What if your success in med school wasn't left to chance? What if your personal circumstance doesn’t undermine your ability to achieve?

Hello MD2030! My name is Nour Salama, your fellow peer! I am looking for the opportunity to represent our class this year to the faculty and, most importantly, help make a genuine difference for our cohort.

How so? My platform is summarized in the phrase: No Student Left Behind. Yes, it's a little cheesy and overused, however, I have come to recognize the extent to which success in school has more to do with personal situations and less with working ‘harder’. The truth is that many of us are the first in our families to pursue this career, are new to Ottawa, or living on our own for the first time. In such a complex program, all these factors can quickly make things a lot harder.

My platform revolves around leveling the playing field and making sure our first year in med is a springboard for our success in second year and beyond. Besides the standard role of advocating for your needs and ideas during the year, I will also work to place the foundations of the following projects:

1) No Lost Med Students

We can all agree that RGN is a very confusing building. Even as you learn your way around the building, how confident are you in finding the nearest water fountain or shortest path back to the main door? My plan is to begin with maps around the building that indicate room numbers, bathrooms and water fountains so you are never late to a PSD or CBL! Then, in collaboration with other departments, work to color code the hallways to make it easier for us and guests to make our way around.

2) No Hungry Med Students

You woke up late, didn’t have breakfast, and forgot to bring lunch. Your only options are to go to the pricey cafeteria or stay hungry for the day. Hungry med students are unfocused and struggle to learn. Having access to free, healthy snacks for all means that everyone is able to perform their best. The aim of this project is to grow over the years into a service similar to Concordia University's “The People's Potato”, a healthy meal service for all students.

3) No Forgotten Med Students

We are quickly starting to learn that leadership is important for CaRMs. We all want to fill our CVs with positions and experiences to give us the best shot at residency. But, when leadership opportunities seem limited, unhealthy competition starts to ruin the environment. In reality, however, there are plenty of positions for all of us - they can just be hard to find! This project aims to create a regularly updated document with ALL available opportunities. Everyone should be able to find a role to participate in.

These projects will take time to complete, but the idea is to build the foundations for them this year.

Everyone in MD2030 should have an equal opportunity at success. As someone who is dedicated to her work, is confident in advocating, and is eager to hear from her peers, I am ready to work for and with my cohort. Let’s make sure that, in the cohort of MD2030, no student is left behind!