for more standardized, province-wide resources, earlier access to mentorship, and clearer communication from residency programs to reduce uncertainty and improve equity in preparation. This will help to promote equity in allowing all students to feel like they have a fair chance at any specialty they desire.
2. Addressing inequities in clinical training opportunities. Access to electives, observerships, and procedural experiences varies significantly across sites and schools. I will work to promote more equitable access and greater transparency in how opportunities are distributed, ensuring all students can build strong clinical foundations regardless of training site. This will help all students succeed in clerkship and in their future careers as physician and changemakers in their communities.
3. Reducing low-yield demands on student time. Students face increasing administrative and curricular burden that does not always translate into meaningful learning. I will advocate for streamlining these demands and promoting protected time that supports both learning and well-being.
I am committed to focused, accountable leadership that prioritizes tangible improvements in the day-to-day experience of Ontario medical students.
Hey Ontario! My name is Oumar and I go to Queen’s. I am running to be your OMSA President-Elect.
A bit about me:
-I raised $40,000+ in fiscal and material support as VP-Student Affairs
-I turned OMSA’s mentorship program from a 30-participant program to one of the largest mentorship programs in the country with over 450 students matched!
-My team and I organized the largest Wellness Retreat in OMSA history (from 106 to 153 attendees!), through collaborating with sponsors
-I drove 3500+ km to visit your schools (and deliver clerkship kits!)
Here is what I will continue to do for you:
Radical Collaboration. I strengthened OMSA’s relationships with sponsors, translating to tens of thousands of dollars in support. As President, I will expand partnerships to decrease the financial burden for students, including travel stipends, conference grants, scholarships, and awards- and I am already in discussions with several organizations to bring these opportunities to fruition!
Launching Ontario Games. In collaboration with our partners, I will work to create a provincial sporting event by-and-for medical students. Ontario Games will be designed to generate surplus-revenue and invest directly into ongoing events like OSMERC, LS/AGM, and Wellness Retreat.
Showing Face. I loved driving to Thunder Bay and other parts of Ontario to deliver clerkship kits. Not every medical student is in the OMSA bubble, and being present will ensure our services reflect what students want. I’ll be on your campus, and I’ll be listening to what is important to you.
Let’s connect.
student_affairs@omsa.ca
(226)-899-5171
Hi, I’m Zoë, a first-year medical student at Queen’s. I’m a Diet Coke enthusiast, just ran my first half marathon, and can eat a full watermelon in one sitting. I also happen to have spent the last two years embedded in OMSA council as VP External, building Queen’s external affairs portfolio and contributing to the groundwork for TMU’s VPX role as they joined the OMSA family.
As President, my goal is to embrace our strong foundation to make OMSA more proactive, connected, and useful for all Ontario medical students.
My platform has four priorities.
First, evidence-based clerkship wellbeing supports: conducting a province-wide clerk burnout assessment to identify the major stressors, then building supports that make a genuine difference.
Second, a clearer pathway for OMSA to amplify student-led advocacy: our students know their communities best, and deserve the agency to drive their own change, backed by OMSA’s credibility.
Third, bridging the gaps in clerkship “basics” across Ontario: from charting, to ward etiquette, to navigating the various EMRs, cross-school knowledge is a powerful tool to aid the big clerkship transition.
Fourth, a centralized observership repository: direct, step-by-step instructions on arranging out-of-region experiences, so that exposure isn’t shaped entirely by geography. We are training to serve all of Ontario, and our learning opportunities should reflect that.
I have the council experience, the cross-school relationships, and the pre-clerkship schedule to implement these initiatives. Ontario’s medical students deserve a president who shows up fully, thinks carefully, and commits 100% to every project, watermelons included.
Hello Ontario!
My name is Andy Bai, and I am a second-year medical student at the University of Ottawa. As future physicians, I strongly believe we have the power to enact positive change in our health care systems. Federally, I organized CFMS NDoA 2025 and currently lead NDoA 2026 preparation as CFMS National Officer of Political Action. Provincially, I attended both 2025 and 2026 OMSA DoA. As uOttawa VP External, I have also gained familiarity with each OMSA portfolio and its internal operations. Now, I would like to focus my advocacy efforts at the provincial level to better impact the delivery of health care. As VP Advocacy, I would like to push for three main actions:
1) Improve communication between Advocacy committees.
– Create a centralized tracker that documents the advocacy efforts of each committee throughout the year to avoid redundancies or overlapping work.
2) Provide formal training and diversify the advocacy efforts of the Longitudinal Government (LG) committee.
– Deliver mandatory training/workshops to LG co-chairs and committee members on how to effectively speak with MPP’s about prior DoA Asks and the OMSA Long-Term Advocacy Plan.
– Send letters, create petitions, and provide resources for medical students to contact their local MPP’s, in addition to requesting meetings with MPP’s.
3) Restructure the Policy, Response, and Implementation Team (PRIT).
– Remove Implementation from PRIT and make it a separate committee with its own co-chairs, where co-chairs provide committee members with initiatives to implement from the get-go to facilitate efficient and targeted work.
As medical students, we are in a unique position: we get a glimpse into every medical discipline while interacting with patients, physicians, and allied health professions. If you are like me, you have found this a very rewarding experience, but not without its frustrations. Seeing the breadth of healthcare also means facing the areas that have long since needed improvement. Hearing from patients and seeing these challenges first-hand has inspired me to create change in the healthcare system, and I can think of no better way to do this than with the OMSA.
My advocacy platform focuses on the most vulnerable communities and the areas where needs are consistently not met. This includes fighting for policy reform focused on fund reallocation towards safe consumption sites; universal medication coverage; improvements to accessible, culturally competent mental health resources; and improved access to long-term care homes. Not only am I passionate about striving for health equity, but I want to support education for medical students. No one knows the struggles of access to care like those on the ground: by amplifying patient stories through community events and working with advocacy initiatives to further their causes, I envision students gaining a deeper understanding of the healthcare system while simultaneously supporting change. Our role as medical students gives us the opportunity to highlight the areas in healthcare that need the most attention, and I would be honoured to be the one to unify our voices and make a change as the VP of Advocacy.
As a current OMSA Grants & Awards Committee Co-Chair, I have had the privilege of working within OMSA’s structure to support student-led initiatives across Ontario. As a delegate at OMSA’s Day of Action, I have directly engaged with policymakers at Queen’s Park, advocating for healthcare and medical education priorities. My cumulative experiences have shaped my understanding of effective advocacy: it must be strategic, collaborative, and focused on tangible outcomes.
1. Expanding student engagement in advocacy. Many students are interested in advocacy but are unsure how to get involved. I will launch the Ontario Medical Student Advocacy Program, which connects students with physicians and NGOs that participate in various advocacy initiatives.
2. Strengthening continuity and follow-through in advocacy efforts. Advocacy should not end at the Day of Action. I will work to ensure that initiatives are sustained year-round, with clear goals, progress tracking, and accountability. I will implement opportunities throughout the year to engage with various stakeholders, including MPPs, MPs, OMA leaders, and medical school curriculum faculty.
3. Building and leveraging strategic partnerships. Effective advocacy requires collaboration. I will work closely with the OMA, external organizations, and internal OMSA portfolios to amplify our collective voice and ensure our priorities translate into action. Partnerships will be aligned with student values such that your voices are amplified, not muted.
I am committed to ensuring that OMSA advocacy is impactful, coordinated, and representative of the needs of Ontario medical students.
I am committed to ensuring that OMSA advocacy is impactful, coordinated, and representative of the needs of Ontario medical students.
Hi everyone! I’m Mohini, an MS1 at Queen’s, and I’m pleased to be running for VP Advocacy.
Like many of you, I began medical school excited to create meaningful, lasting change in Ontario’s healthcare system. This commitment is grounded in my MPH training and healthcare consulting experience, where I developed skills in mapping policy strategies, identifying key interest holders, and crafting evidence-based messaging. Leading the development of an OMSA Position Paper this year has further deepened my advocacy communication skills, complementing my background promoting upstream healthcare approaches in cognitive decline through international conference presentations. Building on these experiences, I aim to empower Ontario’s medical student body to engage in advocacy, as our unique positioning and collective engagement is essential to creating sustainable healthcare systems. As your VP Advocacy, I will advance this goal by:
1. Assigning one advocacy liaison per medical school to ensure student initiatives outside existing OMSA avenues can be represented at council
2. Expanding the Implementation team’s resourcing and scope to include partnership building between student councils and external organizations following Position Paper endorsements
3. Collaborating with the Longitudinal Government Committee to deliver training on initiating and sustaining advocacy projects during clerkship and beyond
Beyond these initiatives, I am committed to representing your voices fairly at OMSA meetings and external events. As the proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” I believe we all have the potential to become effective, thoughtful advocates who together strengthen our communities.
Vote Mohini!
Hi! My name is Olivia, an MS1 at uOttawa and the outgoing Day of Action Co-Chair.
I joined the Advocacy Committee in hopes of engaging with the government and making system-level change upstream of the patient encounter. I feel incredibly grateful to have led our DoA, meeting with MPPs and the OMA, and to have later represented the OMSA at NDP Opposition Day to fight against OSAP cuts.
Moving forward, I am excited to build on this work as VP Advocacy. I believe that the position that medical students hold as advocates is special, as a close ear to our patients and communities while developing an understanding of the physician’s role. My main goal as VP Advocacy is to leverage this position to strengthen the OMSA as a strategic, credible, and recognizable advocacy organization.
If elected, here is what I plan to do:
1) Create a coordinated strategy for government advocacy between DoA and Longitudinal Government (LG) – establish key advocacy priorities with LG early, align the DoA topic with one of these priorities, and collaboratively develop the Long-Term Advocacy Plan.
2) Empower student-led grassroots advocacy via the Implementation Committee – open submissions for student advocacy initiatives, support select projects through Implementation Committee mentorship, funding, and promotion.
3) Increase inter-portfolio collaboration – ensure council is aware of advocacy priorities, work with Northern Ontario & Rural Medicine Committee and Education Portfolio on relevant advocacy initiatives.
I am committed to serving your vision for advocacy, and I hope that you can trust me with this role!
We’ve all felt the weight of the medical curriculum and the looming pressure of CaRMS. It is daunting, but it doesn’t have to be that way. As students, we should feel emboldened to take on the challenge of applying and showcasing our academic, intellectual, and personal triumphs to medical programs that we will one day join. As the VP of Education for OMSA, I want to ensure that students feel truly prepared for the challenges facing them and provide them with the tools, education, support, and community to overcome them. This starts by ensuring that students on the committee feel their input is integral to our mission, a goal I will achieve by gathering diverse input from the education committee and facilitating tangible projects. Then, with their support, I will further develop previous initiatives and establish new ones that enhance learning opportunities for students. For instance, I hope to expand the scope of the Mentorship program and, ideally, allow students the opportunity to have direct and hands-on work experience with mentors in the field of their choosing. Furthermore, I will begin the Research-Mentorship initiative, where students spearhead their own projects, learn valuable research skills, and make meaningful connections, which will greatly improve their CaRMS application. These initiatives all have the same aim: to give students the opportunity to thrive. As VP Education, I am ready to bring my aspirations to fruition and give students the best education they can receive.
My name is Setareh, and I’m excited to be running to serve as your next OMSA Vice President of Education. This role represents my passion for fostering academic excellence and community through advocacy and collaboration.
Throughout my academic journey, I’ve had the privilege of supporting student growth and wellness by coordinating mentorship programs for incoming students, organizing academic and social events that built community, and advocating for better learning resources during the pandemic. These experiences taught me that meaningful change begins by seeking diverse student perspectives and turning them into action.
As VP Education, I will strive to represent the academic concerns of Ontario’s medical students and ensure our voices are heard at key decision-making tables with faculty. I will work to streamline communication channels between students and faculty councils by establishing regular feedback summaries and action-oriented updates that highlight progress on advocacy goals and next steps. Additionally, I plan to strengthen collaborations across OMSA portfolios to enhance CaRMS support, advance equitable access to research opportunities, and work with the Education committees to make MSERG and OSMERC more visible by linking them with student outreach, mentorship, and abstract development support, so students can access these opportunities more easily.
I’m eager to expand student-led initiatives that explore innovative learning models, wellness in training, and the integration of technology in education. My goal is to make OMSA’s educational efforts both impactful and sustainable, so every student feels empowered to thrive academically and professionally.
Thank you for your time and support!
As students, we spend a significant amount of time navigating the medical education system, and deserve to have a voice in actively shaping it. Through past experiences, including on OMSA and my background in provincial politics, working in a non-partisan role with the Minister of Colleges and Universities (MCURES) and an Opposition Critic on the Health file, I’ve gained the skills and insights needed to foster relationships and push for changes to better support students.
My platform is three-fold:
1. Continuity: Over the past two years, I have helped lead the effort for OMSA’s education-advocacy initiatives, from ongoing issues, such as pushing for increased funding for the Clerkship Travel Program or the expansion of Learn and Stay, to emergent issues, including Bill 33 and OSAP. I want to further strengthen this relationship with external stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health, Colleges and Universities, and the OMA, to ensure OMSA continues to be a trusted partner in this work and to see these projects through. Moreover, I want to build upon the institutional knowledge we’ve developed and continue to ground our work in student perspectives.
2. Supports: From educational resources and programming to support at key transition points, to broader supports, including partnering with medical societies to push for policies that improve the learner experience, to advocating for increased financial supports and communication at the medical school level, I want to strengthen our tangible supports for student. I also want to ensure these efforts are inclusive and representative, and integrate the needs and perspectives of our satellite campuses and northern students.
3. Transparency: Building on the Ontario Medical Education Standards report, I want to create an additional transparency mechanism through a public score card, that publicizes this information and tracks progress, to hold schools accountable and provide students a tool to advocate for changes at their home school.
I am running to advance a model of equity that is representative, accountable, and grounded in the diverse realities of medical students across Ontario.
As a student at NOSM University, I am trained within a system rooted in social accountability, community engagement, and distributed medical education. I have seen that EDID in medical training is shaped not only by identity, but also by geography, access, and structural barriers. Yet perspectives from Northern, Rural, and Remote communities remain underrepresented in provincial decision-making. I am running to ensure these voices are not simply included, but meaningfully embedded and consistently prioritized.
My platform is centered on representation that empowers students and drives measurable action.
Through my work with the Dr. Gilles Arcand Centre for Health Equity, including co-authoring “From Evidence to Equity: Advancing Knowledge Translation in Socially Accountable Research,” to be presented at TUFH 2026, I have developed a strong foundation in translating equity into tangible, system-level change. At OMSA, I will strengthen accountability through structured feedback mechanisms, expand accessible channels for student engagement, and ensure equity-deserving voices directly inform decisions that impact their education and wellness.
I will advance EDID by fostering intentional dialogue, strengthening diverse representation, and advocating for culturally safe approaches. I will work collaboratively with student leaders to build transparent, responsive, and sustainable systems.
If elected, I will bring a strong voice to OMSA, grounded in Northern perspectives, driven by action, and committed to advancing EDID for an empowered and inclusive student community.
Hi, I’m Amna (Queen’s MS1)! My platform is built on years of experience in accessible curriculum design, research on institutional equity and anti-racism policies, and leading workshops for 2SLGBTQI+ advocacy. Additionally, having founded mentorship programs for 500+ learners, I understand the barriers students face and how we can dismantle them together.
I will drive sustainable change across three levels:
OMSA Internal: I will normalize inclusive practices, such as pronoun introductions, at all events. In partnership with Bilingualism and Francophone Affairs, I will host beginners’ French workshops and ensure OMSA adheres to the 2025-2026 Bilingual Communications Guidelines, updating these standards as needs evolve. Working alongside the Northern and Rural Medicine committee, I will mandate that event scheduling accounts for northern travel realities to ensure geographic equity.
Student Engagement: I will host semesterly consultations with equity-deserving groups, including mature students, and present these findings at council meetings. Semesterly check-ins will help us address emerging barriers in real-time. I will then provide VP Externals with summarized reports and policy items, ensuring our advocacy is rooted in student input and accountability.
Systemic Impact: I will re-launch the “Student of the Month” spotlight to celebrate learners, especially underrepresented and rural, year-round. To deepen the impact of our EDID conference, I will introduce patient-led panels and reflection sessions. Finally, I will advocate for standardized Ontario-wide modules focusing on clinical competencies like Refugee Health (IFHP navigation) and Indigenous-led cultural safety.
Together, let’s ensure EDID initiatives are student-informed and rooted in the care we provide as future physicians.
I’m running for Vice President of EDI and Decolonization because for many communities, inequity in healthcare is not theoretical, it is lived. As a Black student and an immigrant, I have experienced what it means to navigate systems that were not built with you in mind. That perspective shapes how I approach advocacy. I am not only interested in naming inequities, but in pushing institutions to respond to them in meaningful and accountable ways.
My advocacy is grounded in action. As VP Events with the Black Medical Students’ Association, I helped organize five events over the past year, including community initiatives focused on health education and self empowerment within the Black community, as well as events that brought together Black medical students across the GTA. Through my work with Medicine in Colour and the Black Medical Collective in Ottawa, I have mentored pre med students from under resourced backgrounds through the application process, while supporting initiatives that uplift and advocate for Black medical students and residents. These experiences have shown me that meaningful change depends on who is included in the conversation.
If elected, I will work to move EDI efforts beyond performative statements by supporting tangible and student led advocacy across Ontario. A key priority will be ensuring that EDI curricula are shaped not just by institutions, but by the communities they aim to represent. This includes advocating for consistent involvement of Black and Indigenous community members at the school level in curriculum design and delivery. Centering lived experiences in this way will give students insight that goes beyond what is written on a page, and better prepare them to understand and navigate the realities their future patients face.
I’m running for VP EDID because I’ve seen how easily equity can get treated as more of a checkbox than a priority, and I hope that with the help of the OMSA, we can do better.
Equity in admissions matters to me. Medical schools should reflect the communities we serve, and right now, they don’t. With tools like AI being introduced into admissions, we need to ensure these systems don’t replicate existing biases or create new barriers for underrepresented students.
I want to push for transparency in admissions decisions and advocate for policies that actually expand access. I’ve spent the past few years making space for voices that don’t always get heard. I organized Western’s first ever EDID panel in the Science faculty, where I brought together students and staff to discuss real barriers in healthcare and education. During this time I also founded Kids Health Shelf, where youth from diverse backgrounds write children’s books about health and inclusion. Representation, especially starting at an early age, is something I’m deeply passionate about for both the general public and future physicians at large.
But no school can solve these problems alone. My vision is creating stronger collaboration between EDID departments across Ontario’s medical schools. We’re dealing with similar challenges—why not share strategies, pool resources, and advocate together?
With this application, I also want to be honest and transparent. I don’t have all the answers. I want to learn from this role and from the students it represents. But what I can do is tell you that I am willing to organize, listen, and do the work to make OMSA’s advocacy meaningful.
Strong financial systems are the foundation of OMSA’s impact, enabling advocacy, events, and student initiatives to succeed. Through my experience as OMSA Deputy Finance and CFMS National Officer of Services, I have developed a deep understanding of how thoughtful financial processes can empower student leaders and strengthen our organization. I have supported reimbursement workflows, reduced administrative burden, and secured partnerships with over 30 external organizations to deliver value to medical students across Canada .
If elected VP Finance, I will focus on three priorities:
1. Timely, student-centered reimbursements.
Reimbursement delays place unnecessary strain on students. I will reduce bottlenecks by introducing additional approval capacity and streamlining processes so reimbursements are efficient, predictable, and reliable.
2. Strategic and sustainable sponsorship.
I will strengthen the sponsorship committee by better integrating members within event teams, improving accountability, and incentivizing engagement. I also aim to expand sponsorship capacity and pursue new partnerships to sustainably support OMSA programming.
3. Transparent and accessible financial systems.
I will maintain a well-organized, regularly updated finance drive and develop a centralized FAQ to ensure financial processes are clear, accessible, and easy to navigate for all members.
Having worked within OMSA’s finance portfolio, I understand both its strengths and opportunities for growth. I am committed to building a more efficient, transparent, and student-centered financial system that enables OMSA to better serve its members.
I’m running for Vice President of Finance because I’ve really enjoyed my time working with the Finance portfolio this year, and I would like to take on a greater role supporting Ontario medical students and the Council.
I currently serve as one of the co-chairs of the Grants & Awards Committee, where I help oversee the scoring of OMSA awards and the development of rubrics for new awards. Through this role, I have gained direct experience evaluating applications, developing review criteria, and supporting a fair and consistent selection process. I was also previously involved in the WEPS Committee, and I bring additional experience managing finances across school groups. These experiences have helped me develop the organization, accountability, and attention to detail needed for this role.
If elected, I would focus on three key areas for improvement. First, I would explore ways to better support the administrative load of the VP Finance role by strengthening transition materials, improving internal organization, and discussing with the President-Elect how to improve continuity over time. Second, I recognize that sponsorship efforts have been a challenge within the Finance portfolio this year. I would work to make sponsor outreach more structured and sustainable through earlier outreach, tiered sponsorship packages, practical outreach tools, and clear goals to better support awards and student initiatives across portfolios. Finally, drawing on my experience overseeing award evaluation and developing rubrics for new awards, I would aim to improve transparency around selection criteria and strengthen scoring consistency across reviewers.
My name is Vikram and I am running for OMSA VP Finance because I want OMSA’s money to work harder for all of us. Managing budgets might not sound exciting, but I see it as a way to turn student ideas into reality. Whether it’s funding grants, supporting OMSA events, managing sponsorships, or helping students get reimbursed faster, finance is about helping our Ontario medical student community thrive.
I’ve spent the last four years handling large budgets and sponsorships, so I know how to stay organized while leaving room for creativity. As VP Finance at U of T’s Medical Society, I have worked to support student initiatives through thoughtful budgeting and long-term financial oversight. In addition, I served as a committee member on two OMSA committees this year, where I helped secure sponsorships and gained valuable insight into how OMSA operates. Even prior to medical school, during undergrad, I managed the biggest cash flow of any ratified student club and raised over $30k in sponsorships each year.
As your VP Finance, my priorities are simple: refine internal record-keeping processes to promote accurate and transparent financial records, manage the responsible distribution of grants, and improve the reimbursement process so you receive your reimbursements quicker. Most of all, I want you to feel confident that OMSA funds are 100% devoted to the medical student body.
I would be honoured to serve as your next OMSA VP Finance and support medical students across Ontario!
OMSA represents over 3,000 medical students across Ontario, and the Vice President of Operations is responsible for ensuring this organization runs with the structure, accountability, and strategic clarity that our membership deserves. I am running for this role because I believe my experience in healthcare strategy and organizational leadership has prepared me to strengthen OMSA from the inside out.
As Manager of Strategic Initiatives at The Hospital for Sick Children, I led the development of an enterprise-wide Clinical Research Strategy engaging over 530 stakeholders, implemented Objective and Key Results across multiple portfolios, and regularly presented to executive committees to drive institutional transformation. I understand what it takes to build a strategic plan that does not just sit on a shelf, it requires clear ownership, measurable goals, and consistent follow-through. I will bring this same discipline to OMSA’s Strategic Plan, ensuring every executive and committee is accountable to the priorities they set.
My MBA training gave me formal training in governance, organizational design, and process optimization. I will apply these skills to streamline how OMSA’s 25+ committees are structured, hired, and coordinated, reducing redundancy and making it easier for students to contribute meaningfully.
My three commitments as VP Operations: hold every member of the Executive Board to transparent, measurable deliverables tied to a renewed and impactful Strategic Plan; modernize committee governance so that roles are clearly defined and efficiently organized; and ensure the Constitution and Bylaws reflect the evolving needs of Ontario’s medical students. OMSA deserves operational excellence. I am ready to deliver it.
My name is Agam Chauhan, and I am a first-year medical student at Western University. As a member of the OMSA Governance Committee this year, I worked closely with the VP Operations to strengthen internal systems, including developing EDI metrics for the hiring cycle and building an initial framework for strategic goal tracking.
This experience has shown me both the strengths of OMSA’s operations and has shaped my three priorities as VP Operations: Transparency, Continuity, and Engagement.
First, I aim to improve organizational transparency by developing a high-level, publicly accessible progress tracker on the OMSA website. OMSA does extensive advocacy, education, and student support work, but its impact is not always visible to the broader student body. A centralized dashboard would better showcase this work and strengthen accountability.
Second, I will build on existing efforts in strategic tracking and evaluation by refining tools to monitor long-term goals and standardizing post-event and committee feedback collection. This will support stronger inter-committee knowledge sharing and preserve institutional knowledge year-to-year.
Finally, one of the long-term priorities of VP Operations is to work with the OMA and VP Education to grow the OMSA Alumni Network, an area with significant untapped potential. Many physicians were once involved with OMSA and now work across diverse fields. Engaging them as mentors or panelists would bring valuable insights to current students.
I am committed to ensuring OMSA operates efficiently while making its impact more visible and accessible. Please reach out to achauhan2029@meds.uwo.ca with any questions!
Hi everyone, I’m Haris, and I’m running to represent you as VP Operations.
I listen, I show up, and I follow through.
As inaugural Co-President at TMU Med, I led the development and testing of our bylaws and governance, translating strategy into measurable outcomes. As an OMSA Operations member, I’ve helped plan LS/AGM by coordinating across teams to execute a province-wide event.
Through this, I’ve identified inefficiencies, communication gaps, and what structures will drive stronger outcomes.
I’m running to ACT on OMSA:
1. Accountability – Regular Strategic Plan check-ins, including 6-month updates to schools with a clear, publicly accessible, outcome-based tracking document. This keeps students informed and ensures priorities are delivered, not just at year-end.
2. Connection – No silos. Committees often duplicate outreach and planning. I’ll coordinate shared outreach, event planning (i.e. group venue booking discounts), and partnerships across portfolios to reduce overlap and costs. I’ll strengthen institutional memory through co-chair transition guides, incorporating key pieces from VP guides, alongside structured handoffs between outgoing and incoming teams.
3. Tools – Reduce bureaucracy without losing oversight. Templates for events and partnerships, simple “how-to” guides, and a clear policy for student ideas, equipping VP Externals and Council to move ideas to execution with minimal back-and-forth.
I know OMSA, I know the role, and I’ll make sure your voice is heard at the table.
OMSA works best when it works for all of us. Let’s build that together.
Phone: 587-703-1790
Email: haris1.ahmad@torontomu.ca
Hey! I’m Parth, an MS1 at uOttawa, and I’m running to be your next VP Operations.
So why me?
At OMSA, I serve on the Governance Committee, where I was the primary author of this year’s AI policy. I also developed the Medical School Integration Handbook using TMU as a model for future schools. Alongside my experience as a Day of Action delegate and a committee member in the longitudinal governance committee, I’ve seen how much strong internal structure shapes OMSA’s impact.
Before OMSA, I worked as Assistant to Presidential Affairs at the McMaster Students Union, supporting operations and policy for over 27,000 students. That experience taught me how to translate ideas into systems that actually work.
Through consultations with OMSA committees and leadership, my role as VP operations next year will revolve around these 3 priorities:
1. Non-profit status
I will explore establishing non-profit status for OMSA to improve access to grants, strengthen sponsorship opportunities, and reduce operational costs. This can be explored in collaboration with the OMA as we further refine our partnership.
2. Improving LS/AGM planning
I will focus on earlier sponsorship alignment, more coordinated venue booking across OMSA events (including DoA, OMSERC, etc.), and consistent collaboration with finance to avoid last-minute challenges.
3. Prioritizing presence
In every consultation I’ve had, the most consistent message I heard was the need for reliability over lots of change. I will be actively engaged across committees and events to ensure operations feel supported and consistent.
I’m committed to building an OMSA that runs smoothly, plans ahead, and supports the work happening across all portfolios.
Hi, I’m Natalie & I’m an MS2 at Queen’s! I’m running for re-election as your VP of Public Relations.
Over the past year, I’ve focused on elevating how OMSA communicates, connects, and delivers value to medical students across Ontario. What began as a centralized, backlog-heavy system has evolved into a responsive, student-centered, and high-impact communications portfolio. This has allowed us to respond faster, reduce delays, and better support OMSA’s teams. Alongside this, I led a full brand/logo refresh and introduced our bilingualism policy.
This year, I prioritized measurable impact. I introduced quarterly analytics tracking to guide our strategy and ensure we were reaching students effectively. This shift has driven significant growth. For example, our reels alone reached 351,436 views this term compared to 9,963 the previous term. More importantly, I focused on translating our reach into real, tangible value for students. This includes educational content (e.g., day in the life series, financial literacy month), advocacy initiatives (e.g., OSAP changes, student surveys), and real opportunities (e.g., conference tickets, giveaways). These efforts directly supported students academically, financially, and professionally.
Beyond information, I worked to strengthen our community. Through initiatives like “The Other Match” and engaging social campaigns (e.g. the Dear Med Students CaRMS campaign), I helped create a sense of connection across schools.
Looking ahead, I am committed to building on this momentum through data-driven PR, expanding partnerships and beautiful content that continues to meaningfully support students!
Most of medical school is not defined by lectures or exams, but by the moments in between. The unanswered questions, the quiet comparisons, and the search for where you fit.
My name is Gurleen Chahal, and as a first-year medical student at TMU and our school’s current VP Professional Development, I’ve had the rare opportunity to help build our student experience from the ground up. In doing so, I’ve learned that the difference between a good initiative and a meaningful one comes down to impact: does it actually make students feel more supported, more connected, and more certain in their path?
That question has guided my work. From leading a 300+ student mentorship program to supporting EDIA advocacy, developing TMU’s first resident-student mentorship initiative and hosting student-focused events, I’ve focused on creating programs that are not just available, but genuinely used and valued by students.
At OMSA, I am excited by the opportunity to bring that approach to a provincial level. I hope to expand mentorship through “Mentorship Minutes” and day-in-the-life features, and create more intentional opportunities for cross-school connection through interactive retreat and wellness programming.
I am equally passionate about using student insight and feedback to shape mental health initiatives and ensure resources remain accessible, relevant, and grounded in real student needs.
I’m applying for VP Student Affairs because I care deeply about building systems that students don’t just see, but rely on. Thank you!
Hello everyone,
My name is Johnny, an M1 at Western. I am running for VPSA because I am a firm believer that med school would not be half as interesting without the vibrant experiences of student trainees. Here’s a little bit about myself!
I was an Air Cadet commander who supervised 120 cadets, and I can fly a plane! I mentored many undergraduate students as a teaching assistant and tutor. Every summer, I am part of a volunteer team that plans a week of fun camp activities for youth who have gone through cancer treatment. This will be my 5th summer volunteering, and we’re always looking for more volunteers!
With valuable input from current council and committee members, I aim to:
1. Enhance the already-successful mentorship program even more, by increasing matches by advertising to student organizations, hospitals, and specialist associations. Special attention will be paid to increase mentorship opportunities for competitive specialties and pairing by geographical proximity.
2. Strengthen ties with existing sponsors, and meeting new sponsors to fund Wellness Retreat, Wellness Week, and other endeavours.
3. Meet up with student wellness-oriented organizations to share ideas about wellness activities so that they can run them locally (and frequently).
4. Spread awareness of recreational and possibly novel experiences through the PR team’s newsletter, while exploring other accessible formats for greater information spread.
5. Minimize lag between health research and dissemination; communicating results of the newest studies in a readily accessible, easily digestible media.
Take care of yourself and those around you! 🙂
Hi everyone, I am Partha (Queen’s MS1)!
As VP of student affairs, my goal would be to establish change in the following:
Mental health: I believe building on OMSA’s strong foundation of mental health resources is critical. I plan to survey students to assess awareness and utilization of current resources, thus allowing us to understand and overcome barriers to accessing them (i.e., time, concerns of confidentiality/residency implications). I will introduce an anonymous feedback system so students can share experiences with specific mental health resources. Further, I will implement anonymous optional check-ins, in which students experiencing well-being struggles can complete a 5-minute survey that assesses risk for burnout, anxiety, and other concerns. To foster community and strengthen inter-school connections, I will relaunch social media groups (e.g., Facebook). Importantly, I will advocate for equitable access to initiatives across schools, such as the wellness retreat.
Mentorship: I will implement an outreach strategy to recruit physicians by (a) utilizing databases such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario and the Professional Association of Residents of Ontario, and (b) increasing visibility of the existing mentorship program through coordinated promotion across departments, residency programs, and professional networks. Furthermore, I will consult clerks to identify their needs and develop a centralized database of elective opportunities across Canada, integrating student recommendations and insights.
EDI: I will establish community partnership programs that strengthen diverse relationships with organizations, such as Aboriginal Health Access Centres (AHACs) and the Crossroads Clinic, creating sustainable, community-informed opportunities for students.
Hi, my name is Yasmine Abossi, and I am running to be your next OMSA VP of Student Affairs. A bit about me: I am a first-year medical student at UofT, and someone who values community and connection. From leading the Student Wellness Group at my high school to serving as a Peer Health Educator (PHE) throughout my undergrad, I have always enjoyed supporting the well-being of those around me. As a PHE, I ran free yoga classes, organized exam care packages, and coordinated with residence dons to facilitate paint-by-numbers and spikeball. This year, as a UoFT student wellness ambassador, I successfully organized a dog therapy event for all medical students.
As future physicians, I believe we should practice what we preach and take the time to care for ourselves. I want to create and expand on current OMSA wellness initiatives, designed with you in mind. Starting with “Wellness Wednesdays” on social media, I aim to share simple, practical ways to integrate wellness into daily routines. I also hope to expand the OMSA mentorship program by increasing its visibility and recruiting a broader pool of mentors, while strengthening the OMSA retreat through meaningful inter-school connection and student-driven programming.
Ultimately, I know how tiring and isolating medical school can sometimes feel. I truly hope to create spaces where each of us feels connected within our OMSA community. Vote Yasmine, and together, let’s build an environment where every student feels seen, heard, and supported!
Hi, I’m Zoë, a first-year medical student at Queen’s. I drink my coffee black, but at this point, I could probably just use an IV. Over the last few years, I’ve run wellness and success workshops at Pathways to Education Kingston, taught sex-ed to middle schoolers, and introduced first aid to elementary school kids. If you can hold the attention of a room full of twelve-year-olds talking about puberty, provincial advocacy starts to feel manageable.
This portfolio already has strong bones, so my goals are to pour more into what is already working, and fix what is not.
Wellness programming too often ends when the retreat does. I want to change that by building year-round mental and physical health resources students can access between structured events, because accountability should be structural, not seasonal.
The retreat itself needs to be genuinely accessible for all students, including TMU and satellite campuses. I am committed to making equitable access a direct and early priority.
The Mental Health Research Subcommittee has real, untapped potential. I want to invest in it properly, give it clear direction early, and make sure its work actually reaches students.
Mentorship is in a good place and gaining momentum. The next step is volume: expanding the mentor pool, resident databases, and personalized outreach so more students get matched with someone whose path actually resembles their own.
I know what good support feels like from the receiving end, and I’d love the chance to continue building it.
Election Date: May 3, 2026 (held during LS/AGM Weekend, in downtown Toronto)
Attendance
Attendance at LS/AGM is not mandatory, but is strongly encouraged to engage with peers and participate in the broader OMSA community.
Campaigning Details
Campaigning is limited to:
We encourage all interested students to apply and take part in shaping the future of OMSA.
Any questions please direct to Electoral Officer, Vidhi Bhatt, at president_elect@omsa.ca
Officially founded in May 1974 during the Ontario Medical Association’s AGM, the Student Section of the OMA was started using the acronym “OMSA” (short for Ontario Medical Students Association) in 2004.
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The views expressed on this website do not in any way represent those of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA).
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