Winter 2013 (Volume 23, Number 4)
Update from the British Columbia Society of Rheumatologists
By Jason Kur, MD, FRCPC, ABIM
Download PDF
The British Columbia Society of Rheumatologists (BCSR) continues to be active in order to improve the delivery of rheumatology services in B.C. through leadership, advocacy, and member support. To that end, there have been some further successes on the West Coast.
B.C. Medical Association Recruitment and Retention Funding
After several months and two submissions, the BCSR was very successful in its case for recruitment and retention support through the B.C. Medical Association (BCMA) Recruitment and Retention initiative. Mr. Eric Harris, Q.C., arbitrated the allocation of $20 million available to specialist sections that have had difficulty recruiting and retaining physicians. Submissions were received from 26 specialties. Mr. Harris then applied criteria to the proposals to help determine where recruitment and retention issues were most severe.
In his decision, he identified different categories of specialties with the highest recruitment needs. The Group A specialties determined to be experiencing the greatest need included: endocrinology, geriatric medicine, neurology, pediatrics, and rheumatology. These groups received the highest award per full-time equivalent physician. Only 13 groups received funding in this process. In total, this process represented $975,000 in new support for rheumatology practice initiatives across B.C. Our proposal to the arbitrator outlined strategies for improving the attractiveness of rheumatology as a specialty that will reward physicians for managing patients with complex rheumatic diseases.
Nursing in B.C.
More than 50% of rheumatology practices in B.C. are using the services of nurses. There has been dramatic uptake in the use of nursing services since the implementation of the multidisciplinary consultation code that allows rheumatologists to involve a nurse in a patient’s management plan. The BCSR held its first primer for rheumatologists on the logistics of nursing care in private practice in Vancouver in the spring; plans are in the works to repeat this event for members on Vancouver Island and the B.C. interior.
Website
The BCSR is excited to announce the launch of its first website, www.bcrheumatology.ca. The site includes practice resources for members, and will serve as the public face for the profession in the province through advocacy and media relations.
A relaxed Dr. Paul de Champlain, enjoying his retirement.
The BCSR would like to congratulate Dr. Paul de Champlain on his recent retirement. Paul began practice in Victoria in 1979, after completing rheumatology training in Calgary and an undergraduate MD degree in Edmonton. Paul worked diligently as a community rheumatologist for those 34 years. He is commonly known as Mr. Dependable: always organized and meticulous in his obligations to his community and colleagues. An avid golfer, he is well liked by all in the medical community. We wish him well in his new more relaxing green pastures, or perhaps just “greens and fairways”.
Jason Kur, MD, FRCPC, ABIM
Clinical Assistant Professor,
University of British Columbia
President,
British Columbia Society of Rheumatologists
Co-Director,
Pacific Arthritis Centre
Vancouver, British Columbia |
