Doing well and aiming to do better

Dear Colleagues,

I am proud to outline here a number of firsts and considerable accomplishments that took place over the past 4½ years.

We collaborated with all 17 departments of family medicine to conduct a longitudinal evaluation of the implementation of the Triple C curriculum. We are surveying family medicine residents on entry into and completion of residency, and 3 years into practice.

We introduced Certificates of Added Competence in 5 clinical areas: emergency medicine, sports and exercise medicine, palliative care, care of the elderly, and family practice anesthesia. Although I realize that, for some, support of enhanced skills in family medicine has created tension, it is entirely appropriate for a standard-setting pan-Canadian body such as the CFPC to determine enhanced skills competencies in specific domains.

After years in the making, Mainpro+ was introduced, with updated standards for the accreditation of continuing professional development (CPD). We realize this requires adjustment and further work by members; however, it is important for physicians to capture their learning needs and to determine the effect of CPD on their practices. Participation in Mainpro+ is an important mechanism for physicians to meet CPD accountability requirements with regulators.

We have moved to a smaller, skills-based board and developed a strategy for engagement with Chapter leaders and staff, committee chairs, and departments of family medicine. This is a journey, requiring monitoring and adjustments. We are very proud of this well-functioning board. We are also moving toward such a board for the Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine (FAFM).

The Research Department and Section of Researchers are successfully implementing their research blueprint.

We are engaged in an important project to enhance capacity in family medicine globally through the Besrour Centre.

We provided our unique perspective through a family medicine lens on the health policies and practices that affect the care of our patients. The Patient’s Medical Home, the Best Advice guides, and advocacy work that includes our Report Card on The Role of the Federal Government in Health Care were instrumental in making this happen.

We are finalizing the 2017 to 2022 strategic plan. The board and senior leadership are involved in its development, with input from Chapters, committee and section chairs, chairs of departments of family medicine, and staff. We are revising the CFPC’s vision and mission, making both pithier. We have decided on 3 goals that support our core mission and key objectives: to set standards to develop and sustain skilled family physicians, to provide outstanding service, and to meet the evolving health needs of our communities.

We believe it is important to capture the shared services the organization requires to deliver on these goals.

The enterprise functions include national and Chapter structures and activities; external partnerships; the FAFM; attraction and retention of a work force; resource allocation, optimization, and stewardship; bilingualism of the organization; and Canadian Family Physician.

Some of the key objectives and actions are as follows:

• finalize a family medicine responsibility profile (formerly family medicine job profile) to further inform some of our decisions regarding standards of training, expectations for practice, and how comprehensiveness and continuity of care are defined in the “2020 era”;

• further the work of family physicians with added competencies and integrate those with more focused practices into family practice;

• finalize, in collaboration with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the development of guidelines for personal learning plans;

• enhance CPD capacity by family physicians for family physicians, which includes ensuring the continued success of Family Medicine Forum as the largest and best meeting in family practice;

• develop and enhance capacity in quality improvement and research in family practice;

• better support practice transitions;

• review and refine the Patient’s Medical Home model of care and continue to advocate for its implementation, in line with the “quadruple aim”¹; and

• enhance the care Canadians can access in family practice through engagement from the CFPC and FAFM.

We aim to obtain final approval of the strategic plan in June 2017 and to launch it in July 2017. We want to hear from you. During the next 6 weeks, you will be given the opportunity to provide input. The CFPC has become what it is because of you, our members. Watch for the post and link on our website. We welcome your feedback.

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