In 2022 the Canadian Medical Foundation entered into a partnership with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine for our joint goal of increasing the number of health professionals from underrepresented groups in medicine.

While financial aid is frequently the largest obstacle facing students who aspire to attend medical school, for students from many groups it may often seem like a dream that is not an option to them. They may not have individuals in their immediate circle who can guide them and provide support throughout their journey to medical school.

The CMF has committed support to cover the cost of the Faculty’s Supporting Applications, Supporting Interviews (SASI) program, which is available to students from all universities in Canada.

The goal of the SASI program is to support university students who are Indigenous, Black, Filipino, and/or from another otherwise disadvantaged group with a medical student mentor to guide them through their application and provide feedback before it is submitted.

Mentees are matched with medical student mentors from medical schools across Canada through MentorCity, a cloud-based software. The mentors are current MD students from a variety of diverse backgrounds that support the mentees by giving them feedback and advice on their autobiographical sketch, personal essays, references and MCAT.