May 2023
The monthly E-News shares provincial program information and updates about the Facility Engagement (FE) Initiative. This information will be of interest to Medical Staff Association (MSA) support teams, so please feel free to forward the newsletter to your MSA executives as needed.
Site Reporting and Review Process (SRRP)
Over 63 eligible MSAs participated in the 2022/23 SRRP activities to date, which included MSA-HA facilitated discussions on key activities over the last year, showcasing key project successes and results, and highlighting key activities planned for the upcoming year.
Over the coming months, FCE’s external consultants, Ference & Company, will be conducting a qualitative analysis on the SRRP submissions as part of the Facility Engagement Provincial Evaluation to identify key themes regarding MSA capacity and capabilities including opportunities, progress made to enhance engagement between members of the medical staff at a facility, progress made to enhance engagement between physicians and HA partners at a facility, enhancing collective voice, improving the experience of care for the patient and much more. Stay tuned for more information.
Emerging key priorities for 2023/24, in times with collaboration from local health authority partners, focus on the following themes:
- Collaboration and relationship building (e.g., collaboration between the MSA and health authority to effectively optimize physician and health care provider engagement within the facility)
- Physician wellness (e.g., establishing a robust and cohesive work environment that promotes physicians’ health & wellness)
- Patient access and care (e.g., supporting medical staff to engage in activities that improve provider workflow, patient access to care and quality of care)
- Physician leadership and voice (e.g., providing physicians opportunities to participate in education, research, and leadership development that supports joint problem solving and decision making)
- Governance (e.g., establishing a best practice approach to organizational governance, including proactive budget management and prioritized spending to align with MSA mission to maximize impact)
- Recruitment and retention (e.g., supporting recruitment and retention strategies and succession planning efforts)
Other top priorities include quality improvement, cultural safety and humility, equity, diversity, and inclusion, optimizing resources, being agents of change, and improving team culture.
FCE will be inviting all SRRP participants to provide their feedback on the process via survey over the coming weeks. You may also access the survey link here. We encourage you to provide your input as we use it to inform planning for next year’s process. The FCE team will continue to support post-SRRP planning and activities with sites, and use SRRP data findings to prioritize program activities, content and tools.
If you have any questions, please contact engagement@doctorsofbc.ca
PHP-JCC Peer Support Initiative Seeking New Physician Organizations to Join
This Spring, the Physician Health Program (PHP) is seeking five more physician organizations interested in starting a local physician peer support program. Any existing physician organization such as Medical Staff Associations, Divisions of Family Practice, Sections, hospital departments and others may apply. If you are an individual physician interested in getting involved, we encourage you to connect with your local physician organization to apply. Multiple organizations that serve same geographic location may submit a joint application if they wish.
In 2022, the PHP and Joint Collaborative Committees partnered to launch the Physician Peer Support Initiative in BC. To date, 28 physician peer supporters have received training from peer support experts Dr Jo Shapiro and Dr Maureen Mayhew.
Supports will be provided, including one-time start-up funding, sessional funding, and CPD credits for physicians to attend peer support training, an implementation toolkit, and regular knowledge-sharing meetings hosted by PHP.
To apply, complete the Peer Support Involvement Request by May 19th.
If you want to learn more about the Initiative, and the commitment required, you can read the Terms of Reference, visit the PHP website, or email programs@physicianhealth.com
FE Evaluation Survey Launch – May 1
On May 1, Facility & Community Engagement launched the FE evaluation survey for medical staff and health authority leaders as part of the provincial evaluation of the FE Initiative. The following groups received a personalized survey invitations from the external evaluation consultant, Ference & Company, on Monday, May 1:
- All medical staff members registered in FEMS (including physicians, dentists, midwives, and nurse practitioners).
- MSA/physician society executives.
- Local and broader HA partners who are actively working with MSAs/physician societies.
On May 15th, MSA Project Staff will receive an email from the provincial office that they can forward to their membership, reminding MSA members of the survey link and May 31st deadline. We encourage MSAs to actively promote this survey to their membership and networks to capture broader perspectives, including those who may be less active in MSA/physician society activities.
Public survey link available for you to share: https://interceptum.com/s/en/Facility_Engagement_Evaluation
For more information, please refer to Evaluation Overview and Evaluation Survey FAQ documents.
If you have any questions, please contact engagement@doctorsofbc.ca
Doctors of BC’s Awards Month: Nominate a Colleague
May 2023 is the first annual Doctors of BC Awards Month dedicated to showcasing and recognizing outstanding doctors who make extraordinary contributions to their profession and their community, and inspire those around them.
So, if you know someone who has made a difference – whether it's a colleague, mentor, medical student, resident, or an individual or organization dedicated to health improvement in BC – consider nominating them for one of the following awards:
- Dr David M Bachop Gold Medal for Distinguished Medical Service
- Dr Don Rix Award for Physician Leadership
- Doctors of BC Silver Medal of Service Award
- Changemaker Awards for Medical Residents and Students
- Excellence in Health Promotion Awards
The nomination deadline is Wednesday, May 31, 2023.
If you have any questions, please contact awards@doctorsofbc.ca
New Feature: Monthly FEMS Tip
Every month, we will feature a timely update on how to use FEMS to your best advantage.
This month, we will be focusing on the fiscal new year, budgets, and the financial overview.
FEMS runs on a fiscal year from April 1st to March 31st. After the end of the fiscal year, there is a 30 day accrual period, during which time claims can still be entered into the previous fiscal year's budget. That period ends April 30th each year. After that date, no more claims can be assigned to the previous fiscal year and must be paid out from the current fiscal year.
On April 1st each year, the MSA is assigned their full budget in FEMS to allocate to activities.
On May 1st each year, previous fiscal year's budgets are reduced by the amount of any un-accessed gates, if applicable.
As a result, once the accrual period is over, the previous year's budget carryover can be determined. The carryover amount represents un-spent budget and is combined to the current year's budget to create the total funds available for the fiscal year. This amount can be viewed in the site's financial overview.
It is best practice at this time to also evaluate any previous open activities in FEMS to determine whether or not they are still ongoing into the new fiscal year, and if not, to close those activities, and therefore return any remaining budget within those activities to the MSA's main budget.
For more information on the budgeting cycle, please see the Financial Workbook on the FE website.
If you have any questions, please contact engagement@doctorsofbc.ca
Upcoming MSA Administrator Lunch and Learn
At our April Lunch and Learn, we only got a bit of the way through A Day in the Life of an MSA Administrator (we DO have full days!). Join us on Tuesday, May 16th (12.00 – 13.00 PDT) to dig a bit further into the day-to-day life of an MSA Administrator, full of tips and tricks about how to make your life a bit easier. Zoom link here.
Community Building: What would helpful FEMS Reports look like to you?
Learning Session: A Day in the Life of an MSA Administrator Part 2
If you have great ideas for topics for our community building and/or learning time together, please let me know at pmhelpdesk@facilityengagement.ca – we'd love to hear from you!
PM Helpdesk Lunch and Learn Library
The FE provincial office, in conjunction with the PM Helpdesk Consultant, Erica Kjekstad, have created a library document of all of the past lunch and learn sessions from 2021 and 2022.
The 2023 library document is now live and will continue to be updated each month with current information.
If you have any questions, please contact engagement@doctorsofbc.ca
Did you know...? In any given year, no month ever begins or ends on the same day of the week as May does.
Do you have ideas on future e-news topics?
Please let us know at engagement@doctorsofbc.ca
engagement@doctorsofbc.ca I www.facilityengagement.ca
Facility Engagement is an initiative of the Specialist Services Committee, one of four joint collaborative committees that represent a partnership of the Government of BC and Doctors of BC.
Want to learn what’s happening in your community?
Check out the Divisions Dispatch, an e-newsletter published by the Divisions of Family Practice initiative which is funded by the Family Practice Services Committee.