201 - 2174 Airport Drive | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | S7L 6M6
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By Dr. Mark Brown
June 15, 2015
Dear colleague,
I recently learned that the shortest word in the English language that contains the letters a, b, c, d, e and f is
feedback. I am sure you would concur that feedback is one of the essential elements of good communication. In fact,
strengthening effective communications among the SMA and its members and with other health care organizations
is a top priority during my term.
It is my commitment that I will communicate regularly with you during my Presidency year. This will include a
monthly President’s Letter where I will share with you key discussions your SMA Board is having along with issues
that are important for you to know about.
Spring Representative Assembly
Last month, over 150 people including 116 physicians, residents and medical students participated in a very vibrant
RA. Our theme was on strengthening collegiality and working better with our colleagues. We had an excellent
presentation from Dr. Bill Cavers, past president of Doctors of BC and an engaging panel with five local physicians
regarding their learnings from Intermountain Health and aspirations on appropriateness of care. It was exciting to
feel the energy in the room and hear about the excellent ideas that came from the collegiality breakout session. I
wasn’t surprised to hear that many of the solutions involved better communications and relationship building within
the profession.
The SMA is hard at work on business arising from resolutions passed at the RA. SMA CEO Bonnie Brossart and her
team have sought direction from the Board of Directors and are working diligently to see that the action taken from
the resolutions will bring tangible benefits to physicians and patients in the province.
Please consider attending the next RA on November 13 and 14 in Saskatoon, where we envision further discussions
on how to advance early appropriateness efforts and building collegiality among physicians.
Negotiations Update
Another item of significant importance to physicians right now, one which affects all physicians in the province,
is negotiations. Dr. Guruswamy Sridhar, who chairs SMA’s Medical Compensation Review Committee, apprised
the Board at its May 27th meeting on the status of discussions. I am very confident that we are close to reaching a
proposal that we will be able to take to our members for ratification.
CMA End of Life Dialogue
I am encouraging every physician in Saskatchewan to be heard on the development of a Canadian approach to
medically assisted dying. The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is hosting a member dialogue and survey and
is looking for your input by July 6. Your feedback will be critical to the development of new national guidelines
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for medical aid in dying, guidelines which will be based on Canadian values and our shared sense of compassion.
Please click on the link above and take the time to add your voice on how this will affect you and your patients.
Strengthening the Engagement Between the SMA and its Members
At this year’s annual Board Retreat, the Board of Directors will be focusing on identifying how the SMA can
become a more responsive, engaging organization for our members. What are your ideas to make the SMA better?
Please let me know what you think on this and any other issue you would like to discuss! Contact me by email at
[email protected] or contact the SMA office by email at [email protected]. And make sure to interact with me
(@drmtbrown) and the SMA (@SMA_docs) on Twitter.
I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully seeing many of you later this year as part of the President’s Tour!
Sincerely,
Dr. Mark Brown
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