Dr. Jayelle Friesen-Enns
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Dr. Jayelle Friesen-Enns
Youth – Métis (2024)
Red River Métis, Manitoba Métis Federation, MB
“I am looking forward to the opportunity to serve my Indigenous community through providing healthcare, advocating for my community, and by creating more space for Indigenous representation in the field of medicine.”
Healthcare isn’t just a profession for Dr. Jayelle Friesen-Enns; it’s also a mission. A proud Cree and Métis person who was adopted, growing up in a small farming town, her ancestry connects her to Indigenous communities in both Manitoba and Alberta. She served as President of the Class of 2023 while studying medicine at the Max Rady College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba, where her exceptional dedication to leadership, volunteering, advocacy, and research set her apart from other medical students. She also completed graduate-level research during her time in medical school and served as a mentor for younger students.
After talking to other Indigenous medical students, Jayelle discovered that they were all experiencing similar challenges in pursuing their studies: access, financial pressures, racism. So she co-founded the Indigenous Medical Students’ Association of Canada (IMSAC), a new organization which fills a major gap in peer support for Indigenous medical students across Canada and which also supports the TRC’s Calls to Action regarding healthcare.
Through her work as a member of the Canadian Medical Association’s (CMA’s) Indigenous Guiding Circle, Jayelle helped to create the CMA’s Indigenous health goal which stipulates measurable, ongoing improvements in health and wellness for Indigenous People, supported by a transformed, discrimination-free healthcare system. The supports that she has helped to implement in medical education, both locally and nationally, will improve the well-being of Indigenous medical students while helping their future Indigenous patients.
Among Jayelle’s numerous accolades are the Doctors Manitoba Student Leadership Prize, the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Award for Medical Students, and the Helen Betty Osborne Memorial Award. After graduating, she took a position as a first-year resident physician in the Calgary Emergency Medicine Residency Program (Alberta Health Services), continuing her important work to create a more equitable and responsible medical education and healthcare system in Canada.
