President of British Columbia Medical Association (BCMA) made a stop on his tour of the province to visit doctors in Powell River.
Dr. William Cunningham, recently elected president of the doctors’ association, was in Powell River Wednesday, August 28.
“Last year the BCMA president didn’t get to come to Powell River,” said Cunningham, “so we look for communities where we haven’t done outreach before.”
Cunningham said that he was pleased to be able to attend the Powell River Division of Family Practice’s open house that was coincidentally scheduled on the same day. “It’s a win-win,” he added.
The president currently practices as an emergency room doctor at Cowichan Hospital and lives in Duncan. Prior to moving to BC in 1999, he practiced medicine in the Yukon for 14 years.
BCMA represents approximately 8,750 practicing family doctors, specialists, students and residents as well as more than 3,000 retired doctors in the province.
“As an organization it’s critical to engage members one-on-one,” said Cunningham.
He added that he is looking for members to talk to him about how the medical association is doing to address doctors’ concerns, give feedback on the association’s programs, like the divisions of family practice, and provide ideas to help solve problems.
Cunningham said that engaging doctors about local issues and facilitating conversations with the ministry of health and the health authorities around the province has been an enormous help.
“The morale of doctors has improved very significantly and the collaboration and problem-solving with the ministry of health has led to a lot of good things in many communities,” he said.
Because concerns vary from community to community, programs like the divisions of family practice are effective in problem solving, he said.
“There’s a real connection with the people that live there,” he added. “That’s gratifying to see.”
Cunningham said the development of Powell River’s division “has been outstanding.”
“They’ve really come together to identify the needs of the community by finding novel and different ways of doing things,” he said. “I think it’s great.”
After attending the division open house, Cunningham sat down with local physicians to discuss their concerns.
When the tour is finished, all the feedback the president collects is reported to the divisions so that issues can be addressed.
“The winner is the patient,” he said.
