McMaster Health Advocacy Symposium

Highlighted On: 
Monday, September 21, 2015
Advocacy Theme: 
General

Summary: The McMaster Health Advocacy Symposium is a full-day event devoted to exploring various advocacy roles of healthcare providers. Its aim is to foster the development of effective, responsible advocacy skills amongst university students in medicine and other health-related programs and to inspire students pursuing careers in healthcare and related fields to envision their future roles as health advocates, not just for individual patients but beyond, at the community, institutional, societal, and global levels. The event features keynote speakers, interactive breakout workshops, and opportunities for participant networking. Students in all health-related disciplines and from all Canadian universities are encouraged to attend.​

Who: Planned and facilitated by Undergraduate Medical Students at McMaster University.​

What: General advocacy skills for healthcare providers and students.​

When: Each September, one day event; started in 2014.​

Where: McMaster University; students from universities across Ontario have attended.​

How: The project was started by medical students who saw a gap in training and inspiration for healthcare students to become advocates. Attendance has grown each year, from 100 in 2014 to almost 150 in 2016.​

Contact: mhas.chairs@gmail.com, Yen Foong (yen.foong@medportal.ca), Savannah Silva (savannah.silva@medportal.ca), Claire Bodkin (claire.bodkin@medportal.ca), Nikhita Singhal (nikhita.singhal@medportal.ca)