Equity and Social Accountability

You Belong Here

The Queen's MD Program strives to create and support a community in which every student feels empowered

Our students are proud of our welcoming community and embrace equity, diversity, inclusion, Indigeneity and accessibility. We want all students from various intersecting identities to see themselves in our MD Program.

Check out our current student interest groups →

Meet our Director of Equity and Social Accountability

Dr. Rupa Patel is a family physician, medical educator and advocate for health equity and social accountability. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Queen’s University, Program Director of the Women’s Health Program, and practices at Kingston Community Health Centres. She also serves as a Career Advisor in the Queen’s MD Program. Dr. Patel has been recognized for her contributions to Family Medicine, including the 2024 Ontario College of Family Physicians Regional Family Physician of the Year award.

With more than 30 years of experience in Family Medicine, Dr. Patel has worked across a range of clinical and community settings, including rural and remote Northern Ontario, Family Medicine obstetrics, hospital-based care, academic practice and community health centres. Her clinical and academic interests include women’s health, trauma-informed care, responsible opioid prescribing, and the role of primary care in addressing health inequities.

A strong focus of her work is building partnerships across healthcare, education and community organizations to address gaps in access to care. In Kingston, Dr. Patel identified the need for primary care for newborns without an established provider and brought together community partners to develop the Kingston-area Newborn Wellness Clinic, a collaborative initiative involving Kingston Community Health Centres, Queen’s University and KFL&A Public Health.

Dr. Patel is also committed to community-based approaches to health and wellness. She serves as Co-Chair of the KFL&A Food Policy Council, where she works with community partners to advance a sustainable local food system, improve food literacy and promote recognition of food as an important determinant of health.

Her approach to medical education is grounded in the belief that excellent clinical care and health equity are inseparable. She is particularly interested in helping learners develop the knowledge, skills and reflective practice needed to recognize inequities, understand the influence of power and privilege, advocate for patients and communities, and contribute to meaningful systems change.

Dr. Patel is committed to developing physicians who are not only excellent clinicians, but also thoughtful partners, advocates and leaders in creating a more equitable healthcare system.

Additional QHS ESA Members

Associate Dean, Equity & Social Accountability – Dr. Colleen Davison
Assistant Dean, Indigenous Health – Dr. Sarah Funnell

Additional QHS & Queen's University EDIIA Support and Resources

Partners and Programs

Community of Support

The Queen’s Health Sciences is a partner with the University of Toronto’s Temerty MD Program’s Community of Support program. This is a collaborative initiative supported by several faculties of medicine across Canada, which supports prospective students facing systemic barriers on their path to medical education, basic sciences, and rehabilitation sciences programs.

Learn more »

COS is committed to supporting prospective students who face systemic barriers on their journeys to these programs. This includes individuals who are Indigenous, Black, Filipino, Latin American, and students who face financial barriers, and/or self-identify as having a disability, and/or are non-traditional (e.g., mature students).

COS provides the following resources:

Admissions information
Volunteer, research, and mentorship opportunities
Free application support, including MCAT and CASPer prep, application guidance, and interview preparation

If you are looking for guidance and support in your academic journey, COS is here for you! Sign up for COS MentorCity space to keep up to date on our various activities.

Each summer, COS runs the Student Application Support Initiative (SASI) to provide COS members with access to a medical student mentor to guide them through the OMSAS application process and provide feedback on their application before it is submitted. The application support runs from May to September, and each mentor will be paired with one or more students, and the mentorship can be delivered online. Sign-up for SASI.

Conflict of Interest Disclaimer

If you are planning on being a file reviewer or interviewer during the application cycle, it is a conflict of interest to also be a mentor. A mentor’s participation in the admissions process can be detrimental to both the mentors and the mentees. It would be very difficult to fully disengage from your mentee once you begin the admissions rating process. We want to ensure that our applicants from the Community of Support are supported throughout their application process and find our mentors to be the critical champions of their success. Given all this, we have been adhering to our conflict-of-interest policies. If you have previously participated in admissions as a file reviewer or interviewer, we would ask that you refrain from being part of this initiative as well.

Mushkiki Miikan – Pathway to Medicine

The Mushkiki Miikan project aims to comprehensively support Indigenous learners in pursuing medical education by developing pathways in collaboration with Ontario medical schools (University of Toronto, Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, Queen's University, McMaster University, Toronto Metropolitan University, Schulich School of Medicine, and University of Ottawa). The overarching goal of this program is to increase access, provide tailored assistance, and foster a supportive environment for Indigenous learners throughout their medical education journey.

Learn more »

Are you an Indigenous student interested in a career in medicine?

Mushkiki Miikan: Pathways to Medicine Mentorship Program

Join our Mushkiki Miikan community, a collaborative initiative across Ontario medical schools (University of Toronto, Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, Queen's University, McMaster University, Toronto Metropolitan University, Schulich School of Medicine, and University of Ottawa) dedicated to supporting Indigenous high school, undergraduate, and returning learners on their journey to medical school. At Mushkiki Miikan, you will be invited to join our mentorship community where you will receive updates on summer/fall/winter programming, MD application and interview support, and other upcoming opportunities. You will also have access to medical school application resources, interview support and information on Indigenous MD admission pathways. Finally, you will be able to connect with fellow Indigenous learners including current and previous applicants who understand your journey and are here to help.

If you are interested in being a mentor for our Mentorship Program to support our mentees with their journey into medical school. This includes medical school application and interview support.

If you are interested in applying as mentor, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/MushkikiMiikan

For questions related to the program, please email us at: outreach@mushkikimiikan.com

For more information regarding Mushkiki Miikan, please visit www.mushkikimiikan.com

Conflict of Interest Disclaimer

If you are planning on being a file reviewer or interviewer during the application cycle, it is a conflict of interest to also be a mentor. A mentor’s participation in the admissions process can be detrimental to both the mentors and the mentees. It would be very difficult to fully disengage from your mentee once you begin the admissions rating process. We want to ensure that our applicants from the Mushkiki Miikan: Pathways to Medicine Mentorship Program are supported throughout their application process and find our mentors to be the critical champions of their success. Given all this, we have been adhering to our conflict-of-interest policies. If you have previously participated in admissions as a file reviewer or interviewer, we would ask that you refrain from being part of this initiative as well.

Additional QHS ESA Members

Additional QHS & Queen's University EDIIA Support and Resources

Partners and Programs

Community of Support

COS provides the following resources:

Mushkiki Miikan – Pathway to Medicine

Are you an Indigenous student interested in a career in medicine?

Awareness

Learn & Communicate

Prevent & Respond

Support

Report