President's message: "If this calf would only stand up ..."
Keith MacLellan, MD
Shawville, Que.
President, Society of Rural Physicians of Canada
Can J Rural Med vol 2 (3):116
© 1997 Society of Rural Physicians of Canada
The Society of Rural Physicians of Canada (SRPC) is a bit like a newborn calf: apparently fragile, but with all that is necessary for a long and productive life, as long as it gets up on its feet. How close are we? The Banff meeting in April was successful and proved once again that rural docs can deliver, be it pertinent CME, policy or planning issues. The question of being recognized as a discipline is out in the open, albeit with some ambiguity (see page 141). We can live with that -- after all, we are Canadians. A committee structure is in place, and the SRPC Obstetrics Committee is already attacking the issues of guidelines conjointly with the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada and the College of Family Physicians of Canada (see Letters section, page 118). Validation of the practice of obstetrics without cesarean section capabilities tops the list.
An ad in this issue (page 111) presents an SRPC pilot project combining locum services with practical, hands-on teaching by rural docs. Many other projects will be set up, and we intend to see that they are funded, so that your expenses will be paid if you participate. One crucial project to which each of us can contribute is building up our membership to give us the funding and human resources we need to achieve our goals.
The SRPC now has its own by-laws, which were adopted at the annual general meeting in Banff. Briefly, this is how the Society is constituted. The country is divided into 5 regions. Each region has a committee consisting of 4 to 6 rural doctors and a student/resident member. The chair and alternate chair of each regional committee, along with the executive, a student or resident, and a public representative, make up the Council. Council meets in person twice per year to instruct the executive.
The regional committees recruit new members and represent the interests of their local doctors. They will each have a budget for communications and expenses, as well as the administrative back-up of the SRPC executive officer, John Clark, to minimize bureaucratic work.
The following standing committees have been proposed to date and will start up as the need, will and funding arise: students/residents, communications, aboriginal issues, specialties, obstetrics and perinatal care, GP anesthesia, emergency, allied health care, spousal/family support, physician resources and working conditions, continuing medical eduation (made up of the chairs of the regional committees), rural community economics, finance and annual meeting. Again, the SRPC intends to cover expenses and provide administrative support.
The purpose of the SRPC is to bring rural docs together, not to bog them down in administrative work. We want a lean, effective organization, and the workload on any committee is meant to be light and rewarding, without loss of income to the participants. So it is an exciting time to join the SRPC and help the calf get up on its feet. For, as they say in our area, "If this calf will only stand up, it will be nickety-nick from there on in."
