What's New at the ACFP and In Health Care
  • ACFP CPD Day With only a few seats remaining for the CPD Day, don’t miss out - Register today! Click here for more information on our program offerings.
  • 2 spots remaining for MSK Education
  • 6 spots remaining for Practising Wisely
  • Volunteer for the ACFP Shadowing Program - Share your passion and expertise in family medicine with the next cohort of incoming medical students - Sign up today
  • Save The Date - May 19th is Family Doctor Day! Join us as we celebrate why Family Docs Rock!
  • ACFP Website Updates - Meet your Commitee Members! Find out more about the amazing volunteers that help us provide all members with the best programs and services.
  • Congratulations to the Sylvan Family Health Centre and St. Albert and Sturgeon Primary Care Network which are highlighted in the CFPC's Innovation in Primary Care series - Integration of Pharmacists Into Interprofessional Team.
  • ICYMI: This ACFP Celebrated the Patient's Medical Home with the 2018 recipients of the Outstanding Family Practice Award. Congratulations again to Margaret Churcher Professional Corporation and The Wild Rose Medical Centre.
  • This June, get ready for a new membership experience - a new member portal is underway at the CFPC! For a full list of details visit the CFPC portal webpage.
Message from the President - Strategic Planning

Spring is often a time of refresh – spring cleaning, planting the garden, setting up the patio, filing taxes (perhaps not the last one). This spring, the ACFP Board also starts the process of refreshing the organization’s strategic plan. Our current 3-year plan ( click here to see our 2017-2019 plan) is due for review and renewal to allow a launch of an updated plan for 2020. There has been much work over the past few years to provide quality education, primary care leadership, and advocacy and we hope to continue these efforts going forward. However, a strategic plan process enables us to ensure the organization is aware and incorporating the ever-changing landscape into our work moving forward.

Having recently attended the Institute of Health Care Improvement Summit in the United States, I had the opportunity to see the work that has been done in other parts of the world to advance patient care, including moves to team-based care and integration efforts within health systems similar conversations to those we are having in our province. I also had the opportunity to see some of the drawbacks of a largely private system with multiple variables impacting the funding and delivery of health care. It creates an appreciation that although our system is not perfect, there is much in it that benefits our patients and society as a whole and the importance of preserving and improving the system we have. We all have a role in creating system change and system improvements and this is part of the conversation that will need to be had going forward.

I invite our fellow members to share any thoughts you may have with us at ACFP2020@acfp.ca, an email we have established to allow you to communicate with us about our strategic plan what we do well, what the organization should consider, and your thoughts and ideas to improve the system we have so it continues to serve our patients for years and generations to come. The broad conversations will help us see where our short- and medium-term goals should lie. I look forward to your thoughts and we will be sure to share our planning developments with you later in the year.

Vishal Bhella, MD, CCFP
President
Alberta College of Family Physicians
Why wait until the deadline? Submit your application now!
REMINDER - Volunteer positions are coming available on ACFP Operational Committees effective July 1st, 2019.

Share your passion for family medicine and get involved!

Application deadline is:
Sunday, May 12, 2019.

For more information visit our website and Apply today!
Patient's Medical Home 2019 - New Vision
Since the original Patient's Medical Home (PMH) vision was launched in 2011, progress has been made across the country—the provinces that have well-structured, long-term health care system reforms in place are performing the best.

The Patient’s Medical Home—Provincial Report Card 2019 has recognized Alberta as a leader among the provinces, in performing the PMH Pillars.

The PMH 2019 captures the evolution of family medicine and refreshes the vision for the road ahead for family practices, their patients and policy makers.
First Five Years Blog - Locums 101
Dr. Jennifer Ortynski, MD, CCFP
Dedicated member of the ACFP’s First Five Years in Family Practice Committee

Whether you are an early-career physician, or one nearing retirement, being a locum is a great way to transition into (or out of) clinical practice! Some people enjoy the flexibility of locuming so much so that they make an entire career out of it. In this blog post I will use my experiences and the experiences of my peers to hopefully pass on knowledge that will aid you in a successful transition into the locum life...
Overwhelmed? Maintaining Your Wellness in Early Practice
Are you in your early years of practice and feeling overwhelmed?

The First Five Year Family Physician Committee is hosting an evening workshop on Tuesday, May 28th with guest speaker, Dr. Jane Lemaire, an expert in physician wellness. Dr. Lemaire will present coping strategies on physician wellness in areas including stress management and physician burnout. Please join us at this event where you will gather some valuable pearls to help ensure your success in practice. Spaces are limited!

Date : Tuesday May 28, 2019
Time : 6:00-8:00 PM (appetizers served at 5:30 PM)
Location : Double Tree Edmonton - Maligne Room
Cost : $50.00 per person
Is your 5-year Mainpro+ cycle ending June 30, 2019? Do you have outstanding credits to enter?

 Don’t wait until the deadline. Login soon and bring your CPD credit transcript up to date!
Mainpro + Minute
Last month we asked - Is it mandatory to upload a copy of the Certificate of Attendance (COA) every time I enter certified credits in my Mainpro+ transcript?

  • Answer: No. It is not mandatory to upload a copy of your certificate. You do however, need to keep your COA for a minimum of six years in case you are selected for random audit. 
TIP: You can store your COAs by uploading them to your Mainpro+ portfolio when you enter your certified credits. That way, you will not be audited as the documentation will already be on file. You can upload any file type into Mainpro+ including PDFs, Word documents, or images. 
Thank you to everyone who participated in our March eNews poll. All correct answers were entered to receive a $25 Starbucks gift card, and five lucky winners were randomly drawn.

Congratulations to our March Winners!!
  • Dr. Wayne K. Hoy (Calgary)
  • Dr. Tharine Van Deventer (Bonnyville)
  • Dr. Andrea Hargrove (Taber)
  • Dr. Alexandra Noga (Grande Prairie)
  • Dr. Selena Yee (Calgary)
Win a gourmet coffee card!  

Something Different – No right or wrong answer to this one. This time we’re just curious. Everyone has a chance to WIN!!

To support various forms of learning the CFPC has developed a way for you to earn five Mainpro+ certified credits per activity at your own pace: LINKING LEARNING EXERCISES

There is NO limit to how many linking learning exercises you can complete. They are self-administered, semi-structured exercises that allow you to turn day-to-day activities into learning opportunities. Linking Learning submission forms allow you to reflect on a recent experience and document how it will affect your practice. 
Have you completed a Linking Learning exercise to earn credits in the past three (3) years?
Enter your answer below for a chance to win* one of five $25 Starbucks gift cards!
Yes
No
* ALL responses will be entered into the draw. Five lucky winners will be notified by email and will have their names published in the May edition of our eNews.
Alberta College of Family Physicians | www.acfp.ca | 780-488-2395