SEPTEMBER NEWS BULLETIN
ANNUAL MEMBERS MEETING
The 2021 Annual Members Meeting (AMM) will take place on Friday November 5, 2021, and. will be conducted through our Zoom platform. The AMM is hosted in accordance with our bylaws. All members may attend the AMM but only Regular, New Graduate, Sustained, and Retired PA members are eligible to vote. Members will be asked to advise if they are attending through a pre-registration process.
Board Members and the Executive Director will present the association’s financials, speak about the activities of the past year, and will provide important updates. The agenda and other meeting documents have been posted to the CAPA website in advance of the meeting.
2021 ELECTIONS
The 2021 Elections are now closed. Through our election process no candidates opposed the following individuals and they have been acclaimed to their positions and will take their new seat on the Board following the November 5, 2021 Annual Members Meeting.
- British Columbia Director – Lisa Stewart
- British Columbia Alternate Director – Eric Demers
- Saskatchewan Director – Todd Bryden
- Manitoba Director – Steve Hall
- Ontario Director – Anthony Desloges
- Quebec Director – Jean-Nicolas Chagnon
- Canadian Armed Forces Representative – Ashley Millham
A vote for the following candidates was held from September 13 to September 25.
Alternate Director Ontario
– Cole Moro
– Kevin Kitzul
At the close of voting, Kevin Kitzul was elected as the Alternate Director, Ontario.
The following positions remain vacant:
- Saskatchewan – Alternate Director
- Manitoba – Alternate Director
- Quebec – 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
The following members will be leaving the Board after the November 2021 AMM.
- Manitoba Director – Steven Piotrowski
- Ontario Director – Sahand Ensafi
- Alternate Ontario Director – Maitry Patel
- Canadian Armed Forces Representative – Stuart Russelle
Join us in thanking them for their dedication and commitment to the PA profession and the association.
2022 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
We are happy to present your new Board of Directors. These changes take effect following the November 5, 2021, Annual Members Meeting.
President – Kevin Dickson
Past President – Leslie St-Jacques
BC Director – Lisa Stewart
BC Alternate Director – Eric Demers
AB Director – Kirsten Luomala (Treasurer)
AB Alternate Director – Lee Spencer
SK Director – Todd Bryden
MB Director – Steve Hall
ON Director – Anthony Desloges
ON Alternate Director – Kevin Kitzul
QC Director – Jean-Nicolas Chagnon
NB Director – Ryan Bennett (Secretary)
NS Director – Peter Thibeault
NS Alternate Director – Erin Sephton
Canadian Armed Forces Representative – Ashley Millham
Student Representative – Hannah Keith
Welcome to our new board members, we look forward to working with you. Thank you to our returning board members, we look forward to continuing to work with you.
CAPA COMMUNICATIONS
Follow us on our new Instagram account. We are also active on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIN.
Canadian Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA-PA) Competency Framework (NCP-2021)
CAPA is pleased to announce that CanMEDS-PA (2015) has been updated as the Canadian Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA-PA) Competency Framework (NCP-2021). The new EPA-PA Competency Framework (NCP 2021) can be found on our website.
Since 2009, CAPA has integrated the CanMEDS framework into the National Competency Profile of Canada’s PAs. The Canadian Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA-PA) Competency Framework (NCP-2021) builds on the previous CanMEDS-PA document to contextually capture specific skills required for transition to practice and life-long maintenance of competencies.
The Canadian EPA-PA Competency Framework (NCP-2021 ) will come into effect in 2022. Canadian PA Education Programs will be integrating this competency framework into upcoming accreditation cycles. These changes build on previous competency profiles and reflect the movement of medical education towards outcome-based and competency-based programming.
It is our hope that an updated competency framework will provide clear standards and expectations for Canadian education programs, students, the PA profession, employers, and other important stakeholders.
ADVOCACY NEWS
Alberta
The Government of Alberta has appointment a new Health Minister, The Honorable Jason Copping. CAPA has reached out to congratulate the new Minister and ask for an introductory meeting. Of note, Minister Copping has ample experience with labour relations, including serving as the previous Minister of Labour and Immigration. This is something we will be mindful of as we pursue representation in Alberta.
British Columbia
It has been a busy month with British Columbia advocacy. CAPA spoke in front of the Government of British Columbia Finance Committee to pitch PAs during the Budget 2022 Consultation. The presentation went very well, and we have had several follow up meetings since the presentation with MLAs and political staff.
In October, CAPA will be doing a dedicated advocacy push with the goal of raising the public profile of introducing PAs in BC. More information on this campaign will be sent directly to all members in a dedicated newsletter.
Manitoba
The CAPA Board of Directors has directed staff to investigate and advocate for increased prescribing ability for PAs, including the ability to prescribe controlled substances. We will be starting this advocacy in Manitoba, given that PAs have the longest history of working in this region. If you would like to get involved in the PA Prescribing Working group, which will help direct the advocacy of this issue, please contact Marina at mbanister@capa-acam.ca.
Ontario
Career Start Program
The Physician Assistant Career Start Program for 2021 is now open. For program guidelines, FAQ and the application, please visit the Ministry of Health’s website.
College of Physician and Surgeons of Ontario
Regular meetings are held with CPSO staff to discuss the process of developing PA regulation in the province. CAPA staff has provided a draft registration document, which was previously reviewed by a working group of PAs and PA educators established by the Board to provide input into this important work. CPSO has advised that they are working from this document and are currently focusing on Delegation Regulation. The intent is to keep the regulation high-level to remain flexible. On September 14th, CPSO staff provided council with an update of their activities. The update was received favourably by members. We are very pleased with the movement and progress CPSO is making to get the regulations drafted and submitted to government for approval.
Ontario Physician Assistant Association
A negotiated collective agreement is currently in the process of approval and ratification.
Next steps include a Board election and an Annual General Meeting, which will be held on November 24th. Watch for the call for nominations coming to your inbox shortly.
CAPA ANNUAL CONFERENCE – November 4 – 7
CAPA 2021 is coming to you, virtually! The high-quality education program is ready for viewing and will feature sessions on PA Advocacy, a workshop on Interpreting EKGs, as well as a Student Resume Building workshop and more. Do not hesitate, register today!
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 admin@capa-acam.ca so that we can share it with your PA colleagues.
PAs IN THE NEWS
On September 22nd TheCoast.ca released an article entitled “Unbelievable” value of physician assistants not harnessed in Nova Scotia. The article features an interview with Provincial Director, Peter Thibeault outlining the PA role and the benefits to Nova Scotians if PAs were regulated to work in the province. Following this, on September 23rd, when reporter and author of the article, Lindsay Armstrong questioned recently elected Premier Tim Houston during a press conference, the Premier stated that his government is considering regulating PAs in the province. To read the full article, click here.
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 admin@capa-acam.ca.
2021 PA CERTIFICATION EXAM
Registration for the 2021 PA Cert Exam which will be administered on November 4, 2021 is now closed. All registrants will receive an email from ProctorU on October 15, providing them with information on how to proceed with getting their time booked through the ProctorU platform.
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.