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Family Medicine Matters

Dr Carrie Bernard

Relationships Matter: National and the provincial Chapters

As CFPC President I visit provincial Chapters across the country at annual members’ meetings and educational conferences. When Chapter presidents start a new term, I also have the great honour of installing the president. At these events I witness incredible work done by colleagues, and I get a chance to discuss the national/Chapter relationship, which some people find confusing—I know I did before I joined the Board.

Members know that they pay dues to a college somewhere, track their credits, and get lots of email but there is frequently lack of clarity about who does what. This is understandable because there is only one bill. All dues (national and provincial) are collected by the CFPC with the provincial portion transferred to the Chapters.

So, what does the national college (CFPC) do? We create, assess, and protect professional standards, stand behind certification, and maintain self-regulation. We advocate nationally, steward CPD, and bring all Chapters together for discussion and advocacy. You are most likely to know your Chapter leaders as they are closest to you—they know the local environment, issues, and educational needs.

In my experience, our strongest advocacy is collaborative, with the CFPC taking cues from provincial leaders to address local issues with supportive resources and our national voice. Most recently we spoke up in support of family physicians in Prince Edward Island who are facing challenges with their new funding agreement, contributing to the strong work done locally.

As Dr. Mike Allan has said in Mike Drop columns, much of what we do can go unseen, but it is essential. And when we advocate together, we are greater than the sum of the parts. If you have ideas about how we can best collaborate, please connect.

Carrie Bernard
President


Mike Drop

Mike Allan

Self-Regulation: Understanding Our Reality

I just passed my one-year anniversary. That’s paper by the way. What is the most important thing I’ve learned? Let me break it down:

Our ‘Ivory Tower’ and stuffy persona: This is generally linked to our standards functions. Many family doctors struggle to see the relevance but it’s a bit like air: Mostly invisible and vital.

What are ‘standards’ functions? Residency requirements, exams, accreditation functions, continuing professional development certification/reporting, and more. These support the high value of our certification and self-regulation.

Do high standards matter to you? Yes. After graduation, you can work in many professional practices, styles, and disciplines immediately, and more with additional (one year or less) training. You can choose to work anywhere in the country and often, the way you want to work. These are the core to our self-regulation.

Is self-regulation at risk? Yes. Despite being admired around the world (our two-year residency is more comprehensive than some five-year programs), threats to the value of our certification and profession are lengthy.  In my first year I’ve had discussions around replacing us with allied professionals, minimizing training to one year, limiting the comprehensive nature of family physician care, and even ending our self-regulation.

Our “stuffy” standards defend our self-regulation and profession, asserting our value to medical organizations, pressing governments to invest, and stressing our value to the public. The future of our profession is not assured unless we defend it. Without a national organization to represent and defend family medicine, the privilege of self-regulation is at risk. That’s the most important lesson I’ve learned.


Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions

Talk to you soon,
Mike Allan
CEO

Explore past Leadership Corner insights

CEO Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The Board selects the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), then establishes the CEO’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These KPIs lay out what the Board expects of the CEO and what they want the CEO to focus on. The CEO then leads and manages the CFPC to assure the realization of those goals.

President’s and CEO’s CFP Columns

 

Servant leadership

CFP MFCPresident Carrie Bernard
Canadian Family Physician June 2025; 71 (6) 437; https://www.cfp.ca/content/71/6/437

View past columns from Carrie Bernard



 


Money talk: a CFPC financial update

CFP MFCCEO Michael Allan
Canadian Family Physician June 2025; 71 (6) 440; https://www.cfp.ca/content/71/6/440

View past columns from Michael Allan


 


Past Leadership Corner insights

Board Meeting Summaries

Please visit our Board of Directors page to view all past meeting summaries.