Planning a path forward—together

The CFPC’s Annual Meeting of Members on November 1, 2023, saw unprecedented numbers of members attend and vote, in person or by proxy, on several member-proposed motions. The message the voting results conveyed was clear, and days later the CFPC Board of Directors took time at its meeting before Family Medicine Forum (FMF) to reflect and respond.¹ Priorities identified at that meeting will define my year as CFPC President.

I am writing this message on the train as I return home, energized by my experiences at the conference.

It was a busy week in Montréal, but it allowed me, our board, and senior CFPC leadership to interact with many members and partners to start the important work of listening and of planning a path forward together.

At FMF I met with leaders from our Chapters and from the Team Primary Care: Training for Transformation initiative²; with academic leaders, including individuals from the Section of Researchers, the Section of Teachers, chairs of family medicine departments, and program directors; and with family medicine residents and medical students.

I met with many members one on one, too. I also had opportunities to connect with leaders from partner organizations in Canada and the United States, who took the time to join us and seek ways to support one another as we pursue common goals: to ensure that family medicine remains at the core of a strong primary health care system and continues to move toward team-based care.^2,3 Together, we are committed to working with patients and communities to help them achieve the best possible health outcomes for all.

Keynote speakers at FMF inspired us to keep pushing to do better and to embrace meaningful involvement of patients and communities in all aspects of family medicine: from how we deliver patient care and design health systems, to efforts to address social, environmental, and structural determinants of health, to how we shape medical education priorities.

Listening to diverse voices and prioritizing equity were themes throughout. We cannot achieve our goals if we leave people behind. We must take action on what we hear from them, even when it is difficult.

The highlight of the week in Montréal for me was Convocation on November 11, 2023. Looking out into the audience and seeing diversity reflective of Canada today was heartening, as was having the chance after the ceremony to meet hundreds of CFPC members, many there with their families, who had newly achieved Certification in the College of Family Physicians of Canada or had received Certificates of Added Competence. They are an amazing group, and we are stronger for having them join the family medicine community. Meeting award recipients, new Fellows, and Life Members reinforced my appreciation of our members’ deep roots in family medicine and their commitment to our profession.

I am looking forward to continuing conversations that were started during FMF. I plan to engage with as many of you as I can over the coming year as we work together to advance family medicine. We are a team, and I will need your involvement and support to help us reach our goals.

Please keep an eye out for in-person and virtual opportunities to connect with me, and know that my door and inbox (mgreen{at}cfpc.ca) are always open.

Thank you for being passionate about family medicine!

• Copyright © 2023 the College of Family Physicians of Canada