We are the AMA when we work together:
- Caring for patients.
- Advocating for quality health care.
- Providing expert medical advice.
- Learning, teaching and advancing medical education.
- Managing our businesses.
- Exemplifying professional standards.
- Supporting each other and the medical profession.
Below are ways you can engage as a physician, resident or student to become an active part of your association.
From community advocacy to AMA governance (Representative Forum, Board of Directors and committees) to participation on a national level: get involved and tell us what issues are important to you and your fellow physicians.
General Opportunities:
Each year the Alberta Medical Association invites members to share their expertise by volunteering to serve on various standing committees and governance groups for the coming year.
Opportunities for committees and working groupsRF, which meets at least twice a year to set direction for the Alberta Medical Association, includes representatives from all sectors of the profession.
This group of representatives is responsible for the overall policy direction of the organization to meet the best interests of members.
Representative Forum
The Canadian Medical Association is the voice of the medical profession in Canada. It draws on the passion, knowledge and skill of its tens of thousands of members to advocate for a healthy population and a vibrant medical profession. The CMA is committed to championing better health, health care and a thriving workforce.
Learn more how physicians and medical learners can help lead the change with the CMA.
Learn more about and get involved in your Zone Medical Staff Association.
There are many ways to apply your medical and other humanitarian skills. Here are some provincial and international opportunities. (Something out of date? Let us know.)
Volunteer/Donation Opportunities in Alberta
Calgary Drop-in and Rehabilitation Centre (DI)
DI is "the voice" for the marginalized, disenfranchised and homeless population of Calgary.
DIL Walk
DIL means "heart" in Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu. In this instance, it is also an acronym for "Do It for Life". Walk stands for "Wellness, Access, Linkages and Knowledge". DIL Walk is a primary prevention approach that targets individuals before they have a heart attack by providing access to resources (medical, community, print resources, testing and self-management).
Dreams Take Flight (Calgary)
Dreams Take Flight is a nationally registered Children’s charity in Canada. Each chapter consists of a dedicated group of Air Canada employees, family members and associates, all of whom volunteer to raise money in order to take mentally, physically, emotionally or socially challenged children on a one day, all expenses paid trip to Disneyland.
Dreams Take Flight (Edmonton)
Dreams Take Flight is a national non-profit organization consisting of Air Canada volunteers dedicated to providing the trip-of-a-lifetime to physically, mentally or socially challenged children. The local sponsors and volunteers believe that we can make a major difference in these children's lives by opening a window of possibilities without limitations.
EFW Radiology turkey drive (completed for 2013)
Calgary radiologist Dr. Houman Mahallati challenges the medical community to help feed Calgarians in need through the Calgary Food Bank Drive.
Food Banks Alberta
Food Banks Alberta represents and supports food banks through leadership, direction and sharing information and resources
Kindness in Action
The Kindness in Action Service Society of Alberta's work is motivated by a belief in the dignity of all people and their right to basic human needs.
L'Arche Calgary
The mission of L'Arche Clagary is to create homes and communities where people with developmental disabilities (core members) and our youth leaders who share life with them (Assistants) find a place of belonging and can reveal their gifts to others.
Medicine Cup Charity Tournament
Medicine Cup Charity tournament is a 4 on 4 outdoor hockey tournament put on annually by the University of Alberta medical students to raise money for the Stollery Children’s Foundation.
MS Bike: Gear up to end MS
This pledge-based fundraising event provides Canadians with the opportunity to ride through scenic and often spectacular parts of the country while raising money to help end MS. Annually, over 10,000 cyclists participate in one - or two-day tours taking place between June and September.
Ride to Conquer Cancer
The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer is a two-day cycling event through the Rockies. The Ride supports patients and families at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton and 15 cancer centres throughout Alberta.
Safe Harbour Society
This group serves Central Alberta communities, providing detox and overnight shelter for people who are high or intoxicated, transitional housing units and homeless shelter.
University of Calgary Student-Run Clinic
The University of Calgary Student Run Clinic started in 2011 out of the medical clinics at the Calgary Drop-In Centre on Tuesday evenings, offering medical services to underserved populations and unique teaching experiences to medical students.
Waipiti House
Waipiti House (Rotary House) in Grande Prairie provides compassionate support for single men, women and families suffering from long-term, severe mental health and addictions.
Youth Empowerment & Support Services (YESS)
Youth Empowerment & Support Services (YESS) is an Edmonton not-for-profit organization unconditionally devoted to helping youth facing difficult realities.
National & International volunteer/donation opportunities
A Better World
A Better World is an international development organization based in central Alberta and supported and managed by volunteers dedicated to improving lives in developing countries.
Calgary Global Health Initiative (Zamboanga Project)
The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary has supported the development of a medical school, including a Masters Program in Public Health and other areas of postgraduate training, and medical faculty capacity building.
Canadian Relief for Syria
Canadian Relief For Syria is a non-profit organization which aims to raise relief funds to alleviate the suffering of the wounded, the bereaved, the abandoned orphans in Syria.
The Global Generation Foundation
The GGF supports family medicine training where access to quality health care is limited and works to find solutions for underserved rural populations in resource-poor countries.
Grand Challenges Canada
Grand Challenges Canada supports "Bold Ideas with Big Impact" in global health.
Healthy Child Uganda
HCU is a partnership between Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Canadian Universities and organizations, local health districts, and other Ugandan and international organizations, with active participation by local Ugandan communities. These groups share a common goal of improving maternal, newborn and child health in rural southwestern Uganda.
Helping Babies Breathe
Helping Babies Breathe is a neonatal resuscitation curriculum for resource-limited circumstances.
Laos Community Development Initiative - Meuang Kang School Projec
The project of building a new school for Meuang Kang School started in late 2009 after Typhoon Ketsana badly damaged the existing school and many villages of southern Laos. Many individuals and businesses in Pakse, a town in southern Laos, gave money, time and resources to supply emergency relief to the population. Doctors from the University of Calgary in Laos at that time emailed home for help from their community.
Innovative Canadians for Change (ICChange)
ICChange is made up of experts and students from all across Canada who are pooling their skills for the common goal of improving the quality of life and security of vulnerable populations.
Medical Mercy Canada
Medical Mercy Canada Society is a non-religious, non-partisan registered Canadian volunteer organization which provides support to impoverished persons and refugees along the Burmese borders, Nepal and Ukraine. Since 1991 MMC volunteers have been providing medical assistance, education, supplies, as well as funds for local initiatives to facilitate self-sufficiency.
Mercy Ships
Mercy Ships is the world's leading non-governmental ship-based medical organization.
Operation Esperanza
The team provides total hip and knee replacement surgeries to disadvantaged adults, and surgeries for dislocated hips and club feet to poor children, who would otherwise never be able to have such surgery and obtain relief from pain and disability. (EMAS CANADA is a Christian, interdenominational, charitable, non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Canada and in Hong Kong, that partners with organizations overseas in healthcare initiatives.)
ReSurge International
ReSurge International (formerly Interplast) provides free reconstructive surgeries for the poor and builds year-round medical access in underserved areas. It restores the dreams of those with deformities and injuries, and impacts the world by renewing the health of thousands of children and adults each year so they can go to school, provide for their families and contribute to society.
Team Broken Earth
Team Broken Earth supports the relief effort in Haiti to restore strength and hope to the Haitian people in the aftermath of one of the most devastating natural disasters in recent history.
University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry Global Health Initiative
The Global Health Initiative's projects and partnerships contribute to sustainable development for improved health. This is done in a framework that connects local and international education, research and community service.
University of Calgary Global Health and International Partnerships
This initiative provides leadership, funding and support for international experiences for students in the Faculty of Medicine.
Opportunities for Students:
The Committee on Student Affairs advises the board and RF on issues affecting student members. The committee is responsible for:
- Reviewing all applications for AMA student sponsorships
(The AMA allocates a budget annually for support of University of Alberta and University of Calgary student-run initiatives that foster student development.) Sponsorship supports initiatives organized by medical students for medical students and not the general population.- Learn about this year's sponsorship recipients
- Learn more about the sponsorship program
- Relaying events or the outcomes of meetings back to students.
- Keeping students informed about AMA scholarship/bursary deadlines and winners.
- Creating opportunities for students to connect with the AMA
(e.g., Meet-the-President sessions at the universities, Lunch/Dinner with Six, etc.).
- Assisting students with bringing issues to RF
Representatives are selected by student executives. The AMA Committee on Student Affairs is composed of:- Two RF student representatives
- Five other student representatives, three from the U of A, two from the U of C
Your current Committee on Student Affairs is:
- Gareth Jones, U of A
- Sana Samadi, U of A
- Giselle Tucker-Belliveau, U of A
- Chaim Katz, U of C
- Maren Kimura, U of C
- Daria Venkova, U of C
Lunch/Dinner with Six
Once per semester at both medical schools, the AMA president lunches/dines with six students. We’re buying, you’re talking. It’s an informal chance to interact with the president, ask questions about what’s happening in the system, the AMA or whatever happens to be on your mind.
For more information, contact your representatives to the AMA Committee on Student Affairs.
Two student representatives, one from each medical school in Alberta, are eligible to attend the RF and have voting privileges. Student representatives are elected or appointed by their respective medical student associations. Up to seven students from the U of A and seven from the U of C are eligible to attend the RF as observers.
The RF is the ultimate authority of the AMA. RF provides direction to the Board of Directors and has over 125 physician member delegates representing:
- Sections of medicine
- Provincial zones
- AMA past presidents
- College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta
- Universities
- Professional Association of Residents of Alberta (PARA)
- Students
Meet your current student RF Delegates and catch up on reports and resolutions
A medical student representative is an observer (non-voting) at meetings of the AMA Board of Directors.
The board develops and implements policy, advised by the RF. The 10 directors are elected by and from the members of the RF.
Officers of the board include the president, president-elect and immediate past president. The general membership elects the president-elect, who goes on to become president and then immediate past president. Each term is for one year.
Meet your current student observer to the AMA Board of Directors
Committee activities offer you the opportunity to get involved and provide input. Through AMA initiatives, members speak out for:
- patients and quality health care
- physicians
- a provincial medical consensus on health care
To volunteer, please contact your AMA student representative on the RF. If more than one student volunteers for the same position, your representative will organize a selection and voting process before forwarding the name of the volunteer to the AMA:
Standing committees with student representatives
- Committee on Bylaws
- Health Issues Council
- Student Affairs
- Informatics Committee
- Indigenous Health Committee
Advisory committees with student representatives
- Physician and Family Support Program Advisory Committee
- Healthy Working Environments Advisory Committee
External committees with student representatives
- Physician Practitioner Workforce Planning Sub-committee (PPWPS) – Involved in collecting data from multiple sources to produce a report in September 2014 to help students make future career decisions and guide them in specialties or areas that will need physicians.
Don’t forget: The AMA is a provincial division of the Canadian Medical Association. Your membership entitles you to the benefits, services and advocacy of both associations.
The CMA learns about student concerns through the national student association, which has representation on the CMA Board of Directors and its five core committees.
Address new challenges in health care
Medical innovation, new technologies and big data are bringing challenges and opportunities our way, and he CMA is facing them head on. Play your part in improving health care by contributing to grassroots and national initiatives. As a member, you can take on issues that matter by joining the Member e-Panel, connecting with your local MP through the CMA Advocacy Caucus or honing your advocacy skills.
Bring a patient perspective
The CMA is committed to supporting its’ members efforts to empower and care for their patients. They’re working to bring a patient perspective to everything they do — to strengthen and enrich their health advocacy work, like seniors care and to help develop policies that resonate within and beyond the profession.
Engage with stakeholders across the medical community
The CMA connects physicians, physicians-in-training, patients and medical community partners across Canada to expand their knowledge and influence. You can get involved by contributing to the CMA Health Summit, Communities of Interest or the Ambassador Program initiatives.
Help build a more vibrant medical profession
The CMA is partnering with physicians and physicians-in-training across Canada to improve health care performance and build a strong future for medical culture and professionalism. They make it easier for CMA members to connect with colleagues to address critical health concerns. The CMA is pressing forward on policies and programs that will help maintain health, well-being and professional satisfaction.
- Engage with CMA and help shape CMA Policy
- Visit cma.ca and click Get Involved in the main menu to learn about additional ways you can engage with the CMA.
Opportunities for Resident Physicians:
Two resident physician representatives from the Professional Association of Resident Physicians of Alberta are eligible to attend the RF and have voting privileges. These representatives are elected or appointed by PARA.
The RF is the ultimate authority of the AMA. RF provides direction to the Board of Directors and has over 125 physician member delegates representing:
- Sections of medicine
- provincial zones
- AMA past presidents
- the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta
- universities
- PARA
- medical students
A resident physician representative is an observer (non-voting) at meetings of the AMA Board of Directors.
The board develops and implements policy, as advised by the RF. The 10 directors are elected by and from the members of the RF.
Officers of the board include the president, president-elect and immediate past president. The general membership elects the president-elect, who goes on to become president and then immediate past president. Each term is for one year.
Committee activities offer you the opportunity to get involved and provide input. Through AMA initiatives, members speak out for:
- Patients and quality health care.
- Physicians.
- A provincial medical consensus on health care.
To volunteer, please contact your AMA PARA representative on the RF. If more than one resident physician volunteers for the same position, your representative will organize a selection-and-voting process before forwarding the name of the volunteer to the AMA.
Standing committees with PARA representatives
- Constitution and Bylaws
- Fees Advisory
- Financial Audit
- Health Issues Council
- Nominating
Advisory committees with PARA representatives
- Committee on Achievement Awards
- Physician and Family Support Program Advisory Committee
Don’t forget: The AMA is a provincial division of the Canadian Medical Association. Your membership entitles you to the benefits, services and advocacy of both associations.
The CMA learns about resident physician concerns through the national residents’ association, which has representation on the CMA Board of Directors and its five core committees.
The CMA unites the voice of the medical profession in Canada. It draws on the passion, knowledge and skill of its tens of thousands of members to advocate for a healthy population and a vibrant medical profession.
Address new challenges in health care
Medical innovation, new technologies and big data bring challenges and opportunities, and the CMA is facing them head on. Play your part in improving health care by contributing to grassroots and national initiatives. As a member, you can take on issues that matter by joining our CMA Health Advocates.
Bring a patient perspective
The CMA is committed to supporting its members' efforts to empower and care for their patients. They’re working to bring a patient perspective to everything they do — to strengthen and enrich their advocacy work, like seniors’ care and to help develop policies that resonate within and beyond the profession.
Engage with stakeholders across the medical community
The CMA connects physicians, physicians-in-training, patients and medical community partners across Canada to expand knowledge and influence. You can get involved by contributing to the CMA Health Summit, Communities of Interest or the Ambassador Program initiatives.
Help build a more vibrant medical profession
The CMA is partnering with physicians and physicians-in-training across Canada to improve health care performance and build a strong future for medical culture and professionalism. The CMA makes it easier for its members to connect with colleagues to address critical health concerns. The CMA is pressing forward on policies and programs that will help maintain health, well-being and professional satisfaction.
- Engage with CMA and help shape CMA Policy
- Visit cma.ca and click Get Involved in the main menu to learn about additional ways you can engage with the CMA.
CMA physician leadership resources
Achieve clinical excellence with virtual care tools, clinical resources, professional development courses and innovation grants provided by CMA Joule, a CMA company. Joule offers member incentives that can save you thousands of dollars in subscription fees every year. Leadership resources include access to Physician Leadership Institute in-house courses and much more.
Learn more about internal and partner volunteer opportunities in issues of MD Scope.