Colloque médical étudiant du Québec

Committed to Training a New Generation of Doctors who are Involved in Current Health Issues

When the Student Group of the Québec Medical Association, made up of all four medical faculties in the province (namely Université Laval, McGill University, Université de Sherbrooke and Université de Montréal), organized the first Colloque médical étudiant du Québec, they did so to enable students to get away from their studies for a day and get a closer look at the burning health issues in Québec.

At a time when the health care sector is undergoing a period of transformation and the medical profession faces major changes, the colloquium proved to be a highly enriching extracurricular experience for the 200 or so participants who attended. “We realized that the new generation is eager to get involved,” points out Jimmy Bejjani, a spokesman for the project and student at the UniversitÈ de Sherbrooke. “The interest shown by medical students in current health issues and in managing the changes the medical profession now faces demonstrates that the new generation is ready to take up the challenges that await it,” he adds. During the event, which was being held for the first time and required eight months of efforts and planning by the volunteer committee, participants had the opportunity to attend conferences on such issues as electronic health records, the financial aspects of the health system, and the social and international responsibility of Québec physicians. Most of these topics are not addressed in study programs and were chosen after much thought and based on a survey carried out among students.

To examine these issues more closely, the organizers succeeded in bringing together a number of experts who were enthusiastic about the idea of passing on their knowledge. Speakers included Doctors Amir Khadir (Médecins du monde), RÈjean Thomas (L’Actuel clinic), Vincent …chavé (Médecins Sans FrontiËres), Jean-Bernard Trudeau (Québec Medical Association (QMA)) and François-Pierre Gladu (Association des jeunes médecins du Québec). “Many students will be setting up their own medical practice. The conference pertaining to the financial aspects therefore shed light on the administrative challenges that await them,” explains Jimmy, revealing just how important a day of lectures such as this can be for participants.

Moreover, the interest shown in the topics covered at the colloquium even prompted participating universities to host some of the same talks at their faculty. And in its concern to reach out to as many students as possible, the organizing committee also posted all of the conferences on its site at www.cmeq.ca. “This tangible gesture clearly illustrates the modern nature and relevance of the approach adopted by the Student Group to ensure that the future medical profession is well equipped to take its place in the QuÈbec health care system,” noted QMA President Dr. Jean-Bernard Trudeau.

The quality of the first colloquium, the only socio-political event bringing together all four Québec medical faculties, was impressive and the odds are that the event will be repeated in the years to come.

“I wish to extend my warm congratulations to the colloquium organizers for the vision they exhibited in setting up the event and I can but admire the energy they put into making this major project a success,” states Dr. Vincent …chavé.

Colloque médical étudiant du Québec