Executive Director's Report

Download the Reports to the AGM (PDF, 78 pages)

The annual report summarizes the efforts the Alberta Medical Association has made over the past twelve months on behalf of its members. It includes an overview of all the activities and the resources spent. These are focused in three key areas:

• Financial health: Striving for fair compensation for physicians, both in comparison to other jurisdictions and professions as well as internal fairness between Alberta’s physicians.
• Well being: Access to wellness services such as the Physician and Family Support Program and promoting healthy workplaces.
• System leadership: Bringing the expertise and voice of physicians to the public and to health system decision makers.

All these areas have gone through significant challenges over the past four years. This resulted from the combined impacts of several factors: a government hostile to the medical profession; a global pandemic; and health human resource challenges that have been predicted for years and are now upon us. The AMA’s response to these global challenges – magnified and made worse in our own province – has very much been at the forefront of everything we do.

From these great challenges also comes opportunity. The relationship with the government has improved and, at least from my perspective, there is renewed interest in hearing from and working with the profession. There is serious consideration being given to issues such as health care teams, ensuring payment reflects all the demands being put on physicians, and ensuring health information systems are driven by patient and provider input on clinical needs, not administrative perceptions of those needs. There is a long way to go, but - as is being demonstrated in other provinces - progress in all these areas is possible.

In summary, I hope in these pages members find an AMA both responsive to the many challenges that the profession has gone through, but also an AMA focused forward on helping all its members in meeting their ongoing economic challenges and physician influence within the system. Physician engagement and leadership are key to any future successes.

This will be my last Executive Director’s Report. As some of you know, I am leaving my position with the AMA as of the start of the 2023-24 association year.

It has truly been an honour to serve as Executive Director. I have received nothing but respect from AMA physician membership. I don’t mean by that I have not received criticism or that there are not many points of view. I am referring to the way issues have been raised and the sincere desire to help make the AMA better at doing its job. I have always been inspired by the commitment of Alberta’s physicians to their patients.

My main interaction with the profession has been through the AMA physician leadership. I thank them for their guidance and support in the AMA’s efforts to implement their direction. Alberta’s physicians have been very well-served by their efforts.

The AMA staff have been a constant source of ideas, talent, energy and commitment. They are a big part of any successes the AMA has had and have endured many challenges. It has been a great privilege working with all of them.

I will sorely miss being an active part of the AMA, but my heart will always be with it.

- Michael A. Gormley, Executive Director
Alberta Medical Association