BMSA Recap and Black Students in Medicine
The Black Medical Students National Conference was recently held in Montreal, bringing together black medical students from across Canada to discuss and strategize around important issues in medical education and Black health in the country. I had the opportunity to speak to Tolu Ehindero, a first-year medical student at the University of Alberta and Black Medical Students Association (BMSA) executive about this event and the upcoming BMSA Health Fair being held on Saturday, April 27thth 2024.
As described by Tolu, the BMSA conference was an amazing opportunity to connect with other Black medical students from across Canada, helping to foster a sense of inclusion, belonging, representation and visibility. As the University of Alberta’s pre-clerkship Black medical students make up less than 5% of the student body, there is incredible value in meeting with others in similar circumstances and discussing important issues facing black medical students. The conference consisted of various hands-on workshops (such as an Anastomosis workshop), professional development, networking, wellness and mentorship opportunities throughout the conference. In particular, it was highlighted that this was an important opportunity to understand both past and present racism that may have been encountered by current practicing physicians and provide students with skills to manage these difficult situations. Indeed a recent research report from the United Kingdom highlights the “pervasive nature of racism within medical schools” which impact student learning and performance. Keynote speakers, including former member of the House of Commons Celina Ceasar-Chavannes and the first-ever Black female interventional cardiologist Dr. Alexandra Bastiany brought valuable insights into the lack of representation in their respective professions and powerful speeches on racism, perseverance, resiliency and hope. Additionally, this conference served as an annual general meeting for the national BMSA to ascribe priorities to Black health and Black medical education. Out of this conference, current priorities of various BMSA organizations throughout Canada are to create safe spaces for advocacy both internally and externally within medical schools and to increase representation in healthcare for Black individuals. Overall, Tolu mentioned that “if you get the opportunity, you 100% need to attend this conference”.
In addition to discussing this conference, Tolu and I were able to discuss the upcoming BMSA Health Fair in Edmonton Alberta. This BMSA led event aims to build health literacy in currently underserved communities with a focus on preventative medicine. Indeed, due to diverse factors including racism and mistrust in public health institutions, Black communities have been cited to have lower vaccination rates in comparison to the greater Canadian population. While a major aim of this conference is to reduce disparities in this community it is important to highlight that this free health fair is open to everyone. This conference will focus on topics of nutrition, obesity, family health, mental health, mens and womens health and will have various booths including community physicians and medical students. Similarly, it will host a variety of organizations which will help to promote pathways to various medical related fields including MD-AIDE.
Whether you are an aspiring healthcare worker, student or member of the public we would love to see you at the Clairview Recreation Center Saturday, April 27thth 2024 between 12PM and 5PM . This event would not be possible without the generous support, time and dedication from the University of Alberta BMSA, Dr. Eniola Salami, and the various volunteers supporting this event.