Building the CFPC of the future

Next month marks a year since the start of my tenure as Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the CFPC, and the initial inspiration I had felt about our collective work has only grown.

I have seen the CFPC team work tirelessly to update a bold new strategic plan; to listen, learn, and meet with members across Canada; and to advocate to politicians for support amid the current crisis in family medicine (FM). In my conversations with leaders of committees, Chapters, and member interest groups, I have seen first-hand that we share a common goal: to advance the specialty of FM and to ensure the vital work of family doctors is recognized and supported, because FM is worth it.

I have been struck by the diversity and passion of FM leaders and members around how we might drive our collective interests forward. Make no mistake—this cornucopia of ideas and insights is an undeniable strength, but we must also be realistic about our capacity and resources, especially with the College’s fiscal deficit, choosing instead to support our members by freezing fees since 2017.

Ultimately, we must keep our members and their needs at the core of what we do.

The work of the CFPC in general serves 2 key functions: first, the CFPC sets standards for FM training, certification, and continuing professional development; second, the CFPC responds to and advocates for members’ needs. Both are critical to supporting our present and future by safeguarding the profession and drawing on our collective voice.

Consider our work in transforming training for today and securing the integrity of the profession for the future. By maintaining high curricular standards, we are showing the public that a family doctor, certified by the CFPC, has achieved a standard of excellence and level of acumen relevant to the practice of FM—with the CCFP designation proudly indicating this important level of achievement.

In turn, the upcoming refresh of the Mainpro+ framework is being done so that CFPC members can easily complete, claim, and track continuing professional development credits while engaging in educational activities that help them provide top-notch patient care.

Similarly, by releasing “A Prescription for Primary Care”¹ and relentlessly presenting these solutions to policy makers, we are bringing the collective voice of 43,000 members to bear so that all family doctors across Canada can have the support and remuneration needed to reform and thrive in this challenging practice environment.

The past 12 months have shown me that the CFPC needs to be certain that our direct touchpoints serve members. The current crisis in FM has reminded us of the importance of functioning well. Looking internally, we can bring how we serve members to the next level by optimizing our governance and administrative functions; making organizational workflows more efficient and effective; and continuing to embrace social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout the College’s operations. Doing so reaffirms our commitment to excellence in service and resource stewardship while continuing to be responsive to members’ needs.

For these reasons the CFPC Board has approved, on my recommendation, the launch of a comprehensive governance review to build the CFPC of the future. This review will aim to provide recommendations on how we can optimally organize so that members benefit from an even more potent and efficient CFPC.

To start, at the Annual Meeting of Members this coming November, we will present work that has been done to optimize and streamline CFPC operations in service of our members since the fee increase deferral in November 2022. By undertaking a governance review, we will look carefully at everything from the CFPC board down to membership classes and from committees to Chapters to determine how we can better coordinate and align our operations and workflows to preserve and strengthen the diverse voices of FM leaders across Canada.

We must not only advocate externally, but also draw our own house together internally. The tools of the workplace today, such as virtual technologies, provide numerous opportunities to operate differently and eliminate unnecessary administrative and governance barriers that can lead to fragmentation and conflict. With these enhancements, the CFPC will be able to come together quickly to lead and take action on behalf of members.

The important message I hope to convey is that our work continues beyond our efforts to transform training and practice—it starts at home by ensuring members’ support and CFPC resources are stewarded effectively at the core of our work.

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