Introducing Dr. Danette Dawkin, President-Elect
Dr. Dawkin will assume the position of President-Elect at the conclusion of our AGM on September 22, 2021. I hope to bring my passion, my voice, and my belief in the power of partnership to my new role as President-Elect of BC Family Doctors. As a rural family doctor in northern BC, my practice spans primary care, ER, hospital, surgical assists and the teaching of medical students and residents. In addition, I have participated in leadership wor…
Professional Distance
…en reflecting on some of the factors that led to my burnout. When I was training, I was taught the importance of maintaining “professional distance.” I donned my white coat and worked very hard to contain the tears as I saw patients who had cancer, who had just lost a baby, who were leaving an abusive marriage or struggling with any number of medical or life events. As an empath, holding in my emotions was a very challenging endeavor. If I let a t…
Family Physician-Patient Compact: New Poster & Handouts
BC Family Doctors has developed new practice tools to help physicians begin the conversation about the family physician-patient compact. The wording of this Family Physician-Patient Compact was developed by FPSC in consultation with physicians and members of the Patient Voices Network to describe the relationship between a family physician and their patients. Family physicians are encouraged to post the Compact in their examination rooms in order…
On Coming Together, Not Apart
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COVID-19 Sick Note Requests
…es as Omicron case counts rise and new BC legislation is now in effect providing employees with up to five paid sick days. Starting January 1, 2022, eligible full and part-time employees in BC can take up to five paid sick days. Some employers are requesting sick notes to provide evidence of illness or ‘return to work’ notes to demonstrate fitness for work. Sick notes are not required for individuals to be eligible for paid sick leave or to return…
Titanic
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How to encourage more family doctors
…ng breed. Never, in my 20 years of practice in B.C., have I seen family medicine in crisis as it is now. Trust me, it is not a new issue. The writing has been on the wall for a long time, but we have been so busy working 70 hours a week, caring for patients, and trying to keep our small businesses afloat that we have stood by and watched government after government allow further erosion of primary care with no meaningful change. I have watched fam…
Shortage of family doctors prompts awareness campaign
…Dr. Renee Fernandez, Executive Director of BC Family Doctors, was on Global Morning News to discuss the shortage of family physicians in longitudinal family medicine. She speaks to the changing work of family doctors in BC as well as the needed supports for family medicine clinics. For more information about the #EveryoneDeservesAFamilyDoctor campaign, click here….
‘All the trends paint a dire picture’: B.C. facing looming shortage of family physicians
…looking at a whole-scale collapse of the primary care infrastructure” in British Columbia, says Renee Fernandez, executive director of BC Family Doctors. Fernandez predicts 40 per cent of B.C.’s family doctors will retire in the next 10 years and that it will be impossible to fill the gap, leaving millions in B.C. without a family doctor. The reason? The way family medicine is practised in B.C. – and in much of the country – is a failed business m…
BC Green Party calls for overhaul of funding for family doctors
…al, and team-based care. Currently, there are between 750,000 to 900,000 British Columbians without a family doctor. “The billing model is very outdated and does not provide the stability needed for good medical care,“ Furstenau said Wednesday. “Doctors are basically running a small business instead of putting their focus into caring for their community members.” Watch and read the full story here here . Originally published and broadcast on Globa…
Statement on Minister Dix’s Comments
We were disappointed to hear the comments by BC’s Health Minister Adrian Dix in the Debate on Budget Estimates on May 10, 2022. Minister Dix suggested nurse practitioners provide better primary care than family doctors and spend more time with patients. Such comments are disheartening and divisive. BC’s primary care crisis will not be solved by fostering an “us vs them” culture. It will be solved by communication, collaboration and celebration of…
Where do I go from here?
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Are you ready to lead primary care transformation in BC?
…mittee (FPSC) is looking for a family doctor to join the Doctors of BC physician caucus. Any member who meets the qualifications is welcome to apply, although preference may be given to applicants located in rural settings within Interior and/or Northern Health regions (as a result of the current composition of the physician caucus). As a collaborative committee, the FPSC works with government, health authorities, and family physician organization…
Provincial Resources for Pediatric Respiratory Illnesses
…hildhood respiratory illness and the return of flu season. Family doctor clinics are also feeling the crunch due to high numbers of ill patients and the shortage of medications to manage fever in children. The following provincial resources are available for health-care providers: Pediatric respiratory resource list (PDF): a compilation of respiratory resources for pediatric health-care providers; topics include asthma, bronchiolitis, croup, COVID…
Prescription contraceptives now covered in BC
…ter pill”) Coverage is for the contraceptive products, regardless of the clinical reasons for the prescription (e.g. prevention of osteoporosis). Patients need to have their prescription filled at a pharmacy for it to be covered by PharmaCare. As a result, IUDs and other contraceptives provided to patients at clinics are not covered by PharmaCare. Physicians are advised to consider this when scheduling appointments to insert IUDs and contraceptive…
Virtual care must be integrated into public system, not driven by profit
…and the public. We need to design a system around people’s values and priorities. The OurCare survey findings support virtual care services being publicly owned and, whenever possible, integrated into an existing relationship within a family doctor, nurse practitioner or team. Read the full article by Lindsay Hedden, Michael Green, and Tara Kiran featured on Healthy Debate Infographic by OurCare.ca as featured on the same article. News articles d…
Privacy Policy
…ns how we collect, use, disclose and safeguard personal information. 1. DEFINITION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION Personal information is any information that is identifiable to you as an individual. This may include, but is not limited to, your name, gender, age, date of birth, language of correspondence, mailing address, telephone number, fax number, email address, and membership in an organization. Personal information does not include publicly availa…
Dr Maryam Zeineddin Receives 2023 Recognition Award
…t-Elect, Dr Maryam Zeineddin, was honoured with a Doctors of BC 2023 Recognition award, presented at the Doctors of BC Awards Gala on January 26th, 2024. Committee recognition awards are given to members for their long service to Doctors of BC. Recipients of these awards have served a minimum of 3 years on a single committee. Dr Zeineddin was BC Family Doctor’s representative to the Statutory Negotiating Committee for three years during negotiatio…
What Family Doctors Need from Digital Health Care
…ebruary 10, your BC Family Doctor’s Board hosted a gathering of family physician leaders from across BC for our first ever Issues Forum. We convened a panel of digital health thought leaders to talk about the triumphs and trials of EMRs, digital prescribing, virtual care and more. The panelists spoke about how family physicians have been navigating a tumultuous shift toward digitally enabled healthcare over the past two decades. Positive advanceme…
Join our Board! Be a District Delegate
…r colleagues. Be an agent for change! District Delegates There are five positions open. Terms are two years. Terms commence at the June 18, 2025 AGM. One (1) Delegate position in each of: District 6 – New Westminster/Tri-Cities (including Port Moody, Port Coquitlam) District 9 – Skeena (including Prince Rupert, Smithers, Terrace) District 10 – South Central Cariboo (Including Kamloops, Merritt, Williams Lake) District 12 – North East (Including D…