Activities

Year-end update

Continue to provide the PFSP service and monitor assistance levels to meet increasing need.

• The PFSP Assistance Line continued to see growth in the first eight months of 2022.
  • Access to the PFSP Assistance Line has seen an increase of 15% over 2021. While 2021 had several record-breaking months in terms of call volume, this is now typical for monthly call volumes.
  • Notable for this year is the number of new callers to the Assistance Line exceeds the number of existing callers, a trend PFSP has not seen in some years.
  • Referrals to family physicians via the Assistance Line has seen an increase of 85% over this same period in 2021 with the demand for family physicians primarily existing in Calgary and Edmonton.
  • The PFSP saw a 6% increase in therapy hours over this same time period in 2021. This increase accounts for the therapy hours used and the administrative time to manage each case file for both the Assistance Line and Case Coordination services.
• The PFSP Case Coordination service has supported 13 new clients in 2022. This is a decrease from the 29 new clients the program supported in the same time frame in 2021. While difficult to identify root causes for this, the decrease is a result of a reduced number of medical students and resident physicians participating in Case Coordination. Overall active case numbers continue to be stable at 92.
• PFSP’s Education, Prevention and Promotion activities continued to remain responsive to the changing landscape of physician health.  This has been achieved through collaborations with other organizations that support the physician community.
  • To inspire, validate and build community amongst physicians, PFSP hosted a virtual keynote session featuring General Romeo Dallaire. Hope and Healing after Trauma- Reflections for Physicians. 125 attended this event and feedback indicated the session was engaging and General Dallaire’s messages were relevant and validating.

Operationalize funding from the Affinity Collaboration (BNS, the CMA and MD Financial Management Inc.) to respond to and address the health and wellness needs of physicians and medical learners.

• Components of The Scotiabank and Canadian Medical Association (CMA) Affinity Fund agreement with the AMA are underway. 
  • Service provision to those physicians who fall outside of the eligibility criteria listed in the Grant Agreement is in place. Between September 2021 and August 2022 PFSP provided services to 27 physicians and nine family members.
  • PFSP is positioning itself to move forward with its primary program under the agreement which will see an in-house psychiatrist added to the PFSP team to better serve PFSP Case Coordination clients.

• Well Doc continues its excellent work helping physicians to remain resilient and well. The PFSP and Well Doc continue to collaborate on educational sessions and peer support training. As a part of their new funding agreement with the Canadian Medical Association, Scotiabank and MD Financial Management, the Well Doc Alberta team will be working with physician health partners in other provinces through the Well Doc Canada pilot project.

Priority Activities

Year-end update

Continue Shine A Light initiative and integrate with other member engagement, governance and recognition programs, e.g., AMA Awards, members advocating through RF, etc.

• Recognize more physicians more frequently in their everyday settings, quietly going the distance for patients.
• Encourage nominations from the public, colleagues or clinical staff.
• Optimize the stories through multi-media strategies.

• Nominations for Shine A Light slowed during Omicron. Our most recent profile was October 2021.
• Honorees are recognized across our social media platforms and also featured in Alberta Doctors’ Digest.
• Public Affairs has obtained some additional staff resources to seek out honorees and develop profiles for recognition.
• Increasing efforts toward Shine A Light are included in the 2022-23 Branch Plan for Public Affairs.

As students return to schools in a post-COVID environment, maintain or increase the number of participating schools in the AMA Youth Run Club. This includes supporting teachers and schools with programs or activities that can be safely performed.

• The ninth year of the AMA Youth Run Club saw students returning to schools in a post-COVID environment and the AMA Youth Run Club looked for ways to support teachers and schools with programs and activities that could be safely performed. The YRC found that there was still an appetite for the virtual and individual events that the program delivered in earlier pandemic times.
• To support teachers, coaches and mentors, the YRC Shaping the Future Breakfast was held in Kananskis in the spring. The AMA president attended and highlighted the importance of this program for healthy kids and communities.
• The YRC was the beneficiary of a fun run in Edmonton on May 15 in partnership with several sponsors. The event featured a 1-mile team race and funds went to Ever Active Schools initiatives, including the YRC.

Administer the Emerging Leaders in Health Promotion grant program.

• Four applicants were successful recipients of the 2021/22 grant program. A total of $11,617.63 was awarded to the recipients.

Priority Activities

Year-end update

Advance the AMA’s Healthy Working Environments framework in key areas: 

• Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Operationalize the tool kit developed to support diversity and inclusion goals with a focus on section leadership recruitment.
  • Implement changes to improve equity, diversity and inclusion in AMA appointments.
  • Represent AMA at formal and informal EDI communities and initiatives.
• Psycho-social wellness and safety
  • With the ZMSAs, advocating for the quadruple aim and healthy working environments for physicians within AHS.
• Leadership 
  • In collaboration with the CMA provide physician leadership and professional development opportunities for members.

• HWEAC members have been provided with access to NorQuest training modules focused on inclusion at work.  Their feedback will be used to inform decisions re the use of these materials more broadly.
• The Quadruple Aim has been advanced during negotiations to frame AMA interests related to physician wellness.
• Under the direction of the HWEAC, an environmental scan is underway to outline the supports available to physicians for navigating conflict. Descriptions of these supports, the resources provided, and gaps will be identified as part of identifying future business plan strategies.
• The AMA Nominating Committee is having an EDI specialist review all of the committee descriptions (that report to the Nominating Committee) and update them to reflect the membership’s desire to seek further Equity, Diversity and Inclusion within AMA committees.
• The AMA has received $200,000 in funding for the Physician Leadership and Professional Development Initiative (PLPD).  Two cohorts of physicians are participating in a series of four Physician Leadership Institute (PLI) Joule courses over 2021-2022.  The courses are:
  • Engaging Others: September 2021 and January 2022
  • Leading Effective Meetings: November 2021 and February 2022
  • Managing People Effectively: January 2021 and April 2022
  • Leading High-Performance Culture: April 2022 and June 2022
• To date, over 100 applications have been received and 57 physicians have completed at least two courses. The final session of the four PLI courses offered was held in June.

• Working with the AMA’s Healthy Working Environments Advisory Committee, identify additional opportunities and possible strategies.
  • Further align work of the HWEAC and the Indigenous Health Committee.

• The Indigenous Health Committee identified several priority areas for 2022 including: 
  • Data and Information Gathering and Sharing
    • Highlight the differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous standards of care
    • Identify problems posed by jurisdictional issues
  • Education
    • Support Indigenous training for medical trainees and physicians
    • Support mentorship for medical trainees with Indigenous physicians
  • Physician Recruitment and Resource Delivery
    • Consider how to improve physician recruitment to minimize barriers to care for Indigenous people
    • Encourage the presence of the Indigenous perspective into policy and at provincial tables
  • Wellbeing and Holistic Health
    • Acknowledge the grief and loss of the Indigenous community
    • Facilitate learning about traditional medicine
• Work continues to be done to ensure that an Indigenous representative is appointed to the HWEAC.