This time of year is always busy – from Thanksgiving to the holiday season, it seems like December is upon us in the blink of an eye. Before we gear up for some holiday cheer, I’d like to share a few updates from the past couple of months at the CMA.
I was in beautiful Whitehorse in November for the Yukon Medical Association’s (YMA’s) annual meeting to share the CMA’s latest work and help swear in their newest president, Dr. Alex Poole (Congrats again!). I also had the opportunity to join CMA Board of Directors representative Dr. Rao Tadepalli and the YMA Board of Directors for an insightful discussion on our latest strategic plan, CMA 2020. The YMA has such a young, vibrant and engaged membership and Board of Directors — which makes me even more excited for all the ways we can engage our members from across the country!
At the same time, many thousands of kilometres away, President-Elect Dr. Gigi Osler was in California to join the global health movement at TEDMED, the independent health and medicine edition of the world-famous TED conference. The event was a great opportunity for the CMA and the medical community to hear from some of the world's top innovators, as they shared their insights, discoveries and perspectives for the future of medicine and patient care. Presentations for this year’s event can be viewed on demand until February 8 – simply visit www.tedmedlive.org to check them out (you’ll need your participate code – if you’ve misplaced it, simply email [email protected] for a replacement).
I was even more humbled to be in Vancouver on Nov. 16 to honour Sir William Osler, one of the greatest figures from our medical history. The Osler lecture, hosted annually by the Vancouver Medical Association, celebrates his legacy and his impact on medicine, both here in Canada and internationally. Where would our medical training and education systems be without him?
And finally, just a few weeks ago, we re-launched our public seniors care website, Demand a Plan. We originally launched the site three years ago to push for improved seniors care, and since then, over 50,000 Canadians have signed on (many physicians among them!). We’ve seen some key milestones on this issue in the past year in particular – including the creation of a House of Commons’ study on the feasibility of a national seniors strategy. The new site makes it easier for you to show your support and spread the word among your friends and family. I’ve added my voice – I encourage you all to do the same at demandaplan.ca.
As we close out our 150th year, I’m filled with hope for our profession. Sure, being a physician is not always easy – but we all share the same calling. Our profession has a noble past and a bright future. The CMA, with its new strategic vision and mission, is working hard to continue its advocacy work and evolve to fit the world of today and tomorrow. In the next year, we’ll be tackling some big topics for our profession: the renewal of our code of ethics, a new Charter of Shared Values and physician health. These are just some of the issues we need to be courageous enough to look at.
Stay warm and till next time,
Dr. Laurent Marcoux
CMA President