As Chair of the SRPC ’s Education Reform Advisory Committee, I would like to provide an update regarding Education Reform.

In an attempt to understand our member ’s readiness for education reform, the SRPC surveyed members in March of 2023. The results of the survey can be found on our website.  EDUCATION REFORM SURVEY RESULTS

At Rural & Remote, we led a Family Medicine Education Reform Update session. This two-hour session reviewed the process and timeline of education reform for family medicine training in Canada and the presentation of data from our membership survey. Participants then broke out into small focus groups to discuss how education reform will impact rural or remote communities. We compiled a summary of the data collected during this focus group, highlighting key themes, opinions, and suggestions shared by participants. A summary of the data collected from the focus groups can be found on our website. FAMILY MEDICINE EDUCATION REFORM: A Discursive Analysis From Focus Groups at SRPC Rural and Remote Conference 2023 The SRPC and the Education Reform Advisory Committee will use the information gathered from the focus groups to advocate to the CFPC OTP Taskforce and Education Design teams from postgraduate programs across Canada for rural and remote education reform resources. 

June 14th – 16th, the CFPC hosted an Education Design Retreat in Mississauga, which Dr. Sarah Lespérance and I attended. Over 150 participants, comprised of educational design teams of Canada ’s 17 departments of family medicine, Education Reform Taskforce members, project staff and consultants, and colleagues from the Team Primary Care initiative, were invited to attend. The objective of the retreat was to start to look at what a renewed three-year curriculum will look like and how educational redesign and curricular change can nurture preparedness and comprehensiveness as the first two key curriculum renewal priorities. Enhanced skills program directors and delegates also met to discuss enhanced skills in education redesign.   Conversations are still in the early stages related to what will happen to Certificates of Added Competence (CAC) when family medicine curriculum changes. 

During this process, we have communicated with the Rural Program Directors and will continue to engage with them as educational recommendations are developed. Education reform will be different at each of the medical schools and I encourage you to connect with your local program to share your thoughts and concerns and ensure your voice is heard.

Working with the CFPC is a top priority to ensure the changes don ’t inadvertently negatively impact our rural colleagues, trainees, and especially communities. 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.

Over the summer, the SRPC Education Reform Advisory Committee will be recruiting for new medical students and residents to join the committee.   Learner feedback on education reform will continue to be explored. 

Thank you for your continued engagement and commitment.

Best regards,

Dr. Kristy Penner
Chair, SRPC ’s Education Reform Advisory Committee