September 2022
2022 ELECTIONS
As indicated in the August News Bulletin the following members will be joining the Board following the November 2022 Annual Members Meeting:
Kirsten Luomala – President-Elect
Andrew Carriere – CAF Representative
Erin Sephton – Director, Prince Edward Island
Kathleen Abreo – Director, Newfoundland/Labrador
The following Directors will be returning for their 2nd 2-year term:
Peter Thibeault – Nova Scotia
Ryan Bennett – New Brunswick
The following Alternate Directors will also take their seats following the 2022 AMM:
Alberta Alternate – Hannah Wiens
Saskatchewan Alternate – Ashley Millham
Manitoba Alternate – Kali Braun
Also as indicated in the August News Bulletin, a vote was required for Director Alberta with 3 candidates submitting their names for the role. The voting closed on September 12 at 23:59:59 and the Alberta members voted Lee Spencer as the new Alberta Director.
Please join us in congratulating and welcoming our new and returning board members.
REDUCED RATES FOR CAPA 2022
Quebec City November 10th – 13th
The countdown is on and CAPA 2022 will be here before you know it! Don’t miss your chance to reunite with friends and network with colleagues during Thursday’s welcome reception at a local Quebec City pub, as well as the awards ceremony reception on Saturday evening.
You will also want to take advantage of the engaging workshops offered on MSK Ultrasound, Dermatology Procedures, Motivational Interviewing, and Wilderness Medicine.
All of this and more will be available to you at newly reduced registration rates.
You asked, we listened and went back to the Quebec Hilton to renegotiate our contract and to reduce our conference expenses. We are pleased to be able to pass these savings onto our members, as we want to make it as easy and as affordable as possible for you to join us in Quebec City.
Click here to secure your spot and register for the conference.
*Please note, if you have already registered for CAPA 2022, a refund will be processed by end of October 2022, to reimburse the difference in your registration fees.
Also, please be sure to bookmark the CAPA 2022 website to your mobile device. Here you will find all program details necessary to navigate your way through the event.
Booking travel for the conference? Click here to access a list of travel discounts available.
2022 ANNUAL MEMBER MEETING – Friday, November 11, 2022│15:30 – 17:00 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
Letters of Support – Health Human Resource Strategy
CAPA has been requesting stakeholders send letters of support to their respective provincial governments to urge them to include PAs in the Health Human Resource strategy, outlining how PAs can help ease the challenges the health care system is facing, while also highlighting the need for more training spots. Letters have been sent by the following:
Ontario
- University Health Network
- The Ottawa Hospital
- University of Toronto
- Ontario Hospital Association
Nova Scotia
- Doctors Nova Scotia
CanadaNeedsPAs video refresh
The CanadaNeedsPAs video has been updated to reflect the state of the health care system post-pandemic, and the need for more training spots and PA programs. Check out the video and be sure to share it on your social media channels!
PA Education Advocacy Campaign
After CAPA’s comprehensive advocacy plan to expand the number of PA training spots in Canada, the University of Ottawa has formally begun the process of developing a PA Program. A Steering Committee is currently being formed and will include CAPA, along with Ottawa PAs.
British Columbia
PAs have garnered many supporters in the province of BC despite barriers to practice from the Ministry of Health. Among them, Dr. Alex Nataros, a family doctor from Port Hardy. With a significant shortage of doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals in the Port Hardy and North Vancouver Island region, Dr. Nataros believes PAs can be part of the solution. Dr. Nataros is currently in the process of identifying a PA or two that is interested in working for his family practice. A proposal, which includes details on how the position will be funded privately, is currently being developed for the Ministry of Health. It is the goal that the Ministry approves the proposal for a PA to work in Port Hardy, thereby opening the door for additional PAs to practice in the province. For more information on this exciting opportunity, please contact BC Director, Lisa Stewart at lstewart@capa-acam.ca.
Manitoba
NDP
On September 6th, a meeting was held with members of the NDP caucus in Manitoba to discuss PA priorities in the province. Members were engaged and asked insightful questions i.e., desired number of PAs per population, equitable recruitment to close gaps, and the role PAs could play with the surgical and diagnostic backlog. In addition to providing information on the profession, including the Conference Board of Canada reports, CAPA also sent a research paper on PAs in the UK: Development, Status and Future to demonstrate the potential growth and impact the profession could have. Members were particularly interested to learn about the exponential growth in PA programs and the number of training spots in the UK over the last few years, which is outlined in the paper. Additional follow-up items include reaching out to the program to get data on demographics and where people go to work after graduation and connecting the caucus with a PA/Physician surgical team.
PC
CAPA will be presenting to the PC Caucus this fall on issues related to PAs in Manitoba. Stay tuned for more details.
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Manitoba
CAPA participated in a meeting on September 12th with Registrar, Dr. Anna Ziomek and the Academic Coordinator for the MPAS program, Rebecca Mueller to discuss private practice issues, which include clarity around Fee for Service i.e., billing for work done by a PA. In private practice, the physician is required to see the patient whereas in an institutional setting, the same level of interaction is not required as care for the patient is team-based which has certain safety mechanisms built in. Additional topics discussed included billing for remote care, coordination of job postings to ensure new grads are aware of all the opportunities, creating a template contract allowing PAs to volunteer at events, and broadening PA prescriptive privileges. It was also proposed that MB PAs be issued a tracking number to prove their value, which will also help the health care system analyze where PAs can be best utilized. Dr. Ziomek was receptive to this and advised it would likely be easy to do.
Saskatchewan
The province has begun to take notice of how PAs can help alleviate the strain on their overburdened heath care system. The Saskatchewan Minister of Health, Paul Merriman went on record advising that the government is looking at the potential integration of PAs, including the expansion of pathways and encouragement of students to pursue the PA profession as a career. CAPA reached out to thank Minister Merriman and offered to support the government as they explore introducing PAs into their health care system. A meeting with the Minister will take place on October 18th. Details to follow. To see the clip of Minister Merriman discussing potential PA integration, please see PAs in The News below where Saskatchewan Director, Todd Bryden gives an interview to Global News Regina.
Ontario
Council of Ontario Universities (COU)
An update meeting was held with the COU on September 8th. Coordinated efforts are being undertaken to ensure the Ministry is made aware of the benefits and demand of adding more PAs to the system. Following our push, the COU has made a formal request to the Ministry to expand the existing PA Programs and to introduce new programs at other medical schools in Ontario.
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO)
After continued efforts from CAPA communicating with the Ministry of Health, the CPSO has received direction from government to get the work needed to be done for PA regulation back up and running. The college has advised that they intend to move quickly as they prepare to move PA regulation forward.
Nova Scotia
Sixty-six of you responded to the survey distributed by the Nova Scotia Health Authority to determine the level of interest PAs had to work in the province. There are now a couple of job openings in emergency medicine for PAs in Dartmouth and Bridgewater. Good luck to those who apply!
Dalhousie
CAPA has secured a meeting on November 7th with Dean of Medicine, David Anderson to discuss the possibility of a PA Program on the east coast. CAPA will be sure to report any developments. Stay tuned.
New Brunswick
Horizon Health
This summer Margaret Melanson was named Interim President and CEO and Vice President Clinical Services for Horizon Health Network. In her short-time, Ms. Melanson has initiated great change, an example of which includes the creation of a third full-time Emerg PA position at the Dr. Everett Chalmers hospital. CAPA sent a congratulations letter and request to meet.
Newfoundland
The Department of Health and Community Services recently advised that they are examining the role PAs could play in addressing the health care challenges that exist in the province. CAPA offered to meet with the Minister of Health and Community Services, the Honourable Tom Osborne to support them as explore this option. In the meantime, an information brief on the profession was provided until a meeting is arranged.
PAs IN THE NEWS
Saskatchewan Director, Todd Bryden appeared in print, online video and radio advocating for PAs during the month of September. Todd was featured in an article in the Regina Leader-Post stating that Sask. ponders physician assistants to relieve health care strains. This was followed by a piece on Global News Digital in Saskatchewan entitled No firm date on introducing physician assistants in Saskatchewan while doctors are overrun. Finally, Todd spoke extensively on Gormely Live which was a follow-up to examine Minister Merriman’s plan to add 1000 health care professionals to their recruitment strategy. Way to go Todd!
Health Reporter and columnist for the Globe and Mail, Andre Picard, retweeted the piece on Global News in support of PAs. See below:
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 September include six postings for the Ongomiizwin – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing, Dartmouth and Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Hamilton and North, Bay, Ontario and Sundre, AB.
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.