The Saskatchewan Medical Association recently undertook the annual President’s and Vice-President’s Tour, meeting with physicians across the health region to discuss issues and concerns affecting their work this year.
SMA President and Regina physician Dr. Barb Konstantynowicz and vice-president Dr. Eben Strydom would normally have spent several days travelling around the Five Hills Health Region to meet with physicians face-to-face for the tour, but this year they hosted those conversations over video conferencing due to COVID-19.
For Strydom, a practicing physician from Melfort, the change in format was able to offer more accessibility to some members to attend the discussion while also limiting the usual personal aspect of the tour.
“It’s great to see everyone, and it was better than just a telephone conference, but it’s not the same [as a physical conference]. The dynamics are a little bit different and it's always more enjoyable to be able to share time together,” said Strydom. “I think it went well, it was a good meeting, dynamic, and it’s always good to talk to everybody.”
While the video format eliminated the need for doctors to factor travel time in their schedules, Strydom couldn’t say whether the new conference saw better turnout because of the accessible format.
“It is more accessible but with the pandemic, but there’s lots of other things that pull doctors in different directions as well. There’s a lot on everybody’s plate,” said Strydom. “I think some places had excellent turnouts, while in others, people are just working hard to try and fight the pandemic and do other things.”
The tour itself is the SMA’s way of checking in with members about the issues they are facing during their every-day practice, as well as sharing information and updates on other key topics affecting the SMA.
Strydom felt it was as important this year as any other year to touch base with doctors in the province for a number of reasons, with the largest being the medical community’s tendency to become isolated from each other and feel disconnected.
COVID-19 was a large topic of discussion at this year’s meetings, said Strydom, as doctors had questions about support in dealing with the pandemic.
“There is always concern, regarding the family physicians on our frontline in the war against this pandemic, and there is a trouble that some clinics are having in obtaining appropriate personal protective equipment,” said Strydom. “There’s concern that in certain facilities, it is available but in other communities, doctors have had to purchase it themselves, which adds up in the end.”
Physicians are also working under risk, said Strydom, and a large part of the SMA’s discussion focused on how to help doctors operate in a way that reduces that risk for staff and others at their clinics, while still supporting patients.
The tour also discussed the recent ratification of a new Medical Compensation Review Committee agreement between doctors and the Ministry of Health, which has been under work since 2017, and the ongoing development and review of bylaws to govern that relationship.
“We had the opportunity for doctors to ask questions about the new bylaws that are going to be implemented, which at this stage is still interim,” said Strydom. “And we also talked about the redesign of the SMA structure, due to the fact that there are changes again in health districts and one is just to help with communication between doctors and the SMA to make it functional, so it makes sense for groups who have similar concerns in areas, in similar circumstances, have a unified voice.”
All of the feedback received during the tour will be utilized by the SMA moving forward, to help support practitioners and keep the medical community feel connected in the future.
The SMA represents over 2,400 physicians, medical students and residents in the province as a voluntary member-based association, negotiating, advocating and supporting the well-being of members.
