OMS is committed to ensuring that all students have the opportunity to attend conferences and experience the wonders of a career in medicine, regardless of financial situation. This is a non-profit organization and all revenue goes towards conference operations. An incredibly unique opportunity for everyone interested in medicine.
By | Connie Xie
In 2019, I attended my very first Operation Medical School (OMS) conference held at the University of British Columbia. In the beginning, I realized how intimidating it is to be in a conference room filled with over a hundred students all aspiring to enter the medical field. The first thought that came to mind was “I wonder how many students here are better than me.” However, halfway through the conference I began to trash that mindset and gained insight into what it truly means to enter the medical field.
I learned and gained insider information on the medical field from professors, current medical students, doctors, and surgeons. Being able to choose the types of sessions I wanted to attend based upon my interests and spending an entire day surrounded by mentors, and like-minded peers, was an extremely insightful experience.
A year later, COVID-19 occurred. However, I was still determined to enter the medical field and discover what else is waiting for me beyond Notre Dame. When I was notified that Operation Medical School was recruiting Ambassadors and Associates, I immediately signed up. I wanted to be a part of this student-based organization and help educate students across North America on medicine. Currently, I am one of the three Associates for OMS and have begun promoting the conference itself.
Being immersed in this vibrant community made me appreciate all the workers behind the scenes during the conference and the efforts that went into such an important event. I am sure with the pandemic, many of us have realized just how important health care officials are. This is why I highly recommend all students to join an OMS conference whether the healthcare field is of interest to you or not. It is really eye-opening and important to understand the changes happening in health care especially now with the pandemic.
This year, the OMS conferences are held online. Although this means that the attendees won’t be able to enjoy the conference in person (or the lunches!), the conference will be just as informative. The conference this year is named “Reimagining Medicine” and will be a series of 1-2 hour zoom webinars each weekend from January 30 – March 6, 2021. The conference will focus on expanding the attendees’ views on healthcare and how COVID-19 has changed the medical school admissions process.
Furthermore, there will be a wider variety of health-care professionals to share their experiences and views (we had an official from the World Health Organization last time, I wonder who it would be this year!). The ticket sales for this conference was launched on December 19 and will continue until mid-January. If interested, you can sign up through the link in their bio on Instagram @omsvancouver or, register and find out more information through the website:
Definitely sign up for the conferences and have fun choosing which session to attend based upon your interests (or attend all of them!). Lastly, if you are registering, you can put my name down (Connie) in the comments/reference section. This is just collected information on my end and will not be shared anywhere else.
I hope to see you all at the conference!