Political Advocacy Committee Handbook Canadian Federation of Medical Students 2009 - 2010

Table of Contents

ABOUT THE PAC! .......................................................................................................... 3 WHAT IS THE POLITICAL ADVOCACY COMMITTEE? ................................................................. 3

PRINCIPLES AND STRUCTURE .................................................................................... 3 PRINCIPLES ............................................................................................................................. 3 STRUCTURE ............................................................................................................................. 4 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ................................................................................................. 4

POLITICAL ADVOCACY PLANS OF ACTION ................................................................ 7 GRASSROOTS LOBBYING .......................................................................................................... 7 TRAINING ................................................................................................................................ 7 ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN ........................................................................................................... 7 LOBBY DAY ............................................................................................................................. 7

Planning ............................................................................................................................ 8 Political Advocacy Committee Conference Day ............................................................... 8

ADVOCACY TEACHING ............................................................................................................ 8 POSITION PAPERS ....................................................................................................................9 FINANCING ..............................................................................................................................9

ADVOCACY INITIATIVES BY SCHOOL ....................................................................... 10

HELPFUL RESOURCES ................................................................................................. 13

About the PAC!

What is the Political Advocacy Committee? The Canadian Federation of Medical Students operates on the three pillars of services, communication, and representation. At CFMS' Annual General Meeting 2007 (September 2007, Kanata, ON), a resolution was passed to form a Political Advocacy Committee (PAC) to determine political and social issues important to medical students. This group was mandated to play an important role in the annual CFMS Lobby Day, but also to address these issues on an ongoing basis.

The mandate of PAC includes, but is not limited to:

1. Outlining educational, political, and social issues of importance to medical students,

2. Determining potential future topics and assisting in document preparation for CFMS Lobby Day,

3. Promoting ongoing regional lobbying efforts.

Although a main focus of CFMS' federal lobbying revolves around the annual CFMS

Lobby Day, PAC was created in the spirit of coordinating year-round regional

“grassroots” lobbying efforts.

Principles and Structure

Principles PAC is composed of one Chair (see PAC Chair description below) and one representative

from each CFMS member school, one of whom assists in the role of Vice-Chair. The

school representatives are selected by the member school's CFMS Representatives and

medical school society. Selection criteria are established individually by each school. One

PAC Vice-Chair is then selected from among the school representatives by the CFMS

Executive.

PAC representatives are selected for a one-year term with the opportunity to re-apply

after the completion of their term. Ideal candidates for this position should demonstrate

an interest in student issues, be able to represent the opinions of their student body, and

be motivated to work with students across the country. Previous experience with politics,

lobbying, or drafting media documents is welcome but not necessary.

Due to the wide geographical distribution of its members, most operations of PAC are

conducted electronically via an online forum with periodic teleconferences. Each member

of PAC is invited, and strongly encouraged, to participate in CFMS Lobby Day in

Ottawa.

Structure How does PAC fit into the CFMS as a whole?

How does PAC function within the CFMS?

Roles and Responsibilities CFMS Political Advocacy Chair

Responsibilities

The CFMS PAC exists to both solicit the broader opinion of Canadian medical students

on a wide variety of issues, as well as to take action on a local, regional, and national

level. The role of the Chair is to lead organization of the PAC involvement in any

national level projects, as well as provide mentorship for grassroots level activity.

The duties of the PAC Chair include, but are not limited to:

1. Overseeing PAC discussions by arranging monthly teleconferences

2. Summarizing and synthesizing these discussions for periodic review with the

CFMS Executive,

3. Being aware of current CFMS policy statements, and of those policy statements

needing revision.

4. Providing encouragement, leadership, and support to local PAC chairs in

organizing initiatives at their schools

Qualifications

The position of PAC Chair is filled by the VP Advocacy. This role is taken on for a one-

year term coinciding with the VP Advocacy‟s position.

CFMS Political Advocacy Committee (PAC) Representative (four per medical school) Responsibilities: Attend regular monthly CFMS PAC teleconferences, and intermittent ones as

needed Be one of four official representatives of their medical school and student

society to the CFMS advocacy initiative Lobby Day in Ottawa, and be responsible for reporting the results of this event to their medical school

o CFMS PAC Reps will be expected to contribute to the organization of this initiative, as directed by the CFMS PAC Chair and the CFMS PAC Committee at large. Additionally, the Representative will be responsible for preparing fellow attendees from their respective medical school for this event, and in communicating the results of this event to their school

Maintain regular communication with CFMS Reps at their school regarding the activities of the CFMS PAC and their local medical school PAC;

Coordinate efforts with relevant members in the Med Soc on issues related to PAC initiatives.

Select 2-6 students from their school to sit on and contribute to PAC initiatives locally and at the CFMS level, as necessary

Identify, through consultation with students from their medical school, issues for local and provincial lobbying as appropriate and research them;

o If a provincial student organization exists, then they should be consulted in provincial lobbying

Develop and implement initiatives to positively impact change in these issues o A minimum of 1 local lobbying initiative over the course of the year will

be required. The exact nature of this initiative is left to the PAC Representative and their committee to decide. These initiatives may be political in nature, like meeting politicians, or more locally applicable,

like lobbying for changes to the admissions standards at a medical school

Schools without a provincial lobby day are encouraged to hold one this year, even if it is very small (meeting 1 or 2 MPPs or MLAs)

o A report must be made to the CFMS PAC Chair on the progress and outcomes of these initiatives

Serve as advisers to the following year's CFMS PAC rep to maintain continuity of lobbying initiatives and smoother transition

Contribute to special CFMS PAC projects as necessary throughout the year Selection process: PAC Representatives at each school are selected at the discretion of each medical school society.

Political Advocacy Plans of Action

Grassroots Lobbying - Key to building enthusiasm, pride, and sustainability in PAC - Each school free to develop own initiatives

o Big or small o Encourage schools without a province-level Lobby Day to hold one (can

be done with little effort!) - Political (letter writing campaigns) or apolitical (eg. Outreach campaigns) - End goal is to present initiatives at BAGM2010 or AGM2010, and publish in

CFMS Annual Review, and to present any provincial lobby days with the results of the CFMS Lobby Day in Ottawa at the CCME conference

Training Training will be on topics relevant to PAC activities at local and national level and will be directed by what is of interest/use to PAC members. This is currently done at the Political Advocacy Committee Conference Day Proposed seminars: - How to write letters to media/policy makers, - Organizing letter writing campaigns, - How to organize political advocacy campaign at an administrative, faculty,

municipal, provincial, or federal level - Research and brainstorming sessions on topics of advocacy interest

Environmental Scan Function is twofold:

o Provide CFMS a snapshot of issues important to membership o Provide PAC Reps a snapshot of issues important to their school (may

have idea from previous year) o KISS principle (<3 question survey) o Present results at Spring General Meeting

Lobby Day

Lobby day is one of the CFMS' signature annual events during which medical students from across the nation come to Parliament Hill in Ottawa to speak with policy makers on an issue of importance. This event is meant to inspire students to become more politically aware and active in their society. Physicians have a tremendous ability to shape decisions around health policy, and Lobby Day provides students with an opportunity to experience this process early on.

The 2010 Lobby Day was held on March 29 and was a tremendous success. 58 medical students attended, including 16 PAC representatives, and met with almost 100 MPs, Senators, and bureaucrats. At each meeting were 2-3 students.

Planning PAC will have an important role and will be heavily involved in Lobby Day. Research and Argument Development: PAC will be involved in the research and development of argumentation. This includes analyzing results from surveys to choose an issue that best represents the concerns of Canadian medical students. Training: PAC will be involved in preparing delegates, in advance, for lobby day. This will involve focusing on lobbying skills training, introducing delegates to the year’s issue and its key positive arguments, as well as debriefing students on what to expect from Lobby Day. MP Participation: PAC will work as directed by the Chair on contacting MP’s in order to maximize their participation. Event Debriefing: PAC will present Lobby Day (training, event organization results, etc) at a seminar at their school.

Political Advocacy Committee Conference Day: The first annual Political Advocacy Committee Conference Day (PACCD) was held on March 27, 2010, 2 days ahead of Lobby Day. The purpose of this conference day was for PAC Reps to meet as a group, discuss their projects and share ideas, and receive advocacy training from distinguished individuals with significant lobbying experience. Since all PAC Reps were to be gathered for Lobby Day, it is convenient to have them come 1 day earlier and do this training session. High profile speakers in the 2010 year included Dr. Robert Conn, Founder of SMARTRISK and PAIRO CEO, Laurel Craib, CMA Associate Director of Government Relations, and Federico Carvajal, Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) Ontario field worker.

Advocacy Teaching We are all aware of the CanMEDS roles, and the importance of advocacy as a physician. PAC may be an excellent means to encourage the development of medical school curricula that includes improved advocacy skills teaching for medical students. Specifically, PAC could become involved in medical school curricula through bringing back core concepts from PAC Conferences and Lobby Days in small group seminars.

Position Papers Position papers are an excellent method of advocacy. The CFMS PAC will assist in the updating of old CFMS position papers, and assist the CFMS executive in the review of new policy papers. If required by the general assembly, the PAC will aid in the writing of additional papers. This process should involve meeting with experts on the issue, circulating papers to appropriate audiences after writing it, and using paper as a statement of interest and commitment to a set of principles.

Financing Total budgeted amount budgeted in 2010-2011 CFMS PAC is $5000. This fund will be used to fund PAC rep local initiatives, teleconferencing expenses, and to organize the PAC Conference Day. Each school’s PAC Representative is allocated $200 to spend on their projects. Please email the Chair prior to making the expenditure to ensure you are approved. For reimbursement, scan and send receipts electronically.

Advocacy Initiatives by School (2009-2010)

PAC Rep

2009-2010

PAC Activity Summary

UBC

Andrew

Machuk

1) Consolidated the Students for the Environment, Students For Medicare, Residents Association, The BCMA Lobby

initiatives, the Business in Medicine group, and the AFMC Public Health Policy group.

2) Environ scan questionnaire completed by 260 students in all four years and has passed through ethics hoping for a

publication in our UBCMJ.

3) Hoping to plan one CFMS / Hasslett insurance meeting with the help of our other other distributed sites

UofA

Rahul

Mehta

Scott

McLeod

1) Our first event of the year occurred on October 25/26, 2009, which was our second annual Pan-Alberta Lobby Day.

This year, again in conjunction with the University of Calgary, we were able to arrange 54 meetings with members of

the Alberta legislative assembly. Our lobby topic was the continuation of funding to the Rural Integrated Community

Clerkship program. Our experiences were ensured to be successful with the hosting of a training day which we

received advice in lobbying from several members of the Alberta Medical Association. Non-measureable success

occurred after our meetings, as we received a great deal of support from all of the MLAs which we met. Measurable

successes also included student satisfaction surveys which indicated that students felt more comfortable in lobbying

members of government, and also would like to participate in future events.

2) Ongoing events included lobbying to ensure more moderate tuition increases took place. This involved the creation of

a tuition task-force, meetings with the student's union, and student surveys. Our lobbying efforts regarding tuition

culminated in a meeting with the Minister of Advanced Education with our faculty dean.

3) Adjustments to the enrolment of low socio-economic status students. Many of our PAC members are working on

delivering a new framework to our admissions committee which may be used in future admissions cycles. This is still

under development.

4) Alterations to the existing medical student bursary program are currently underway, with the results of our

environmental scan being used to guide our lobbying efforts.

5) "Next 10 Years in Health Care Forum" is a new event that we hope to create into an annual event where students are

able to see the visions from all of the political parties.

6) Our efforts from continued lobbying for increases to the cap on student loans were granted in the recent 2010 Alberta

budget.

7) Family medicine and specialty choice surveys--we completed an ethics approved study which was began last year that

will report information to relevant groups regarding student choices and perceptions surrounding family and rural

medicine. This data to be published in 2010-2011 in academic journals.

UofC

Alistair

Waugh

1) Successful lobby day asking for continuation of the rural integrated community clerkship in Alberta-October 2009.

2) Class survey with high response identifying residency spaces and student finances as key issues within the student

body-December 2010.

3) Letter writing campaign to the Albertan government requesting that they reject the University of Calgary's tuition

increases, >200 signatures collected. Initial proposals from U of C provost were rejected by the minister of advanced

education-Jan 2010.

4) Involved in several town-hall meetings with the University of Calgary provost regarding tuition reform, including a

special invite to the closed student council forum-Feb 2010.

5) Received notification that our 2008 provincial lobby day ask for an increase in provincial student loan cap had been

approved by the government-Feb 2010.

6) Starting to develop ask ideas for provincial lobby day 2010, which will likely be tied to student finance again.

7) Private meeting organized with Minister Jim Prentice regarding the federal lobby day ask.

8) The committee has continuously lobbied the university provost in order to ensure that tuition reforms will be

introduced in a fair manner. Market modifier tuition increases for medical students were successfully opposed.

UofS

Heather

Ferguson

1) The UofS PAC on Mar 15 2010 successfully pulled off its first provincial lobby day, where 20 students met with 28

out of 56 MPPs, including the education minister members of the human resources committee, health minister and

Premier. Significant media attention was garnered from this event.

2) A lasting dialogue was set up between government and medical students, and the students have engaged the

Saskatchewan Medical Association as well.

3) We will write something in the news letter regarding our provincial and national lobby days.

4) Wrote the PAC into the Med Soc constitution, laying our rules for a budget and national lobby day delegate selection.

UofM

Brady

Murphy

1) The Advocacy Speaker‟s Evening was a great success. 5 speakers from various organizations came to discuss how to

be an effective advocate with the PAC interest group. Among the speakers were MLA Kerri Irvin-Ross (NDP MLA,

former minister of healthy living), Kate Sjoberg (SNA Community Advocate), Paul Murphy (former president of the

Thalidomide Victims‟ Association of Canada), Joan Dawkins (Executive Director of the Women‟s Health Clinic), and

Sasha Nyirabu (Professional Association of Residents and Interns of Manitoba representative). Feedback from

attending students as well as speakers was incredibly positive. We hope to make this event at least an annual

occurrence. Students found the insight on what can be achieved through advocacy incredibly empowering, and were

happy to see what different approaches can be taken to being an effective advocate. Funding was provided through the

MMSA Dean‟s Fund.

UofT

Danielle

Rodin

1) The formalization of the position of Political Advocacy Committee Chairperson as an appointed position on the

Medical Society. The position will have the following duties:

a. Consult with all mover(s) of Medical Society Official Position Statements to ensure the papers are clear,

coherent, and can result in action by the Medical Society;

b. Work in close contact with the VP External to actively represent U of T on the CFMS PAC;

c. Coordinate the selection and participation of U of T students attending CFMS Lobby Day and OMSA

leadership day with the VP Externals;

d. Attend CFMS AGM, SGM, Lobby Day and OMSA Lobby Day as a PAC representative of the University of

Toronto;

e. Bring together a committee consisting of Medical Society members who are involved in or have an interest in

becoming involved in political advocacy activities to;

f. Organize 2 large advocacy skills sessions for the general student body over the year.

g. Organize a targeted skills workshops for students interested in participating in CFMS Lobby Day and OMSA

Leadership Day;

2) Development of Position Paper Guidelines and a process for the adoption of an official position statement of the

medical society of the University of Toronto.

3) Environmental Scan: survey administered to all 4 years to determine student lobbying interests. Received nearly 300

responses. Results graphed by year and overall and a report was prepared to reflect these findings.

4) Attended provincial Leadership and Lobby Day

NOSM

Amanda

Moore

1) Conducting a petition campaign in support of the Civil Society Platform for the 2010 Muskokas G8 Meeting. Drafted

by 2010 Canadian G8 Civil Society Coordinating Committee, platform calls for poverty reduction to be at forefront of

G8 meeting agenda. Have collected about 50 student signatories so far, will continue through joint campus „Academic

Week‟ March 15th-18th.

2) Composed committee of five students to assess applicability and feasibility of Social and Environmental

Responsibility charter for the NOSM Student Society. Using CFMS Green Charter as a starting point, are drafting

document to include additional elements of social accountability, including ethical sourcing of student society clothing

and provision of organic, local and/or fair trade options at S.S. meetings and general assemblies. Document to undergo

first reading at S.S. Executive meeting next Monday and be voted on by general student body at General Assembly in

two weeks time.

3) Still in process of collecting information for report regarding economic diversity among NOSM students. Met with

NOSM‟s admissions officer and have begun drafting document outlining existing weighted admissions process, early

outreach to rural and Aboriginal students through NOSM Summer Camp, and current representation of Aboriginal and

rural students. No specific information pertaining to students‟ socioeconomic status available.

4) Working with fellow Lobby Day delegate to arrange a meeting with Dean to discuss economic student diversity at

NOSM, currents strengths and weaknesses and possible future directions – possible model for other schools?

5) Also currently partnering with Global Health Program and Women‟s Health Interest Group to conduct advocacy

campaign around Aboriginal Women‟s Health for International Women‟s Day next week.

UWO

Michael

Richardso

n

1) Admissions: We met with the dean and dean of admissions on several occasions. The dean invited me to present to

the admissions committee in March. They have promised to look into this issue and see what information they need

and how they can make changes.

2) Workshops: We hosted three workshops on advocacy, featuring our local MP Glen Pearson, our media relations

director, and our local MPP (who happens to be the Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews. Very well attended, very

successful.

3) Housing: We struggled to find a direction for most of the year. We researched the issue and made contact with local

organizations but we weren't sure where to go with it. In the spring the committee members focusing on this issue got

the idea, after discussions with a housing advocate, to put together a pamphlet/information package to distribute to

housing advocates giving them the medical/health side of the argument. In order to do this, we applied for and won a

CMA Leadership grant. (I really had very little to do with this, my committee was pretty much awesome). This will

be the main focus of PAC for the coming year.

UofO

Ashley

Miller

1) Establishing a mentorship program for targeted low-SES high school students to encourage them to consider medical

school and assist them in preparing for that goal.

2) Met with the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education and the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs to

discuss the issue of underrepresentation of economically diverse students at Ottawa. This was a very successful

meeting, as the Faculty committed their concern regarding this issue and a desire to address it to satisfy the amended

Accreditation requirements. During this meeting, it was established that the greatest barrier to special admissions

criteria was a lack of an established definition of a low-SES student that would be comparable to the Aboriginal

status. This was taken into account at the National PAC level and will be an area of interest in the future of this

initiative. Subsequent meetings with the UofO Deanery has resulted in significant progress in this issue.

3) Played a principle part in the research and organization of Lobby Day

4) Contributed significantly to the position paper update project with the CFMS executive

5) Involvement in the environmental green charter review with the CFMS executive

McGill

Niall

Filewod

1) The McGill PAC held a townhall meeting at which McGill medical students were invited to discuss their political

concerns.

2) Based on this meeting we decided to try to advance the subject of the national lobby day at the provincial level. We

met with representatives of the faculty to discuss how this might be acheived and intend to carry the process forwards

in consultation with the other Quebec medical schools.

Dal

Jennifer

Gillis

Tim

Holland

1) Over the past year we have held several well attended events including:

a. "Dealing with the Media - Seminar for Medical Students"

b. "Pizza and Discussion of Health Policy",

c. "Sit-down chat with Carloyn Bennet, Federal Health Critic".

2) We also initiated a campaign to implement "Healthy Food Only" policies at all food outlets at hospitals in Halifax and

Nova Scotia's Capital Health District Authority (CDHA)". This campaign was completely successful (to be honest we

got kind of lucky as the CDHA was coincidently in the process of reassessing their food policy at the time we began

campaigning). The CDHA is now in the process of drafting up policy that properly qualifies what is “Healthy Food”

and will then implement the policy at all hospitals within the CDHA. We also had the added disclaimer that coffee and

tea would be continued to be sold even if they were deemed un-healthy. The fat fryers have already been shut off at all

hospitals. Coke and Pepsi are likely next to go.

3) We have completed our environmental scan.

4) As well, the PAC rep position is currently sitting a trial period on the Dalhousie Medical Student Society (DMSS) and

will be considered to be added to the DMSS when the constitution is up for amendment this Spring.

5) We successfully organized Dalhousie‟s first Provincial Lobbying event during the week of May 16, 2010. At this

event, we Dal med students receive advocacy training and then arranged meetings throughout the following week with

MPPs and ministers. Our topic was in line with the Federal theme of increasing representation of marginalized

populations within the medical student population. We will be asking for annual funding to go towards medical school

scholarships, MCAT fee bursaries and a High School Outreach program. The government received our efforts well,

and has asked the University to submit proposals for usage of funds, which is a very promising result.

MUN

Karen

Downton

Mari-

1) Mari-Lynne is the new PAC Jar rep for our school. We had an application process and she was the successful

candidate. Next year the PAC Rep will be an elected position at memorial, which it has not been in the past.

2) A proposal has been submitted for the school to provide funding for an aboriginal high school student to attend

MedQuest (Aboriginal health/representation was one of the top 5 on our survey).

Helpful Resources Tips on different kinds of advocacy: http://www.leonarddomino.com/strategy/

Lynne

Sinnott

3) I have secured a seat on the facilities planning committee for the expansion of our medical school and environmental

advocacy will be the focus of my roll (environmental issues also in the top 5).

4) Organized an advocacy training day that was very well attended, and run by professional lobbyists at the Nfld Medical

Association.

5) Provincial lobby day advocating increased DME access scheduled for September 14 2010. Messaging has been

developed, and meetings arranged.

Queens

Eric

Mutter

1) Inclusion of census in admissions packages to better study low SES issue for purposes of advocacy directed

specifically at Queens admissions committee. A meeting with the admissions committee regarding this, as they have

yet to approve including a census.

2) Meeting with Kingston city council regarding zoning issues which effectively removed street health clinics and

methadone pr

3) Submitted with the Medical School Undergrad Office in an effort to have the Queen's PAC identified as an official

student group @ Queen's- results still pending.

4) As a group, in concert with the VP Internal of our Med Soc, we met with the head of building adminstration at

Queen's and petitioned for priority medical student booking at our new building.

5) Lastly, a letter campaign was completed with respect to identifying the support of the Queen's medical students for the

street health programs in Kingston (letters were sent to City Hall Councillors.

6) We also had a few sessions that reviewed articles regarding the rural health initiative in Canada and what results

preliminary research are showing.

Mac

Jelena

Lukowic

Holden

Sheffield

1) Selected a reliable PAC team which has made it easier to get a fair amount accomplished, and an environmental scan

to

2) Established PAC as a legitimate group to both students and administration. This has been tedious and hard at times,

but we think the results are showing. We have worked closely with both VP Externals, and set up multiple meetings

with the Dean in order to establish what it is we do and why we do it. This has led to increased funding and support.

3) Tuition issue - Ontario schools tend to be the most expensive and have the least amount of student loans provided.

We have discussed with our VP externals ways to address this issue, and have met with the Dean to talk about

possible future explorations.

4) Curriculum issues, McMaster is known to have quite a different program then most schools in Canada. One part of

the program is known as professional competency, which involves learning about the 'soft-skills' in medicine. We

have started to explore research options to determine how to approach it‟s overall effectiveness in the curriculum. We

have spoken with well-known researchers on campus about our potential ideas. It has been a challenge to progress

with this throughout the year due to the difficulty in designing a suitable research method, but we hope to expand on

this later in the year.

5) Dedicated a lot of time to involved promoting the writing of non-delegate letters for lobby day. We arranged a PAC

sponsored pizza lunch, to promote students to come, learn about what lobby day is all about, fill out a non-delegate

letter, and learn about other issues PAC is addressing. This was successful in not only increasing the number of non-

delegate letters, but also in promoting the importance of lobby day and PAC at McMaster.