Canadian Medical Forum coming of age
CMA News 1999;9(7): 4
See also:
The Canadian Medical Forum was formed in the early 1990s to allow national medical organizations to meet and discuss issues of mutual concern (see Sidebar). However, the high-profile and action-oriented member organizations are now pushing the forum to move beyond being a simple discussion group.
"When I first became part of this group the focus was very much on discussion and sharing thoughts about what was going on within the various organizations," said Dr. Cal Gutkin, executive director of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. "In the past few years I have seen that focus change, particularly with the work of task forces and other initiatives."
Two of those task forces focus on the physician workforce issue and the need for both short- and longer-term solutions to physician shortages. The group focusing on short-term solutions is developing strategies and basic messages for the public; it is cochaired by Dr. Lorne Tyrrell, president of the Association of Canadian Medical Colleges, and Dr. Hugh Scully, the CMA president-elect. At the recent forum meeting, representatives heard that work still has to be done to convince sceptics that there really is a physician shortage. "Some constituencies are well briefed on this problem but many are still sticking to the line that we only have to distribute the physician population differently," said forum chair Dr. Nick Busing.
To help convince the naysayers, the group looking at longer-term issues surrounding the physician workforce is working with organizations such as the Canadian Institute for Health Information to find "hard data" on the physician shortage in Canada. This group is headed by Dr. Michel Brazeau, executive director of the Royal College, and Dr. Gutkin. "The forum's work is important and I think we should focus on being more action oriented so that the group is perceived as dynamic and has a real impact on health care in Canada," said Dr. Brazeau.
Several other forum members said the advantage of the group is that it provides a unified medical voice and helps link the diverse constituencies comprising the physician population.
"This group is truly not greater than the sum of its parts," summed up Dr. Joshua Tepper, who represented the Canadian Federation of Medical Students. "The member organizations are the ones that carry the weight, but all the organizations benefit when we get together."
As work proceeds within the task forces, the groups will report back to the forum and eventually make recommendations to provincial, territorial and federal governments.
Sidebar: Member groups give forum broad input
The CMF members are the presidents and chief executive officers of the following national organizations:
- Association of Canadian Medical Colleges
- Association of Canadian Teaching Hospitals
- Canadian Association of Internes and Residents
- Canadian Federation of Medical Students
- Canadian Medical Association
- College of Family Physicians of Canada
- Federation of Medical Licensing Authorities of Canada
- Medical Council of Canada
- Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
The forum meets twice a year to discuss future directions in coordinating approaches and activities among the nine national medical organizations. Its mandate is to provide a forum for consultation, consensus building, strategy development and joint action. The CMA provides the secretariat and coordination for the CMF.
 |
Send a letter to the editor Envoyez une lettre à la rédaction |
© 1999 Canadian Medical Association
