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  • 22-Mar-2023 9:12 AM | Anonymous


    The Society of Rural Physicians of Canada launches funding for training to improve health care access in rural settings

    Shawville, Que., March 22, 2023: Equitable access to health care is a growing concern for rural, remote and Indigenous communities, and today the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada (SRPC) is addressing the issue with the launch of the National Advanced Skills and Training Program for Rural Practice. The goal of the program is to support recruitment and retention and reduce physician shortages in the most underserved communities in Canada.

    The SRPC, the national voice of Canadian rural physicians, has received funding to support and fund practicing rural physicians, including international medical graduates and those in their first year of practice. The training will increase their skill sets based on the needs of rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, and reduce the need for patient transport out of communities to receive health services.

    “Health care needs in rural areas are unique, extending beyond comprehensive primary health care,” said Dr. Sarah Lespérance, president of the SRPC. “Equitable access for these communities includes offering services such as emergency care, anesthesia, obstetrics, surgery, palliative care and mental health. A segment of the current rural physician workforce is not fully equipped to offer all the many services required,” continued Dr. Lespérance. “This program will change that.”

    Dr. Gavin Parker, a family physician in Pincher Creek, Alta., is a member of the new program’s Expert Advisory Committee. “Challenges in recruitment and retention of physicians due to lack of ongoing skills training have had a negative impact on service delivery in rural and Indigenous communities,” he said. “The pandemic and its resulting physician shortages have furthered healthcare inequities for these communities. With enhanced skills provided by this program, physicians will be better able to serve rural population needs, and improve rural physician attraction and retention.”

    Rural physician application
    Rural physicians are encouraged to apply for funding to participate in skills training. They will identify their own training needs and select or develop learning opportunities to meet their needs. Once accepted in the program, the rural physician will receive a daily stipend to cover income loss, locum coverage and preceptor costs in addition to reimbursement for travel and accommodation. More information and the application can be found here.

    The SRPC is part of a consortium entitled Team Primary Care: Training for Transformation which intends to accelerate health system reform needed to adopt the broad delivery of comprehensive primary care. Team Primary Care, co-led by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Canadian Health Workforce Network in partnership with over 65 health professional and educational organizations across Canada, is an interprofessional project of the Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine funded by Employment and Social Development Canada.

    For further information, please contact:
    Kristen Kluke
    kristenk@srpc.ca
    Or call: 416-484-9214

    FB: facebook.com/theSRPC
    Tw:@SRPCanada
    IG: @the_srpc

    About The Society of Rural Physicians of Canada
    The Society of Rural Physicians of Canada is the national voice of Canadian rural physicians. Founded in 1992, the mission is championing rural generalist medical care through education, collaboration, advocacy and research. The mandate is to support rural physicians and communities, and enhance access to high quality care, close to home. The Society of Rural Physicians of Canada has a history of engagement in education and capacity-building projects, and these activities are core to the organization’s current activities.

    About Team Primary Care
    Team Primary Care - Training for Transformation is a unique and timely initiative that aims to accelerate transformative change in the way primary care practitioners train to work together. To do so, it brings together an extensive network of partners to enhance the capacity of interprofessional comprehensive primary care (CPC) through improved training for practitioners, supports for teams, and tools for planners and employers.

  • 22-Mar-2023 9:00 AM | Anonymous

    La Société de la médecine rurale du Canada lance le financement d’un programme de formation pour améliorer l’accès aux soins de santé dans les milieux ruraux

    Shawville, Québec, 22 mars 2023: L’accès équitable aux soins de santé est une préoccupation croissante pour les communautés rurales, éloignées et autochtones. Aujourd’hui, la Société de la médecine rurale du Canada (SMRC) s’attaque donc au problème avec le lancement du Programme national de formation et compétences avancées pour la pratique rurale. L’objectif du programme est de réduire les pénuries de médecins en appuyant leur recrutement et leur maintien en poste dans les collectivités les plus mal desservies du Canada.

    La SMRC, la voix nationale des médecins ruraux du Canada, a reçu du financement pour soutenir et financer les médecins ruraux en exercice, y compris les diplômés internationaux en médecine et ceux en première année de pratique. La formation permettra d’accroître leurs compétences en fonction des besoins des collectivités rurales, éloignées et autochtones, et de réduire la nécessité de transporter les patients hors des collectivités pour recevoir des services de santé.

    « Les besoins en soins de santé dans les régions rurales sont uniques, allant au-delà des soins de santé primaires », a déclaré la Dre Sarah Lespérance, présidente de la SMRC. « L’accès équitable pour ces collectivités comprend l’offre de services tels que les soins d’urgence, l’anesthésie, les soins obstétriques, la chirurgie, les soins palliatifs, et les soins de santé mentale. Un segment de l’effectif actuel de médecins en milieu rural n’est pas entièrement équipé pour offrir tous les nombreux services requis », a poursuivi la Dre Lespérance. « Ce programme va changer cela. »

    Le Dr Gavin Parker, médecin de famille à Pincher Creek, en Alberta, est membre du Comité consultatif d’experts du nouveau programme. Le recrutement et le maintien en poste des médecins sont difficiles en raison du manque de formation continue. Ceci a eu un impact négatif sur la prestation des services dans les collectivités rurales et autochtones », a-t-il déclaré. « La pandémie et les pénuries de médecins qui en ont résulté ont aggravé les inégalités en matière de soins de santé pour ces communautés. Grâce à l’amélioration des compétences offertes par ce programme, les médecins seront mieux en mesure de répondre aux besoins de la population rurale et d’améliorer l’attrait et la rétention des médecins ruraux. »

    Demandes par les médecins ruraux
    Les médecins ruraux sont encouragés à présenter une demande de financement pour participer à la formation en compétences professionnelles. Ils détermineront leurs propres besoins de formation et identifieront ou créeront des opportunités d’apprentissage pour répondre à leurs besoins. Une fois leur demande acceptée pour participer au programme, le médecin rural recevra une allocation quotidienne pour couvrir la perte de revenu, une couverture de suppléance et les frais de précepteur, en plus du remboursement des frais de déplacement et d’hébergement. Vous trouverez plus de renseignements et le formulaire de demande ici.

    La SMRC fait partie d’un consortium appelé « Équipe de soins primaires : Former pour transformer », qui vise à accélérer la réforme nécessaire du système de santé afin d’adopter la prestation à large échelle de soins primaires complets. Équipe de soins primaires, co-dirigée par le Collège des médecins de famille du Canada et le Réseau canadien des personnels de santé en partenariat avec plus de 65 professionnels de la santé et organismes d’éducation partout au Canada, est un projet interprofessionnel de la Fondation pour l’avancement de la médecine familiale financé par Emploi et Développement social Canada.

    Pour de plus amples renseignements, veuillez communiquer avec :
    Kristen Kluke
    kristenk@srpc.ca
    Ou appelez au : 416-484-9214

    FaceBook : facebook.com/theSRPC
    Twitter : @SRPCanada
    Instagram : @the_srpc

    À propos de la Société de la médecine rurale du Canada
    La Société de la médecine rurale du Canada est la voix nationale des médecins ruraux du Canada. Fondée en 1992, la mission défend les soins médicaux généralistes en milieu rural par l’éducation, la collaboration, la défense des intérêts et la recherche. Le mandat principal de la SMRC est de soutenir les communautés et les médecins en milieu rural et d’améliorer l’accès à des soins de haute qualité, près de chez eux. La Société de la médecine rurale du Canada est depuis longtemps engagée dans des projets d’éducation et de renforcement des capacités, et ces activités sont au cœur des activités actuelles de l’organisation.

    Équipe de soins primaires : c’est quoi?
    « Équipe de soins primaires : Former pour transformer » est une initiative unique et opportune, qui vise à accélérer le changement transformateur dans la façon dont les praticiens de soins primaires se forment à travailler ensemble. Pour ce faire, elle réunit un vaste réseau de partenaires afin d’améliorer la capacité de soins primaires complets (SPC) interprofessionnels grâce à une formation améliorée pour les praticiens, au soutien des équipes et aux outils pour les planificateurs et les employeurs.


  • 23-Jan-2023 2:25 PM | Anonymous

    Shawville – Jan. 23, 2023

    The Society of Rural Physicians of Canada (SRPC) welcomes the Government of Ontario’s announcement regarding physician mobility. The SRPC has been advocating for national licensure as a critical element that will reduce barriers and improve access to healthcare in Canada.

    Canada’s healthcare system is in crisis and the mobility of healthcare professionals across jurisdictions must be addressed. We are encouraged by this news from Ontario and recent announcements by the Atlantic provinces regarding a move towards a regional licensure process. However, changes need to be implemented to recognize the credentials of healthcare workers registered in all provinces and territories.

    The SRPC believes that national licensure would promote and support access to care for patients and coverage for providers in rural and remote regions, where care often relies on providers and systems that span provincial and territorial borders. We urge the federal and provincial governments to further their actions to enable a national approach to licensure.

    Canadians need access to healthcare practitioners and a national licensure would allow health care professionals to work anywhere in Canada.


  • 11-Oct-2022 2:24 PM | Anonymous

    October 11, 2022

    All across Canada, doctors, nurses, paramedics and other healthcare providers are working hard to keep hospitals, and emergency departments open.  This summer, many emergency departments in small hospitals have had to close. You should be able to access care when and where you need it, especially in an emergency.

  • 02-Jul-2022 2:23 PM | Anonymous

    Position Statement  July 2022

    Access to health care in rural communities

    Having equitable access to health care is an ongoing challenge for rural, remote, and Indigenous communities in Canada. The physician workforce available to serve these communities is inadequate due to the lack of a comprehensive health human resource (HHR) plan that would enable rural physicians to commit to practising, teaching, and living in these areas over the long term. Health care needs in rural areas go beyond comprehensive primary care. Recent Canadian Medical Protective Association data show that between 20% and 30% of family doctors who identify as rural family physicians/general practitioners include a broader range of services in their scope of work than non‐rural physicians.i Rural generalist physicians provide emergency care and hospital in‐patient care as part of their core services, and they participate in networks of care that deliver anesthesia, obstetrical, surgical, palliative, population health, and home care services. These components must be part of an HHR plan for rural populations. However, while many programs have been implemented to recruit and support rural physicians, barriers1 still exist that hinder their ability to expand rural generalist care in Canada.2ii

    Read the full Statement: Enhancing Canada’s Rural Physician Workforce Through Effective Health Human Resource Planning.


  • 02-Jul-2022 2:06 PM | Anonymous

    July 2022

    Today we are issuing an urgent call to action for health care system improvements in support of comprehensive primary health care.

    There is a crisis in family medicine and in the delivery of comprehensive primary care which has left over 4.6M Canadians without a family doctor, and with many people unable to access timely care.

    Read the full Statement: Call to Action Comprehensive Primary Health Care.

    Un urgent appel à l'action pour améliorer le système de soins de santé et favoriser des soins de santé primaires complets.

  • 29-Jun-2022 2:05 PM | Anonymous

    June 29, 2022

    As identified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC), the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada (SRPC) recognizes the importance of training family physicians who practice comprehensive, socially accountable medicine to meet the needs of the peoples of this land. Canada’s rural and remote physicians are known for their generalist skills and already embody many of the key attributes that the CFPC hopes to instill in all of its residency graduates.

    To accomplish this, the CFPC is proposing post-graduate family medicine education reform to meet the Residency Training Profile (RTP), developed through work that members of the SRPC participated in. The Outcomes of Training Project (OTP) includes a recommendation to increase the duration of family medicine training to three years from two years to meet the curriculum goals of the RTP. The SRPC is committed to collaborating with the CFPC and its OTP.

    We have heard the concerns of members with respect to these changes. We too share concerns,  however we also see opportunities. As an organization whose mandate is to champion rural generalist medical care, we plan to use our expertise to enhance rural medical education, developing more robust, resilient, and broadly-skilled teams of practice for our communities.

    Read the full Statement: SRPC Statement on the College of Family Physicians of Canada’s Outcomes of Training Report

  • 22-Apr-2022 2:04 PM | Anonymous

    April 22, 2022

    During the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada’s (SRPC) annual Rural & Remote Medicine Conference in Ottawa April 21‐23, 2022 the physicians embraced Earth Day with a spectacular plenary session by Dr. Courtney Howard, Past‐President of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE). The session, “A Healthy Response to Climate Change”, spurred the 400 rural physicians and medical learners to take action against what the Lancet has called “the worst global risk to health”. 

    Read the full Statement: Canada’s rural physicians unanimously endorse motion asking feds to redirect fuel subsidies to support climate crisis adaptation.

  • 19-Jan-2022 2:03 PM | Anonymous

    January 19, 2022

    Indigenous Peoples' cultural knowledge should be treated with respect, regardful of the diversity of their/our Nations and cultural strengths. However, rural health research publishing is guilty of silencing Indigenous Peoples through discursive practices such as author credentials. Therefore, we - a collaboration of Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars - declare, 'nothing about Indigenous Peoples, without Indigenous Peoples.

    Read the full statement: “Research and reconciliation with Indigenous People in rural health journals.”


  • 01-Oct-2021 2:01 PM | Anonymous

    October 1, 2021

    The Canadian Medical Forum brings together leaders of Canada’s major national medical and health organizations to discuss issues of priority to physicians, their patients, health care workers and the Canadian healthcare system.

    As such, we condemn the repeated bullying, attacks, and violence directed at health care workers at the protests outside of numerous hospitals, acute care centres, and healthcare providers’ homes. Canadian health care workers are committed to caring for and treating patients, often under tremendous stress and at risk to their own health. They should not be targeted, traumatized, or harassed as they endeavor to save lives and care for the sick and injured.

    The COVID-19 pandemic has killed thousands of Canadians and has brought our health care system to the edge of collapse. We all play a role in reducing the burden on our health care system and saving lives of our fellow Canadians. Getting vaccinated is the best hope we have to move forward.

    Read the full statement: Joint statement from the Canadian Medical Forum on bullying, attacks, and violence against health workers

    Déclaration commune du Forum médical canadien sur l'intimidation, les attaques et la violence à l'encontre des travailleurs de la santé

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