Howie, the former Government Affair and Advocacy Committee (GAAC) Chair at the UofA medical school talked about the importance of student advocacy and the work of GAAC. In 2018, GAAC took a bold jab at the upcoming controversial cannabis legalization in Canada and called for the provincial government to create youth mental health programs from the tax of cannabis sales. Take a listen to find out more about how this all started.

Interviewee: Howie (Class of 2020)

Interviewer: Kathleen and Lucy (Class of 2020)

Editor: Lucy (Class of 2020)

MHA execs Dora, Julie, and Kerry shared their takeaways from first year of medical school. They discussed their reasons for joining the Mental Health Advocates and some common struggles medical students may face in their first year. They also celebrated people who demonstrated exceptional kindness to them in the med community in this podcast.

Interviewee: Dora, Julie, and Kerry (Class of 2021)

Interviewer: Lucy (Class of 2020)

Editor: Lucy (Class of 2020)

In this podcast, MHA executive Brandy talked about her unique journey to medical school, and how she designed her own research project to investigate burnout and moral distress in ICU staff. She updated us on the prevalence of PTSD in critical care and challenges she faced during the research. Last but not least, she also provided tips on how to reduce the feeling of moral distress and avoid burnout.

Interviewee: Brandy (Class of 2021)

Interviewers: Kathleen and Lucy (Class of 2020)

Editor: Lucy (Class of 2020)

Students from the Class of 2021 share their experience with the imposter syndrome. Give it a listen and see if you had ever experienced it as well. Advices on how to overcome the anxiety and stress brought to you by the imposter syndrome were also discussed.

Interviewees: David, Julia, Megan, Scott (Class of 2021)

Interviewers: Lucy & Paul (Class of 2020)

Editor: Paul (Class of 2021)

Our beloved former Mental Health Advocates executive Kenji shared with us his journey through first and second year of medical school. We talked about his favourite podcast collection(gotta say, they are pretty impressive), long-lasting memories of orientation week, cool clubs that you should check out, as well as specific advices for incoming students.

(Note: The Mental Health Advocates was formerly named Portraits of Mental Health back in 2016-17, this podcast was recorded in the Summer of 2017 so the names were used interchangeably.)

Interviewee: Kenji (Class of 2019)

Interviewers: Adam & Lucy (Class of 2020)

Editer: Lucy (Class of 2020)

There is a safe harbour for all UofA medical students and it is called the LAW Office (Learner Advocacy and Wellness Office). In this podcast, Dr. Mel Lewis discusses with us the important works that the LAW do and why self-care should be a priority for all medical students, and her memories of medical school.

Interviewee: Dr. Mel Lewis

Interviewer: Lucy & Wesley (Class of 2020)

Editor: Lucy