CRAJ Winter 2021

Winter 2021 (Volume 31, Number 4)

Update on CRA Initiatives

The Canadian Rheumatology Association (CRA) is pleased to provide the following updates on upcoming initiatives:

Indigenous Health Competency Initiative — New Format!
The CRA Indigenous Health Competency Initiative is a medical education intervention for CRA members to enhance their cultural competency. First delivered in 2018 via two interactive group workshops (Phase One at the CRA ASM and Phase Two in Calgary in the fall), it uses a "train-the-trainer" model based on an evidence-based continuing medical education program, “Educating for Equity (E4E).”

The program was delivered virtually during the pandemic, and it is currently being re-formatted into a late spring weekend workshop to replace the twice annual workshops held previously. Keep an eye on the President’s Update eblast for more information and for your invitation to apply.

Youth-to-Adult Rheumatology Transition Care Position Statement
The Youth-to-Adult Rheumatology Transition Care Working Group has been working diligently for two years to advance a national strategy to ensure high quality transition care can be accessed throughout the country. This dynamic and growing group is comprised of adult and pediatric CRA members, allied health professionals and patient representatives. They have recently published a Transition Care position statement that can be used by members to lobby for the funding they require to support transition care in their jurisdiction. Visit rheum.ca for more information.

Postgraduate Subcommittee (of the Education Committee)
The COVID-19 global pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on our healthcare system, and our approach to postgraduate education has had to be nimble to keep up with our changing reality. We have learned innovative ways to deliver virtual learning and have appreciated (and yearned for) those programs that have more impact in person.

Rheumatology postgraduate education has been transitioning into Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME). While this move has facilitated a further drive towards excellence in rheumatology training, there has been added pressure on rheumatology training programs and their directors/educational leaders to keep up with emerging standards. Members of the Postgraduate Subcommittee (of the CRA Education Committee) have been enthusiastically sharing their expertise in medical education — working hard to provide educational resources and programs to support our rheumatology trainees and educators. We have developed an education resource platform, available through the shared workspace of the CRA member portal, with excellent educational deliverables to be shared with our trainees and educators. Our next education project will be to tackle a national immunology curriculum, utilizing expertise from across the country to help guide this process.

Additionally, we have developed national education touchpoints for rheumatology trainees and programs to help them meet Royal College Standards for our specialty. This includes the Residents' Pre-course, the National Rheumatology Residents weekend (NRRW) and the NWRITE — a national written practice exam for all rheumatology residents. This year, we have modified the NRRW structure — now comprised of multiple national education events spanning the year. These sessions focus not only on medical expert content, but also encourage networking and collaboration with future rheumatology colleagues. We have a wonderful group who are dedicated to our overarching goal of ensuring that rheumatology education across the country is of the highest quality possible.