May 2011 - "Headlines in Healthcare"

This one day conference was packed with amazing speakers and workshop leaders. First, Dr. Michael Rachlis gave a captivating lecture on Medicare and its sustainability, then attendees got to choose from one of three amazing workshops featuring Dr. Gordon Guyatt (Myths about Private Clinics), Dr.Ahmed Bayoumi (What User Fees Really Mean) and Sara Clemens (The Problem with Our Nursing Homes). The day was wrapped up with an incredible keynote address by David McNally who spoke about recent austerity movements and how they affect health care and other services essential to the social determinants of health. 

April 2011 - Student Townhall with Dr. Jeff Turnbull

 The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is hosted public forums across Canada to gauge public opinion on healthcare. Students for Medicare hosted such a forum to bring forth the views of students. 

April 2011 - Public Interest Alberta

Conference in Edmonton Alberta. Dr. Ritika Goel - presentation on SFM and Healthcare in Canda. Jill Alston, Ritika Goel, helped facilitate two sessions on healthcare.

March 2011 - Health, Wellbeing and Social Justice

Conference put on by Health Studies at U of T. - Ritika Goel (keynote panelist); Jill Alston, Shengquing Gu (presented "Maintaining Medicare" during breakout session) 

June 2010 - G20 Involvement: People’s Summit

 SFM membesr Dr. Ritika Goel and Dr. Ketan Vegda sat on panel Public Healthcare as a Global Right: Forging a Peoples Movement.

May 2010 - "Medicare: Solutions from Within"

This one day event featured conversations that focused on how we got to our current health care system, what the current debate is on health care and how to move forward with solutions while maintaining the publicly funded health care system Canadians cherish. Keynote speaker Dr. Joel Lexchin.

October 2010 - A Healthcare Debate

"Would Canada Benefit from Allowing Greater Private Financing of Health Care?"

Dr. William Orovan (yes) and Dr. Danielle Martin (no). Over 150 showed up to watch Dr. William Orovan and Dr. Danielle Martin debate over whether or not Canada should allow greater private financing of medically necessary services.

DEBATE POLL RESULTS:

Do you think that Canada should allow greater private financing of medically necessary services?

Before the debate, this is what the audience thought:

24%  said yes, 36 % didn't know, 40% said no

After the debate:

13% said yes, 23% didn't know, 63% said no

For those of you who missed it, the videos have been posted online. Follow this: http://vimeo.com/user4901000!

March 2009 - "Medicare: It's Time to Act" 

Our first SFM conference. A two-day event featuring speakers and seminars that focused on the benefits of a one-tier system and how to act to preserve Canadian Medicare. Conference featuring keynote speaker Dr. Jeff Turnbull.

November 2009—Dr. Jeff Turnbull

Dr. Jeff Turnbull addressed an audience of 50 to talk about social determinants of health. 

Other Initiatives:

• Letters to the Editor
• Letters to federal and provincial governments
• Editorial writing
• Health Education Survey (see blog for article published in UTMJ)
  • A survey posed to students of health professional programs in Ontario to gauge their perceived level of knowledge about Canada’s health care system based on their formal teaching. The survey assessed not only the level and quality of the curriculum in our current training systems but also, which specific aspects of our health care system students are most interested in learning about. Check out the blog for the link to the publication in University of Toronto Medical Journal.
• Collaboration with other groups with similar values on medicare (e.g. Medical Reform Group, Ontario Health Coalition, Canadian Doctors for Medicare, Health Providers Against Poverty, Health for All)

We also inform our members and mailing list subscribers about current issues facing our healthcare system by sending monthly digests with important media updates.  We make an effort to have a showing of members at important community events that are healthcare related.

To join us email studentsformedicare@gmail.com