August 2022
2022 ELECTIONS
The Board of Directors provides important strategic guidance to our association. But it also lets volunteers use skills not exercised in your day-to-day practice and offers the opportunity to expand your professional networks and gain leadership experience with a national organization. As a member of the Board your participation also allows you to report 15 Section 2 credit hours towards your CPD requirements.
The 2022 Elections expression of interest window is now closed. The following positions were open for election:
- President-Elect
- Alberta – Director and Alternate Director
- Saskatchewan – Alternate Director
- Manitoba – Alternate Director
- Quebec – Alternate Director
- Newfoundland – Director and Alternate Director
- New Brunswick – Director and Alternate Director
- Nova Scotia – Director and Alternate Director
- Prince Edward Island – Provincial Director and Alternate Director
- Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon – Provincial Director and Alternate Director
- Canadian Armed Forces Representative
Through our election process no candidates opposed the following individuals and after the extended to August 19 the following positions have been acclaimed.
- President-Elect – Kirsten Luomala
- Alberta Alternate Director – Hannah Wiens
- Saskatchewan Alternate Director – Ashley Millham
- Manitoba Alternate Director – Kali Braun
- Newfoundland Director – Kathleen Abreo
- New Brunswick Director – Ryan Bennett – 2nd 2-year term
- Nova Scotia Director – Peter Thibeault – 2nd 2-year term
- Prince Edward Island Director – Erin Sephton
- Canadian Armed Forces Representative – Andrew Carrière
Join us in congratulating the new board members and we will officially welcome them to the Board at the 11 November 2022 Annual Members Meeting.
The following three (3) members submitted their names for Director, Alberta:
Rachel Prato
Magda Predota
Lee Spencer
Members in Alberta have received a secure link to vote for their preferred candidate. As per our election process, a vote will take place between September 7 and September 12. Candidate information has been uploaded to the Election Candidates page in the Members section of the CAPA website. If you have any questions, please contact Sandra Bourgon at sbourgon@capa-acam.ca
CERTIFICATION
2022 PA Cert Exam
As a reminder, the 2022 PA Cert Exam will be administered on October 6, 2022. The registration deadline will be September 23, 2022, and it is important to note that NO registrations will be accepted after this date. Once all the registrations are completed, candidates will be provided with information on how to proceed with getting registered through the ProctorU platform.
Should you have any questions about registering for the 2022 PA Cert Exam, please contact Sandra at sbourgon@capa-acam.ca.
CAPA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The CAPA Board and staff are really looking forward to seeing our members in person again and we hope that you will register for conference today so that we can welcome you in person to CAPA 2022 in Quebec City.
Click here to secure your spot and register for the conference.
CAPA 2022 will take place at the Hilton in beautiful Quebec City from November 10th – 13th. This year’s conference theme will be about coming back together and getting back to basics, focusing on primary care topics.
The call for presentation proposal abstracts and speakers will remain open until the Program Planning Committee finalizes the program. There are still some open timeslots. CAPA is looking for oral and panel presentations to round out the high-caliber program. For more details, please visit the CAPA website. Submit your presentation proposal by using the template provided, along with a completed disclosure form.
CAPA is also accepting submissions for E-Posters. Poster sessions provide an opportunity to disseminate research results in a brief format and to discuss it with your peers. CAPA will be accepting submissions in the following categories: original research, case report, educational resources and interventions. In order to be considered, please submit an abstract (maximum 500 words) to admin@capa-acam.ca by September 12, 2022. Please click here for more details.
2022 ANNUAL MEMBER MEETING – Friday, November 11, 2022│16:30 – 18:00 ET
Your 2022 AMM is scheduled for November 11, 2022. As always, ALL members may attend the AMM but only Regular, New Graduate, Sustained, Student and Retired PA members are eligible to vote. For those registering for the conference, you can also register for the AMM. Members who only want to register for the AMM, can access the conference registration link and only choose AMM for your option.
Board Members and the Executive Director will be on hand to review financials, speak about the activities of the past year, and provide important updates. The agenda and documents will be posted to the AMM section in the Members tab of the CAPA website.
ADVOCACY NEWS
National
PA Education Advocacy Campaign
CAPA continues to work with the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) to advocate for PAs. In response to CAPA’s request they join our advocacy efforts, Queens and the University of Ottawa have confirmed they are supportive of the COU drafting a letter to the Ministry of Health, as well as the Ministry of Colleges and Universities advocating for multiple ways universities can support the health crisis, which includes the expansion of PAs.
Also joining CAPA’s advocacy plan to increase the number of training spots and programs in the country, is the New Brunswick Medica Society (NBMS). CAPA met with the NBMS twice in August. The Society will be submitting a letter to the NB Minister of Health in support of PAs.
Manitoba
CAPA has secured a meeting with Wab Kinew, NDP Leader of the New Democratic Party and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. The meeting, which has been scheduled for September 6th will be an opportunity to ensure PA issues are front of mind for decision makers in the province.
Ontario
Ontario Medical Association
CAPA will be meeting with the Ontario Medical Association in September to discuss HHR challenges and a renewed partnership between our organizations given the great collaborative relationship between PAs and physicians. Details to follow.
Primary Care PAs
To further our advocacy work for PAs working in Primary Care, CAPA is conducting a survey to determine where to focus our efforts. If you are a PA working in Primary Care, please take a moment to complete this confidential survey by September 6th.
A meeting will also take place on September 12th at 6:00 pm for PAs working in Family Health Teams to summarize the advocacy efforts being undertaken. An email with participant information was sent to members. If you did not receive this, please contact Kristy at kcorrente@capa-acam.ca
Nova Scotia
The Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) has been working to identify areas of medicine and geographic regions in the province where PAs could be of most help. While the NSHA works to identify where the need is greatest, they are also advocating to local hospitals and physicians on the benefits of the PA profession. CAPA has been working closely with the NSHA to further establish PAs in the province. In addition to providing them with the necessary resources, a short survey is being circulated to determine the level of interest PAs have, to work in Nova Scotia. If you are interested, please take a moment to complete this short survey.
PAs IN THE NEWS
Kathleen Abreo with her partner Dr. Travis Barron were featured in a CBC News article Could physician assistants relieve pressure on N.L.’s strained health system to discuss how they have seriously considered moving to Newfoundland and Labrador if PAs were able to work in the province. CBC also interviewed CAPA President, Kevin Dickson to learn more about the profession and the role he plays in the ED in Fredericton. The article also makes mention that the Newfoundland and Labrador Health Department are examining the role PAs could play in the province.
JOB LISTINGS
Visit the Job Listings in the members only section of the CAPA website (remember to sign in) for the latest career opportunities. New positions in August include one at the Mississauga Hospital in Neuro/MSK, one at Gates Medical Centre in Pickering, ON and one at the Edmonton Dermatology & Skin Surgery Centre. There are also plenty of other new job ads listed in Orthopaedics, Family Medicine, and Emergency Medicine.
If you have job ads to share or know a physician or organization looking to incorporate PAs into their practice, send them to us at admin@capa-acam.ca. We post job ads for free on the Job Listings page and, for a small fee we can email job opportunities directly to all our members.
CPD EVENTS
Don’t forget to check out the CPD Events Calendar on the CAPA website where you’ll find upcoming events to help you meet your maintenance of competencies or maintenance of certification requirements. Many organizations share their educational events with us.