Family Docs Rock

Advocacy: Essential and (mostly) invisible

In less than two weeks Canadians will go to the polls at a time of great economic uncertainty. In this changing political and economic landscape, we need to press all political parties to keep health care as a top priority.

We have long known that access to family physicians leads to better health outcomes and a more efficient health system. The CFPC continues to advocate for better resources to make sure that every Canadian has access to a family physician, highlighting that there is no substitute for a family doctor. We had the opportunity to meet with Federal Health Minister Kamal Khera within days of her appointment, taking the time to highlight the importance of supporting family doctors to work in teams, reducing administrative burden, and making sure that investments in family medicine are a priority for a sustainable workforce into the future.

Canadians agree that a commitment to universal health care is one of our most defining characteristics. A strong health care system must figure prominently in all platforms and the CFPC continues to share important priorities with politicians across the country.

As the election period draws to a close, we will continue to emphasize the importance and value of family physicians in our publicly funded health care system. Our recent Nanos survey results highlight that family doctors are highly valued by Canadians and are seen as irreplaceable. We will keep the focus on health care and the central role we, as family physicians, have in the lives of all Canadians.

See our federal election advocacy notes.

As we work harder to share our work and direction, I encourage you to reach out to me with questions, suggestions, or concerns.

Carrie Bernard
President

Never bored on the Board

Given the timing (on the heels of our most recent Board meeting, as the deadline for new Board director applications draws to a close) today I want to share some reflections about the CFPC Board.

Why do people apply: In 2018 we moved to a skills-based board, elected by members (see my January 2025 column). I am regularly amazed by the volume and quality of applications we receive from across the country.  Most people who apply: a) care deeply about family medicine; b) want to ensure that family physicians thrive as Canadians’ most trusted health care specialists; c) want to help the CFPC in its membership and standard setting roles.

What does it entail: The Board meets five to six times per year (mix of in person and virtual). The Board is responsible for: a) The organization’s vision and stewardship of that vision; b) selecting, supporting, and evaluating the CEO; c) monitoring the short- and long-term health of the organization.

What is important to the current Board: Last year the Board asked Dr. Mike Allan, our new CEO, to focus his attention on five key areas, which were articulated in his KPIs (see below). These five areas continue to be the focus of Board discussion and monitoring. At our most recent meeting, following herculean efforts by Dr. Allan and staff, we approved a balanced budget for 2025/2026. We continue to consider advocacy for you, our members, to be a top priority. Please see our Board meeting summary for details about the recent meeting.

As we work harder to share our work and direction, I encourage you to reach out to me with questions, suggestions, or concerns.

Carrie Bernard
President

This blog space is meant to share affairs or ‘matters’ relevant to Canadian family doctors. The play on words is intentional. Our specialty, family medicine, matters a great deal to Canadians, something I appreciate even more as President of the CFPC.

I am sure many of you have experienced the scenario where a patient books an appointment, specifically to ask if they should follow the advice of another specialist because they first want to check the recommendation with their doctor. Our longstanding relationships and broad expertise matter a great deal to our patients, leading them to trust us with their health decisions across their ailments, life stages, and changing situations.

We also know, thanks to the work of researchers like Barbara Starfield, that family medicine matters to the health care system overall, improving health care outcomes and system efficiency.

As CFPC president, while meeting with federal and provincial politicians across all parties, I am learning that family medicine truly matters, to all of them. Whether it was on the “hill” last October or with the federal, provincial, and territorial health ministers in Halifax last month, each politician had a personal story to tell about the need for better access to family doctors and a stronger, better supported system of primary care.

What remains to be seen is how these politicians will actualize their support for our specialty. There have been positive signs, with some provinces adopting new funding models and providing more support for family physicians working in teams. The CFPC applauds these efforts and will continue political advocacy to improve family medicine: our specialty clearly matters to all politicians, to the system, and to patients across the country.

Please connect with your ideas for advocacy.

Carrie Bernard
President

A brief message from the President

The CFPC Board is keenly interested in sharing our work with you—our members—to keep you informed, to inspire you to become involved, and to allow us to hear directly from you. As President, I want to provide meaningful brief information and updates monthly, here in the Leadership Corner, alongside Mike’s regular Mike Drop’s, and to invite you to connect with me if something I say resonates or perhaps even hits a nerve.

Since 2018 new Board directors have been elected by the membership to serve three-year terms (renewable once). This move to a smaller, skills-based Board, elected by members, was a change inspired by member feedback, and has led to a more nimble Board that is actively involved in steering the ship.

As everyone knows, the CFPC is both a membership and a standards setting organization, which can sometimes lead to tensions. When these tensions arise, the membership voice is well represented and indeed amplified by the current directors, many of whom work almost exclusively in clinical practice.

The CFPC is your professional home, and it should feel like home: a place of comfort and support where you can retreat to be with ‘family’ rather than like an office where you need to fax in yet another form that costs you money. We are working on this. We are learning and we are changing. I look forward to hearing from you as we walk this path together.

Carrie Bernard
President

“What the heck am I paying these dues for?” If you’ve been in practice for less than 25 years, I likely started saying this before you.

Before we consider where dues go, I should clarify that some programs, like Self Learning, CFPCLearn, and FMF do not depend on member dues and are part of the CFPC’s self- supporting activities.

Among functions dependent on dues, perhaps the least obvious but most important is the self-governance of our profession and the value of certification through setting standards in family medicine. This includes accreditation of training sites, establishing requirements for residency, and maintenance of competency. After that, there are many things you might not immediately recognize like Canadian Family Physician, member committees, Tools for Practice, advocacy, support of Chapters, and much more. And then there’s all the costs of running a business such as computers for staff, support services like human resources, legal and accounting, to name a few.

Now that I am on the other side of the equation, I recognize that each year we squeeze every penny (do we say nickel now?) out of your $823/year. Since 2017, members have declined proposed fee increases, despite an inflationary cost increase of approximately 24 per cent. While we can’t continue too much longer without one, we understand members want us to demonstrate we’re being responsible with their hard-earned money. I agree.

In an upcoming column, I’ll explain what we’re doing to demonstrate fiscal prudence and delivery of value.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. 

Talk to you soon,
Mike Allan
CEO

Strategic plans are fundamental in business, born and reborn within any organizations like the eternal phoenix. They don’t represent the core business but guide novel and aspirational work, setting new paths and functions for organizations. They are meant to arise from the Board, supported by staff, partners, and, in organizations like ours, members.

But, this time, we expedited things. Before you read “cutting corners,” let me explain. We have not had a strategic plan for two years. The governance restructuring, happening now, and developing a long-term strategic plan will take time. The Board and I have identified some areas within the College that have not been adequately supported or developed and require immediate attention. We are setting short-term (two to three years) strategic priorities to focus on service of members. As finalized in our recent Board meeting summary, they are:

• Improved Business Functions: Cut costs, seek revenue, reduce dependence on member dues, expand membership, and more.
• Member Value: More advocacy, tangible values to membership, provide practice (clinical/non-clinical) support, advance physician supply, and more.
• Governance: Improved process for sustainable governance renewal and begin work on a formal five- to 10-year Strategic Plan.
• Foster Organizational Culture: Integrating equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-racism and more.

We are focused on what the members have told us: take the finances and business of the College seriously, become more efficient, and provide value for membership. This version of the phoenix may have a short lifespan, but the work will support the future Strategic Plan cycles.

PS: Don’t focus on the burned-up ashes part of the phoenix analogy—that’s the downer-side of the myth.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. 

Talk to you soon,
Mike Allan
CEO

Ever wonder what drives the College to do things? I know I have.

And now I know. Well, I know more.

There are a thousand drivers—political factors, changing standards, public needs and expectations, and the list goes on. However, at the centre of things is the direction and oversight of the Board, who are elected leaders representing members and are dedicated to advancing our profession. The Board selects the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), then establishes the CEO’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These KPIs are 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 achieve these goals.

So simple, a monkey could do it. And they got me. Before you roll your eyes, King Kong’s a monkey (I know, I know, a great ape). Besides, he’s a better climber and likely smarter. I climbed into this job, but I don’t think he even applied.

Sincerely, it is a huge honour for me to be the leader of our College, family physicians’ professional home. The Board’s goals for me are easy to get behind: Forge good relationships with partners like our provincial Chapters, see to fiscal stability, develop short-term strategic priorities, lead governance reform, support Board leadership, and serve the membership. (CEO KPIs)

This won’t immediately get the College to the place we are aiming for but these are reasonable goals to set it on the path to solid improvement. I will not be able to make all of you happy but I am dedicated to helping more of you feel satisfied with your professional home.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

Talk to you soon,
Mike Allan, CEO

The CFPC has been accused of being unclear and lacking transparency. I myself have made some of those same comments, but perhaps I’m oversharing, ….

The Board and I want to provide visibility to the core things relevant to your professional home. However, we run the risk of providing excessive detail, unreasonable to wade through, with the real danger of boring you to tears. Much of our work is more parliamentary procedure and less Summer Blockbuster. Flooding you with information is not the answer and this too has been a problem. About 20 years ago, I unsubscribed from the CFPC mail-list for a few years due to volume of unwanted content. You’re right in guessing that did not come up in my CEO job interview.

Some have asked for all minutes of Board and committee meetings. Legal counsel has advised against this, and frankly, it’s mostly boring. Our Board sets direction for the College and that is key. After I spoke with the member who brought the four member proposals at last year’s AMM, we’re going to start by providing a two-page (maximum) summary of Board deliberations and minutes. Here is the July Board Summary.

I promise to keep these ‘Mike Drop’ columns short (if you’ve seen me, you know short is my wheelhouse). I will limit these columns to approximately 250 words and update you honestly on College issues like strategic priorities, arising matters, where the heck [edited for PG rating] do my dues go, and more. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

Talk to you soon,

Mike Allan, CEO