November 24, 2022

In this issue

• Vote now: 2022 RF delegate zonal/regional elections

• ANA testing to transition to Calgary lab

• CMA leadership opportunities

• AMA Senior Management Team news

• Privacy: Looking for risks at your clinic

• Physicians needed to interview applicants for the U of A Doctor of Medicine Program

• Alberta Blue Cross supports the CHANGE Health Community Program

• News from ACFP

  • Thursday Evening Webinars

  • ACFP Family Physician of the Year

• Survey Corner
  • Chiropractic Association of Alberta survey with Alberta doctors
  • AHS Childhood Immunization Survey

Vote now: 2022 RF delegate zonal/regional elections

Elections are underway for Calgary, Region 4 and Edmonton zonal/regional delegates. Electronic voting opened November 14 to respective zonal members, and will close at 4 p.m., Wednesday, December 14 at which time the ballots will be counted.

If you are a member of one of these zones and haven’t yet voted, please vote now (member login required).
 

ANA testing to transition to Calgary lab

Effective December 5, DynaLIFE Medical Laboratories and APL Edmonton University of Alberta Hospital will not run the Anti-Nuclear Antibodies (ANA) test. ANA testing will transition to APL Calgary Immunochemistry Laboratory. Please note this will impact only North, Edmonton and Central Zone physicians.

Canadian Medical Association Leadership Opportunities

Applications due December 5
 

The CMA is committed to bringing in passionate leaders who are ready to make a difference. We have exciting
and fulfilling opportunities to join the CMA Nominations Committee and the Committee on the Accreditation of
Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS).

The CMA encourages applications from eligible candidates of all backgrounds, regardless of their prior experience with the CMA.

Opportunities – Initial terms are three years, renewable once:

• Committee on the Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools, CMA Professional member 
• CMA Nominations Committee, affiliate member 

Should you require additional information, please contact nominations@cma.ca. 

AMA Senior Management Team news

The Alberta Medical Association is pleased to announce that Christine deMontigny has been appointed Senior Director, Health System Transformation. Christine has over 22 years of experience within health care from frontline to senior leadership roles. She has been with the AMA for over six years and has been the Acting Senior Director, HST since February 2022.

In her role as Senior Director, Health System Transformation, Christine will provide overall leadership and responsibility for the HST branch, including strategic oversight and administration of all operational activities of the Accelerating Change Transformation Team in accordance with the AMA’s health care transformation strategy and the program grant agreement.

Looking for risks at your clinic

It’s important for custodians and privacy officers to regularly monitor privacy processes in the clinic. It’s recommended that a privacy risk assessment, analysis and action plan be done regularly such as every one to two years. 
 
Take our Privacy and Security Risk Assessment Tool for a walk around the clinic to determine if key privacy risks are being addressed. Is the radio on to make sure private conversations aren’t being overheard? Does everyone have their computer monitors turned away from the public’s view?
 
This tool will assist in developing a plan to help ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. It is available for download under Privacy Tools and Resources. To learn more about completing a risk assessment, sign up for the “Assessing Privacy Risks and Applying Safeguards” course in the advanced privacy training curriculum offered through Learn@AMA. 

Physicians needed to interview applicants for the U of A Doctor of Medicine Program

MD Admissions at the University of Alberta is recruiting volunteers to be interviewers for its 2023 MD program interviews.

Time commitment

The virtual interviews are scheduled on Saturday, March 18 or Sunday, March 19, 2023 and will take place within 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. The start time will be confirmed closer to the interview weekend but interviewers are required to commit to a full day.

Interviewer training

Training sessions are mandatory for all interviewers – dates/times for these sessions TBA.

Apply

If you are interested in volunteering to be an interviewer, please complete the 2023 interviewer application form by Monday, January 2, 2023. For more information, contact Gisèle Lepage-Wilcox at mmi.mdadmissions@ualberta.ca.

Alberta Blue Cross® supports the CHANGE Health Community Program

“Healthy eating, being active, managing stress and connecting with others is key for wellness and chronic disease prevention,” says Dr. Doug Klein of the University of Alberta’s Department of Family Medicine.

Through support from Alberta Blue Cross®, Dr. Klein is leading the CHANGE Health Community Program (CHCP) to create a new model of preventive, personalized and community-relevant health service delivery where families come together to learn healthy living through four main areas: nutrition, physical activity, mental health and social connection. Health professionals such as dietitians, exercise specialists and mental health clinicians help guide sessions and respond to participants’ questions.

. 
From 2019 to 2021, 122 families were enrolled in 11 locations across Alberta. Most participants maintained good physical activity levels after their involvement in the program as well as strong mental health levels and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. 100% of participants said they would recommend it to others. 

CHCP is currently looking to expand to new communities and welcomes all families in Alberta to join the program at no cost. Are you interested in bringing the CHCP in your community?

Learn more about Alberta Blue Cross's involvement in the community.

News from ACFP

Thursdays are ACFP CPD Nights!

This monthly series allows you to partake in quality continuing professional development opportunities that focus on highly sought-after topics.

Join ACFP for its next sessions at 7 p.m.: 

• November 24 (Tonight!) – Innovations in Addiction Medicine with Drs. Monty Ghosh and Alexander Caudarella
• December 8 – Billing Codes: Optimize billing effectiveness with Norma Shipley

Register for sessions, and also gain access to all past recordings.

ACFP Family Physician of the Year – Dr. Marjan Abbasi

The ACFP is pleased to announce Edmonton physician - Dr. Marjan Abbasi as Alberta’s Family Physician of the Year for 2022 for her exceptional work with seniors.

“To put it simply, Dr. Marjan Abbasi is an outstanding leader. Marjan is a strong advocate for her patients and their families.”

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Survey Corner

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

Chiropractic Association of Alberta survey with Alberta doctors

The Chiropractic Association of Alberta is conducting a survey to better understand the beliefs, opinions and attitudes that Alberta doctors have regarding chiropractic care.

AHS - Childhood Immunization Survey 
Survey closes December 31. AHS would like to hear from Alberta families about routine childhood immunization. If you are a parent or caregiver of children between the ages of newborn and 15, please take a few minutes to complete the survey. Please share this opportunity with your own networks and patients. Results are confidential and will be used to ensure Albertans have the information needed to support this important decision.

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.

Reminders

Membership renewal
If you have not yet renewed your AMA membership, you may do so on the AMA website. 

Social media training

The AMA is offering its members training in social media:
 

Social Media 101

January 25, 2023
5:30-6:30 p.m.
 

View all upcoming events on the AMA website.

Have an event you'd like to promote?

Review our criteria and submit your event.

Recognition Roundup

Below are special dates deserving recognition:

November awareness:

- Lung Cancer 

- Movember

- Fall prevention

- National Domestic Violence

Recommend a special date.

Last issue's top stories

- Optimized Prescribing with Seniors

In the November 24
MD Scope Classifieds
you'll find listings for:
 

- Physicians wanted

- Locums wanted

- For sale
- Services

More from the AMA

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