Starting in Atlantic Canada on Jan. 26, the CMA is kicking off a series of Regional Member Forums that will see the association connect with members across the country.
“Whether it’s the increasing number of med students who aren’t matching to training positions, or the high rates of burnout among physicians, we’re facing many different challenges as a profession,” says CMA President Dr. Gigi Osler. “By coming together at these forums, we’re hoping we can look at these issues in a new light.”
Members helped shape the agenda for these full day events, which focus on two of the pressing issues facing the profession and patients: Canada’s physician workforce, and physician health and wellness.
The theme of “listen, learn and act” will run throughout the meetings, with the goal of hearing directly from participants about how these issues affect their day-to-day work, the barriers to change, and their ideas for solutions.
Dr. Osler will set the stage for the physician workforce discussion, touching on topics like supply and demand, diversity in medicine, and the potential of new technologies to improve access to care, while Dr. Caroline Gérin-Lajoie, the CMA’s new vice-president of physician health and wellness, will use the forums as an opportunity to hear directly from members about their wellness needs and priorities.
“There are no quick fixes when it comes to physician health and wellness, and our members – who live and breathe this issue every day – can really shed some light on our current challenges and help us move in the right direction,” says Dr. Gérin-Lajoie.
Aren’t attending the forums? You can still share your thoughts on Canada’s physician workforce, and physician health and wellness by joining the discussion on our new community engagement platform, starting Jan. 26.
The forums are yet another way for the CMA to connect directly with members. At the “Open Dialogue” sessions during the day, participants will have the opportunity to share their big ideas for the CMA’s work in support of physicians and their patients.
We look forward to hearing from members at the forums and online, and we’ll be sharing the results of the discussions with the full membership later this spring.
The CMA will be hosting a total of four forums in Halifax (Jan. 26), Montreal (Jan. 28), Edmonton (Feb. 2) and Ottawa (Feb. 4). To ensure representation from rural and remote areas, members living outside these cities were also encouraged to apply to have their travel costs covered by the CMA.