It has been a hard year. COVID-19 has laid bare the lack of connection between primary care and the rest of the healthcare system, often widening the cracks into chasms. There have been some positive changes too. We’ve seen how family doctors and the healthcare system can be nimble when faced with a crisis. There has been so much change. It’s been a lot for family physicians to carry.
In the midst of all of this, an unassailable truth remains: Family doctors are the essential foundation of a high-functioning healthcare system. We believe that. And we hope you believe it too.
To all BC Family Doctors, thank-you for bringing your full skills to your profession, working with your heart and your head, today and every day. We celebrate all that you are and all that you do.
May 19 was BC Family Doctor Day celebrating the contributions of family doctors in BC. It also provides an opportunity to act on modernizing the policies, practices and supports related to the practice of family medicine. We cannot continue to work within a system of care based on values, principles and rules from another era.
We must combat the hidden curriculum in medical practice and education. We must speak up and speak out. It’s time to lay the groundwork to create a new reality for physicians and patients.
Use our new virtual backgrounds in meetings with physician colleagues, health authorities and other people to increase awareness about your role as a specialist in primary care.
Family doctors: Use the below virtual background in meetings with physician colleagues, health authorities and other people to increase awareness about your role as a specialist in primary care.
Note: At this time, we recommend that you do not identify yourself to patients as a specialist. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC bylaw 7-4 relating to promotional activities indicates that a “registrant must not identify himself or herself as a specialist unless he or she has certification from the RCPSC or equivalent accrediting body approved by the board.” We look forward to working with the College to modernize our collective terminology.
If you’re not a family doctor, but you’re someone who loves and appreciates what we do – we invite you to use the below virtual background to celebrate the value of family medicine.
Use our guide on Changing your Virtual Background on Zoom, if you’re wondering how to do this on Zoom.
Help us spread the word. Family doctors are specialists in primary care.