Reem Hamud is Memorial University’s 2025 recipient of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Award for Medical Students.
The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame partners with Canada’s medical schools to recognize young leaders who exemplify qualities of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame laureates: perseverance, collaboration and entrepreneurial spirit. The award is given to medical students who have also demonstrated outstanding community leadership, superior communication skills and a strong commitment to advancing medical knowledge.
A third-year medical student, Ms. Hamud holds a bachelor of science (honours) degree in biochemistry and a master of science degree in medicine (clinical epidemiology), both from Memorial University.
“Witnessing the impact of youth-led advocacy was incredibly inspiring and solidified my interest in continuing this work.”
Early on in her academic career at Memorial, Ms. Hamud became involved in local advocacy initiatives, including volunteering with the Association for New Canadians and the Women in Science and Engineering groups.
She ventured into national advocacy initiatives as a graduate student, which has played a significant role in her current endeavours.
“I joined the World Vision Canada Youth Council and liaised with the Refugee Education Council,” said Ms. Hamud. “I became involved in organizing the group’s national Youth Summit in Toronto, working with driven team members from across the country to advocate for quality education. Witnessing the impact of youth-led advocacy was incredibly inspiring and solidified my interest in continuing this work in medical school and beyond.”
Civic engagement
During her time with World Vision, she also contributed to developing a political civic engagement workshop.
“The workshops enabled Canadian youth to bring their advocacy passions to local governance, whether it was about climate change, quality education or gender equality,” she said.
In her first year of medical school, Ms. Hamud was selected to join the SDG4 Youth and Student Network, an international group of youth advocates and leaders spearheading initiatives related to global quality education.
She says it was a “wonderful” opportunity to collaborate with motivated and passionate leaders across continents.
“I was invited to attend the Economic and Social Youth Forum at the United Nations headquarters, an opportunity I unfortunately had to forgo. But working with the group reaffirmed my commitment to advancing equitable education as a social determinant of health.”
Day of Action
She has also been involved in the government affairs and advocacy branch of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students.
In this capacity, Ms. Hamud joined medical students from across Canada in Ottawa as part of the organization’s National Day of Action to meet with parliamentarians and propose changes to the health-care system.
That led her to co-lead the Provincial Day of Action in Newfoundland and Labrador earlier this year.
As part of this initiative, medical and pharmacy students met with members of the House of Assembly advocating for expanded interpretation services in pharmacies.
Systemic change
Ms. Hamud first heard about the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Award during the first year of her MD program.
“With these big awards, there’s always a bit of self-doubt — should I even bother applying?” she said. “There are so many great candidates. But sometimes you just have to step out of your own way and see what happens.”
As part of her award application, Ms. Hamud wrote about the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame laureate who inspired her the most. She chose 2013 laureate Dr. Bette Stephenson.
She says Dr. Stephenson was a pioneering physician, policy-maker and advocate, and her ability to intersect medicine and policy for systemic change was “incredibly inspiring,” especially after her attendance at the National Day of Action and seeing the importance of engaging with policy-makers for health-care reform.
“With this type of work, you hold onto hope for change, but you also can’t give up if something doesn’t come out of your advocacy right away. You have to keep building on it and keep going.”
