Family Medicine Graduate Student Society takes home two ƻԺ Awards
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ѳҾ’s(FMGSS) was recentlyrecognized by the Post Graduate Student Society (PGSS) of ƻԺUniversity awardedboth theof the Year Awardand the Best Academic Event Award. The awards were presented during the 2018PGSS Awards Night on April 12, an event thataims to recognize students, student groupsand student-run events that have proven themselves to beoutstanding within PGSS. The awards were presented by DeanJosephineNalbantoglu of Graduate andPostdoctoral Studies. For theirachievements, the FMGSS will be engraved on a plaque at the entrance of Thomson House.
“On behalf of theFMGSS, we are thrilled to be recognized by PGSS for our accomplishments and efforts over the past year,” says Nickoo Merati, President of FMGSS. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank our ChairDr. Howard Bergman and DirectorDr. Gillian Bartlett for their continuous support, and of course thank my fellow FMGSS executive members for their tirelessdedication andoutstandingcontributionsto student governance over the past year.It has been anhonour to work with our student body, and I look forward to the continual successes of our inspiring graduate students.”
PGSS Student Association of the Year Award
The Post Graduate Student Association of the Year Awardrecognizes a student association thathas made outstanding contributions throughout the year, has shown itself to be constantly active, continually self-improving, and persistently serving the needs of students within PGSS, the ƻԺ community at large, and Montreal. The FMGSS received this award in recognition of the substantial contributions it has made to its student body. Although singular in its name, the FMGSS represents over 20 graduatedepartments in medicine(including cardiology,oncology and, emergency medicine)who do not have their own student council. “Our work serves to protect the rights of our students by promoting their personal and professional growth, and providing themwith the necessary academic and social support needed to succeed in their researchendeavoursand beyond,” explains Sophia Siedlikowski, FMGSS representative to PGSS. Continues Thomas Bertrand, Vice President of FMGSS Internal Affairs “Our most significant achievements this year were successful workshops for funding applications at the masters and doctoral levels, the creation of a dedicated textbook reserve at the Jewish General Hospital, extensive collaboration with the(MASH), and contributions to the emerging graduate student position within the Faculty of Medicine council.” Thisyear, the FMGSS alsocreated a VP Community Service position, solely dedicated to further building community partnerships.
Best Academic Event Award
The Best Academic Event Awardrecognizesan outstandingacademic event and program planning by the student association, whichencouragesstudents to engage and interact with a wider community,demonstrates passion for the discipline, and takes initiativetocreate new opportunities.
The FMGSS was recognized with this award in advance of their. The event will include 30studentoral presentations, a keynote presentation from a leading international speaker, and a panel presentation to discuss a wide range of career options. New this year, FMGSS partnered with the ƻԺ Journal of Medicine to peer-review all abstracts received, and publish the top 15 student abstracts in a special June 2018 conference proceedings issue. “This is an unparalleled opportunity for a student-led research day, and gives students and research assistants an opportunity to build their publication list,” notes Stephanie Long, Vice President of FMGSS Academic Affairs.Kayte Andersen, Vice President of FMGSS Communication, said “the conference symposium hasalready received registration requests from students in other Faculty of Medicine departments, the Faculty of Dentistry and Faculty of Engineering, and the general public. The extra-departmental interest speaks to the important reach of this event throughout ƻԺ, and the FMGSS looks forward to welcoming these external attendees to learn more about primary care through this symposium.” To help with the costs of the symposium, successful grant applications were put forth to the PGSS and the Faculty of Medicine.
Congratulations to the FMGSS!