ADVOCACY NEWS
Saskatchewan
CAPA Staff will be reaching out to our heath sector allies and the Government of Saskatchewan to renew the call to introduce and regulate PAs in the province. CAPA is looking for PAs with a connection to or interest in Saskatchewan to be part of this advocacy. If you are interested in getting involved with furthering the profession in Saskatchewan, please contact Marina at mbanister@capa.acam.ca.
Alberta
CAPA has struck the Alberta Representation Working Group. This group will be dedicated to exploring ideas related to unionization and representation for Alberta PAs. If you are interested in being part of this working group, please contact mbanister@capa.acam.ca.
British Columbia
CAPA had several meetings with the Government of British Columbia in the past few weeks. During these meetings, the Government staff indicated that while they see the value in PAs, regulation is not a priority to them. As a result, CAPA is adding a letter writing and social media campaign to our advocacy tactics in order to show the Government the demand for the profession and increase its priority. If you are interested in participating in this letter writing campaign, please email mbanister@capa.acam.ca and Marina will send you the letter template and further information.
Ontario
CAPA continues to speak with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) who has agreed to jointly establish a working group to establish a process and finalize regulation. In the meantime, an infographic timeline is being developed to help answer any questions that you might have regarding what to expect.
Nova Scotia
Were you able to tune in Tuesday, June 15th, 2021 from 2:00PM to 4:00PM ADT, to watch the Nova Scotia Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs meeting, which discussed Physician Assistants’ Role in the Health Care System? If not, click here to watch Nova Scotia Director, Peter Thibeault and Alternate Director, Erin Sephton, present to the committee and answer their questions.
Newfoundland and Labrador
A meeting date with CPSNL Registrar, Dr. Linda Inkpen and Executive Director, Robert Thompson from the NLMA has been secured for July 6th to explore their receptiveness for PAs. The goal of the meeting will be to obtain their support so that we may circle back to the Minister’s office and convey this to the Department of Health and Community Services.
STUDENT EVENT
The “Intro to Clerkship” event happened on June 26th from 10AM – 1:30 EST. The CAPA Student Committee organized this event so students could gain valuable clinical pearls from PAs, connect virtually with students from all three Canadian PA programs, and gain access to a clerkship handbook with tips and tricks for surviving second year of PA school.
CAPA ANNUAL CONFERENCE – November 4 – 7
As always, the volunteer team behind the planning committee is working diligently on an awesome education program for the conference. This year we are proud to announce we will continue our commitment to bringing you the highest quality CPD and help build your network of PA professionals with our online platform. We look forward to sharing more details on the program, pricing, and sponsorship opportunities with you soon.
CALL FOR SPEAKERS
Last call to submit your abstract for presentation at the CAPA conference. Presentation abstracts will be accepted until July 15, 2021. Presenting is an excellent way to promote your educational and professional background. Show your dedication to the PA profession and engage your peers with the most recent information. We encourage diversity in the organizing team and speakers. This includes diversity of viewpoint and thinking regarding the topics discussed at the symposium or workshop, gender, race, affiliations, seniority, geographic location, etc.
Click here to find out more or submit your abstract.
COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK SURVEY
Member feedback regarding a revised Competency Framework for Canadian PAs is being sought. With the experience and feedback gathered from PA-program leadership, program accreditation, role expansion, and medical education literature, the Canadian PA Education Program Directors and CAPA propose 12 Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for PAs in Canada as a new overarching framework. This framework builds on the foundation of previous competency documents and aligns to current CanMEDS-PA (2015) standards.
A link to a survey was sent out on June 17th. If you did not receive the link, please reach out and the link can be shared. This survey will provide feedback and comments regarding the proposed Canadian EPAs. Members will have until July 9th to provide feedback and complete the survey.
PA RESEARCH
Have you been a part of a research study? Have you written an article that was published? If so, please send it to Alexis at agunawardena@capa-acam.ca so that we can share it with your PA colleagues.
PAs IN THE NEWS
The Medical Post
On June 8th, The Medical Post ran an article entitled Physician assistants on eve of regulation in Ont. The article features interviews with Ontario Director, Sahand Ensafi, Manitoba Director, Steven Piotrowski and CAPA Executive Director, Patrick Nelson. Definitely worth a read, be sure to check it out!
Global News
On June 20th, Global National ran a piece on Demand for physician assistants in health care. The story commented on the lack of sufficient training spots in the country and featured interviews with Nova Scotia Alternate Director, Erin Sephton, CAPA Executive Director, Patrick Nelson and Assistant Clinical Profession Dr. Kristen Burrows. Please take a couple of minutes to watch!
If you see members being recognized within your workplace or in your community, let us know so we can spread the good news. And if you see local health care headlines and believe there is an opportunity to highlight PA contributions, or follow up with a letter to the editor, we would like to hear from you. Please contact Alexis at agunawardena@capa-acam.ca.
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 credit hours towards your CPD requirements.
Next month, we will launch our call for candidates for following positions:
- British Columbia – Director and Alternate Director
- Saskatchewan – Director and Alternate Director
- Manitoba – Alternate Director
- Ontario – Alternate Director
- Quebec – Director and Alternate Director
- Newfoundland – Director and Alternate Director
- New Brunswick – Alternate Director
- Prince Edward Island – Director and Alternate Director
- Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon – Director and Alternate Director
Stay tuned for information on our website. If you would like to help move CAPA and the PA profession forward, please consider becoming a candidate.
JOB LISTINGS
Visit members-only Job Listings on the CAPA website for the latest career opportunities across Canada.
If you have job ads to share, 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 email job opportunities on behalf of employers directly to all our members.