Reminders

AMA membership renewal
If you haven't renewed your AMA membership yet, visit the AMA website and log in to renew. You can also sign up for pre-authorized payments (PAP) or update your PAP profile and banking information.

Fall 2021 RF reports and resolutions

The reports and resolutions from the Fall 2021 Representative Forum, held September 24-25 via Zoom,
are available online. Member login is required for access.

Tackling polypharmacy by deprescribing:
Active multidisciplinary collaboration

Recommending and prescribing medication is a solemn responsibility that has a profound impact on people’s lives.

- Dr. Steven Levenson

Case
You are an attending physician providing medical care at a long-term care facility in Alberta. You have heard that the average number of medications per resident at your facility is well above the Alberta average. You would like to know how you should go about addressing the issue.

Issue
How should a physician caring for the frail elderly in long-term care, and in the community, best go about tackling polypharmacy by deprescribing?

Read Optimized Prescribing with Seniors

Apply for the 2021-22 TD Insurance Meloche Monnex/AMA Medical Student Bursary

Please submit your online application by December 31.

Online applications are now being accepted for the 2021-22 TD Insurance Meloche Monnex/AMA Medical Student Bursary.

Medical students who qualify will be awarded a $1,500 bursary in the Spring 2022. Funds are apportioned to each Alberta medical school based on the number of students enrolled.

For information about eligibility and who to contact, visit the TDIMM/AMA Medical Student Bursary web page.

Learn more and apply

Call for applications:
Calgary & Area Medical Staff Society (CAMSS) Zone Advisory Forum (ZAF)

Applications are due November 28.

The Calgary & Area Medical Staff Society (CAMSS) is seeking to fill one vacancy on the CAMSS Zone Advisory Forum (ZAF).

CAMSS is the regional mechanism for support for practitioners with medical staff appointments in the Calgary zone. CAMSS is actively involved in leading the local ZAF as well as gathering advice from zone physicians and advocating on local and zone issues.

The ZAF is a structure designed to provide the respective Zone Medical Staff Association (ZMSA) - CAMSS in this case, AMA and AHS with a collective perspective from practicing physicians about local and provincial issues.

To learn more and apply, please visit the AMA committee recruitment web application (login required).

Apply today

Help shape a new direction in physician health and wellness

Responses are due November 15.

Practicing physicians, resident physicians and medical students are invited to take the Canadian Medical Association's 2021 National Physician Health Survey.

Your responses will help support the CMA and other stakeholders in identifying the individual and system-level changes needed to better support physicians, create a healthier medical culture and guide our country’s post-pandemic recovery.

Take the survey

Dr. Chris Le discusses how

using CII/CPAR helps patients

Dr. Chris Le is a Family Physician who joined the Community Information Integration/Central Patient Attachment Registry program to improve continuity for his patients.

Dr. Le recognises that sharing even small amounts of information can lead to significantly better outcomes. In this short video clip he describes how sharing information benefits patients, particularly the vulnerable and complex, when they are seen in acute care.

Watch on YouTube

Join over 1000 community physicians who are contributing to better Alberta Netcare records. Sign up for CII/CPAR today.

Contact CII/CPAR

International Day of Radiology 2021: Highlighting interventional radiology

On November 8, radiologists and colleagues from related fields will celebrate the 10th International Day of Radiology! This annual event, marked by radiologists and related professionals all around the world, builds awareness of radiology’s vital role in the health care continuum.

This year, the occasion will highlight interventional radiology (IR), the newest sub-specialty of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. IR uses real-time image guidance to perform minimally invasive, targeted procedures that can replace traditional surgeries. This means safer, more accurate and less expensive treatment and diagnosis for patients with chronic pain, cancer, vascular conditions, gastrointestinal and urological conditions, and a wide array of other health concerns. With less pain, lower risk and shorter recovery times compared to open surgery under general anesthesia, IR is a wonderful addition to the options physicians can offer their patients.

The Alberta Society of Radiologists invites fellow Alberta physicians to celebrate the International Day of Radiology! Radiologists are always here to support GPs, Surgeons, ER Physicians and other colleagues in medicine where radiologists can contribute to safe, timely patient care.

For more information about what radiologists do and how they can help, visit GetTheWholePicture.ca or reach out to the Alberta Society of Radiologists at execdir@radiologists.ab.ca.

How financial advice helped prepare Connie and her family for their next adventure

Sponsored advertisement

Connie, 47, and Javier, 50, have always shared a passion to live life to the fullest and see the world. Even before they married 20 years ago, they jumped at opportunities to travel and experience new things, personally and professionally.

For Connie, this meant taking a couple of breaks during her early days of work as a locum physician. There was the time they moved to Spain for two years for Javier’s contract research job. They also lived in Mexico for a year, to get to know Javier’s extended family.

They were drawn to Vancouver when they returned to Canada in 2009, attracted by the area’s great quality of life. They rented a two-bedroom apartment for a couple of years, then moved to the island and bought a house in the suburbs of Victoria. It was the ideal place to raise their family, and Connie found work as a medical health officer.

But then Connie is starting to feel panicked about her family’s finances...

Continue reading

MD Financial Management provides financial products and services, the MD Family of Funds and investment counselling services through the MD Group of Companies. For a detailed list of these companies, visit md.ca. MD Financial Management and Scotiabank are proud sponsors of the AMA Youth Run Club.

Do you have pregnant (or soon-to-be) patients who are COVID-19 vaccine hesitant?

mRNA vaccines are the safest type of COVID-19 vaccine to get during pregnancy, and patients can get the vaccine at any time, during any trimester of their pregnancy. A viral vector vaccine may be offered to pregnant individuals when other COVID-19 vaccines are contraindicated or inaccessible.

Alberta Health Services recently issued a memo to help support physician conversations with COVID-19 vaccine-hesitant patients who are pregnant or plan to be, and to help them make an informed decision. Included in the memo were several resources, including:

Read memo from AHS

Read Issue 8 of MD Culture Shift

In this issue of MD Culture Shift:

November 20 - Transgender Day of Remembrance
Creating Safety and Inclusion for Transgender People
November 25 - International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women
Physicians and Intimate Partner Violence
Artist's Corner
- Poet – Dr. Muriel Solomon
Upcoming Events
- AHS MD Culture Shift Community of Practice
- CMA Wellness Connection
- University of Calgary COVID Corner
Doc of the Week Call for Nominations
And much more!

MD Culture Shift is an AHS publication created by physicians for physicians through the Physician Diversity, Wellness and Leadership Development portfolio. It shares news of the constructive efforts happening in Alberta that support physician diversity, wellness and leadership. Visit ahs.ca/mdwellness to learn more and read previous issues.

Read Issue #8 of MD Culture Shift

Survey Corner

Health care partners and other organizations often seek physician feedback through surveys. This month, the following is available for your consideration:

Treatment options for chronic musculoskeletal pain - physician and patient perspectives
This project aims to gain a better understanding of doctors' and patients’ motivations and expectations regarding the prescription and use of cannabis for chronic musculoskeletal pain. The Research Ethics Board of the CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research Center has assessed project MP-20-2020-4962's compliance with the principles governing research ethics.

Seeking AMA member participation on a survey?

Editor's note: "Survey Corner" presents survey requests received and reviewed by the AMA, that may be of interest to our members. We will publish new opportunities as we receive them.