Black Medical Students' Association
When I started the drive from Kingston to Toronto for the Inaugural AGM in March, I had no idea what to expect. I thought maybe I would meet a few other Black medical students that would become my friends or future connections. Being met by students from all 17 medical schools, many flying in from across the country was just the start of having my expectations exceeded.
It was a weekend of meeting people from provinces I had never visited before. Yet, the cultural unity we all experienced, the comfort we all found by being surrounded by people who looked like us and were experiencing medicine the same way – it was moving.
I had no idea that by the end of that weekend, we would have established a community.
A community for medical students who are the only Black person in their class.
A community for medical students who had no idea where to start with forming a Black Medical Students Association at their school.
A community for Black joy without restraint or fear of judgement.
A community that would be there during international Black Lives Matter protests in the face of a pandemic. National lockdowns started within 2 short weeks of our inaugural General Meeting. We were just 2 weeks shy of having this opportunity to meet each other in person, to hug and embrace our new community – taken away from us.
I consider the founding of the Black Medical Students Association of Canada by Dr. Helen Telekmiriam and Dr. Yohanna Asghedom, the epitome of a perfect storm. We had no idea what would come in the months to follow. We were in the first 3 months of our terms as the first official executive when support came pouring in, in response to the George Floyd protests.
Still, what would have happened if two Black women in medicine, in their final residency application-filled year, had not chosen 2020 as the year Black medical students in Canada should come together? Would we have had the community support we all needed during the peak of Black Lives Matter protests? The ability to lean on our community and the new friends we had met was invaluable. This meant more to me than anything else. Knowing that I had people who were going through the exact same motions and experiences as I was as a Black woman and a medical student this summer made all the difference in my wellness.
Would we have been prepared to respond and initiate changes at our institutions? Before we had a vision for the BMSAC, we had drafted recommendations for all medical schools as well as overseeing organizations like the AFMC and CFMS. We like to see it as – we had to run before we could walk.
We will never know what this year would have been like without the BMSAC, but I can assure you that it would have been very different. From the individual relationships that have gotten us through a scary year to the collective will to make change happen at our schools – we are thankful for March 2020.
The best is yet to come for the BMSAC.
Iku Nwosu, Chair
