June 2022
ADVOCACY NEWS
National
PA Education Advocacy Campaign
As part of our comprehensive advocacy plan to expand the number of PA training spots in Canada, CAPA presented to the Council of Ontario Faculties of Medicine (COFM) on June 20th and requested the following:
- Aligned support of PA program expansion beginning with the existing programs and support for new training programs with a focus on Indigenous, Rural and Francophone program development.
- Permanent PA representative/seat on the Council of Ontario Universities (COU). Programs have been in place since 2008 but there has yet to be a PA voice on COU
- Support program expansion and PA profession as a viable, cost-effective HHR strategy.
- Develop provincial strategy for clinical training capacity/opportunities.
- Dean supports accepting elective/core rotation requests from current PA Education Programs to boost recruitment to other regions in the province.
The meeting went very well with all in attendance agreeing that a united strategy be developed to expand PA education in the province. CAPA has been invited to a follow-up meeting on July 11th to discuss a PA seat on the COU.
Advocacy Meetings
CAPA continues to meet with federal representatives to call for PAs to be included in Canada’s Health Human Resources Strategy, more training programs are funded, along with funding for PA positions in corrections and First Nations communities. These meetings have culminated in CAPA being able to secure a meeting with the Federal Minister of Health, The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclo. CAPA President, Kevin Dickson will meet with the Minister of Health on July 12th in Halifax, Nova Scotia to discuss these issues. Stay tuned for more details.
British Columbia
Premier John Horgan has announced his plans to step down before the next provincial election. Horgan will resign after his party holds a leadership convention in the fall. He will continue to serve as MLA for the riding of Langford-Juan de Fuca for the remainder of his term. New leadership in BC presents an opportunity for CAPA to advocate for the provincial government to introduce PAs. CAPA will be advocating to all candidates to include PAs in their mandate if their leadership bid is successful.
On June 13th, 2022, CAPA Staff presented to the Select Standing Committee on Government and Finance Services as part of the 2023 budget consultation. We reiterated our advocacy priorities which include:
- The provincial government introduce and regulate PAs under the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia.
- The government create PA training programs in B.C. to train PAs locally.
- The government earmark $6.5 million in funding to hire 50 PAs over the course of the next three years and work with health stakeholders to identify where the PA model could have the greatest impact.
Saskatchewan
The Saskatchewan NDP has elected a new leader of the party, Carla Beck. CAPA has sent MLA Beck a letter congratulating her on the victory and introducing PA priorities.
Alberta
The Alberta Representation Working Group has met to discuss the outcome of the survey Alberta-based PAs responded to regarding representation options. The outcome of the survey indicated that Alberta PAs are split on what option is best (32% create our own union, 42% join an existing union, 26% status quo). We heard loud and clear that cost-effectiveness is of the utmost importance to Alberta PAs with 32% wanting to pay less than $500 annually and 47% wanting to pay no more than $500-$1000 annually. We also heard that the number one priority of a union is bargaining power with the employer. As a result, the working group has decided that the best course of action is to maintain the status quo until we can reach critical mass to ensure union dues would be less than $1000 a year. CAPA staff are currently investigating what an estimated cost breakdown would be, to understand how many PAs we would need in Alberta to make representation cost-effective. The committee intends to revisit this issue in the next 6 months to re-evaluate with new information. The work this committee has done has put us in a good position if we need to act quickly on representation in the future. In the meantime, CAPA continues to be in regular contact with AHS to discuss compensation for PAs. If you have any questions, comments, or feedback about this, please do not hesitate to email Marina at mbanister@capa-acam.ca.
The United Conservative Party is undergoing a leadership election. Whoever wins the leadership election will become the Premier on October 6th, 2022. CAPA is sending PA advocacy priorities to all UCP leadership candidates. CAPA met with the NDP Health Critic, David Sheppard on June 13th to discuss PA priorities and ask them to include those priorities in their upcoming platform.
Manitoba
CAPA has contacted every MLA in Manitoba to meet with PA representatives in the Fall as part of a dedicated advocacy push. The next provincial election in Manitoba is on October 3, 2023. Reaching out to all MLAs and parties approximately a year in advance allows us time to advocate for PA priorities to be included in upcoming platforms.
Ontario
New Minister of Health
On June 24th, the Honourable Sylvia Jones was appointed Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. A congratulations letter has been sent outlining the PA role, urging regulation be implemented, the PA model expanded, and the number of training spots increased to assist with the surmounting challenges the health system is facing. A meeting has been requested at the earliest convenience.
Family Health Teams
The Association of Family Health Teams (AFHTO) is currently undergoing a compensation market refresh with primary and community care partners. CAPA met with AFHTO on June 28th to discuss the process of being included in the compensation structure review. AFHTO assured that CAPA would be formally engaged in the consultation process, which is expected to begin in the coming weeks. In the meantime, CAPA will be providing AFHTO with the updated compensation report.
Nova Scotia
CAPA has been formally engaged with Nova Scotia Health and is meeting regularly to discuss the expansion of PAs in the province’s health care system. CAPA also met with Doctors Nova Scotia (DNS) to discuss next steps and how they can be of assistance. A follow-up meeting with DNS will take place in July.
Prince Edward Island
PEI is undergoing provincial health plan consultations. The Provincial Health Plan highlights the priorities for healthcare in the province and will establish a long-term vision, as well as guidance framework for PEI’s healthcare system. Members were notified of virtual engagement opportunities in June. However, there is still time to make your voice heard by filling out a survey by July 7th to urge the province to introduce PAs.
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY: PA FUNDING MODELS
CAPA is looking for a researcher to explore existing funding models and develop new ones that aim to save the health system money, increase physician input, incent team-based care, and make it easier for physicians to employ PAs in their practice. Please visit/share the following link to learn more: https://lnkd.in/gpzxiY4m
CAPA ANNUAL 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. Registration for the conference will be starting soon! Please visit our website here for more information and for 2022 pricing.
The call for presentation proposal abstracts and speakers will remain open as the Program Planning Committee develops the program. 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│16:00 – 17:30 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, once registration for the conference is launch, you can choose registration 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 Only section.
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT SURVEYS
The University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry has asked PAs to fill out this survey to understand the impacts of COVID-19 on double-duty caregivers — Canadians providing healthcare and then as a family caregiver at home. It is delivered on the secure REDCap survey platform https://redcap.link/doubleduty. The study has been approved by the University of Alberta Health Research Ethics Board Pro00117700. The survey will be open until June 30, 2022.
PAs IN THE NEWS
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta has interviewed a PA from Edmonton’s University of Alberta Hospital, to learn more about their role as a PA in Alberta’s healthcare system. Be sure to check out the piece Celebrating one year of physician assistant regulation in Alberta: part one.
Opinion: Homegrown physician assistants would help keep doctors in rural Alberta | Edmonton Journal
JOB LISTINGS
Visit the Job Listings in the members only section of the CAPA website for the latest career opportunities. New positions in June include one at the Cornwall Community Hospital in Cornwall, ON, one at SickKicks in the Emergency Department in Toronto, ON and one for the Canadian Forces Health Services. There are also plenty of other new job ads listed in Cardiology, Emergency Medicine and Internal 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.
CERTIFICATION
2022 PA Cert Exam
As a reminder, the 2022 PA Cert Exam will be administered on October 6, 2022.
With changing our website look and changing the platform, registration for the 2022 PA Cert Exam has been delayed. A broadcast email will be sent out when we are ready to receive registrations. The registration deadline will be September 22, 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.