2018 Doctors of BC President-Elect election debate

Public

2018-05-14 Vancouver, BC Dr Z. Essak, MD

A must see. The 2018 Annual Dr Jim Busser Memorial election debate was live video streamed on May 9 and can be viewed anytime through the Vancouver Medical Association website (link below).

Kudos to Dr Charles Webb for keeping alive the memory and spirit of Dr Jim Busser. Kudos also to the moderator Dr Arun Garg encouraging questions and kudos to the participants present and remote for asking questions.

Beyond the opening formalities it gets interesting as questions are asked on what more should we be doing for future physicians, the lack of access, what are the main problems, use of allied professionals and physician extenders.

It may be of concern to some members and doctors that the Representative Assembly is still having difficulties finding it's feet. Weren't they all wanting and ready for the change?

What may be a minor quibble to some is the comment made by one of the candidates that the organization name is “Doctors Of BC - it hasn't been the BCMA for some years”. Meanwhile, the truth remains that the organization is still registered with the BC Registry as the British Columbia Medical Association and even the website doctorsofbc.ca identifies itself with a certificate with the proper registered name. “Doctors of BC” is really just a moniker or a slogan.

But, the important questions were about the future and where are we headed?

Basing solutions on executive summaries, abstracts, or tweets is not enough. Everyone depends on doctors to speak to the real problems and solutions, not just treatment of  symptoms as the health system deteriorates, like violence faced by nurses and frustration experienced by patients with under-staffing, over-crowding, and wait-times. These are symptoms of healthcare deterioration.

The real problem is the cause and that we have heard, over and over, is healthcare bureaucracy. Call it co-managment or collaboration, or whatever you wish, with the BC Government and Health Authorities spanning more than 12 years, is the association helping doctors lose sight of the problem along with bureaucratization of medical tasks through forms, committees, meetings and non-providers; or is the association helping doctors be the solution?

Even with the best of intentions the successful candidate, and not to forget the incoming president, and many others will need to demonstrate their abilities.

Take a listen, the 2018 Annual Jim Busser Memorial Doctors of BC President-Elect Debate at http://vancouvermedicalassociation.ca/