May 2025

The monthly E-News shares provincial program information and updates about the Facility Engagement program. This information will interest Medical Staff Association (MSA) support teams, but please feel free to forward the newsletter to your MSA executives as well. 

Reminder: Financial Year-End Dates and Deadlines

**Important Dates and Actions for Fiscal Year Reporting**  

**ACTION: ASAP**  
As we are now in the new fiscal year, please ensure that the following documents are submitted ASAP:  

• Physician societies are required to provide their latest society filings to the BC registrar along with their current directors' insurance.  
• All MSAs should submit any updates related to workplace harassment and bullying, privacy, and conflict of interest policies that took place during the 2024-25 fiscal year.  

**ACTION: May 30, 2025**  
Don’t forget! The deadline for physician societies to submit their year-end financial statements for the 2024-25 fiscal year is Friday, May 30th.

For gated funding requests to be processed, timely submission of all documents is essential.  

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact engagement@doctorsofbc.ca.

Thank you for your attention and cooperation!

Facility Engagement Provincial Evaluation 2022-24 Key Learning & Opportunities

Recently, the two-year provincial evaluation of the Facility Engagement (FE) Initiative was completed, and the final evaluation report was released on the FE website here, as well as a presentation recording of key findings here.

A list of examples of opportunities that Medical Staff Associations (MSAs)/health authorities (HA) and the FE initiative may want to explore for implementation are provided here, based on the findings from the evaluation. Opportunities are not limited to these examples. We encourage you to explore these opportunities with your Engagement Partner over the coming months, who can help you identify site-specific solutions and strategies. Engagement Partners can connect you with other MSAs' resources, tools, and insights and collaborate to develop new approaches tailored to your needs. 

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact engagement@doctorsofbc.ca.

Facility Engagement Quality Improvement Training for FE MSA Administrators

Facility Engagement (FE) is excited to be collaborating with the provincial SSC Physician Quality Improvement (PQI) team a second time to offer FE MSA administrators complimentary access to PQI Level 1 training via the online Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Open School platform.

What you need to know:

• Training is a complimentary professional development opportunity.
• Those interested must complete the form below no later than June 15, 2025 and will be granted access shortly following that deadline via email instructions.
• Training subscriptions are available until April 30, 2026 – meaning that you will need to complete your training before April 30, 2026. 
• Seats are limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
• PQI Level 1 Core Modules take approximately 4-5 hours of self-directed learning time* and include the following modules:
  • QI 101: Introduction to Health Care Improvement 
  • QI 102: How to Improve with the Model for Improvement 
  • QI 103: Testing and Measuring Changes with PDSA Cycles
• Once you have access to IHI Open School, you will also have full access to many other resources, templates, papers, and other self-paced courses available on IHI. 
• If physicians are interested in the training, please direct them to quality@doctorsofbc.ca to receive access and instructions for sessional payment (5 hours) upon completion.

*Contractor time to participate in training and professional development should not be compensated from Medical Staff Association (MSA) Facility Engagement budgets. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) outlines certain entitlements under the Employment Insurance Act, Canada Pension Plan, and Income Tax Act for employees versus self-employed workers (i.e. contractors). See here for more information about employment status indicators, including training.  As independent contractors, FE MSA administrators are responsible for the cost of acquiring the necessary training to deliver the services needed for their contracts.

If you are interested in accessing this complimentary training, please fill in this form by June 15th: click here.

 If you have any questions, please contact engagement@doctorsofbc.ca.

Annual Review: Emerging Priorities for 2025/26

Of 76 eligible MSAs, 69 have submitted their 2024/25 Annual Review (AR) report. AR activities include: 1) MSA-HA facilitated discussions on successes, challenges, and lessons learned over the last year; 2) showcasing key project successes and results; and 3) highlighting the key priorities within the strategic goals and planned activities for the upcoming year.

KEY PRIORITIES FOR 2025/26:

The top priorities MSAs identified for 2025/26 focused on the following themes:

1. Improve communication and connection for medical staff engagement through effective meeting structures and strong communication to boost physician engagement.
2. Enhance the Medical Staff experience by establishing a robust and cohesive community through team-building opportunities, physician wellness, professional development, recognition, socials, and welcoming spaces.
3. Develop and support physician recruitment and retention activities via recruitment and retention committees and projects designed to welcome new recruits and support an engaging work environment.
4. Strengthen a unified physician voice by ensuring meaningful input and consultation, and leveraging venues to bring issues forward to influence decision-making on matters important to the medical staff. 
5. Support activities that positively impact patient care and improve the provider experience of care through system improvement, access to quality services, health equity, and optimal resources.
6. Build strong, trusting relationships within the facility by collaborating with health authority leaders and partners.

Other top priorities include: physician health and wellness, partnership connection and relationship-building, cultural safety and Indigenous engagement, governance and leadership sustainability, and fostering collaboration on mutual priorities. 

Thank you for your hard work and commitment to furthering engagement at your MSAs. FE invites all participants to provide feedback on the AR process via this survey. Your input is invaluable and will help us improve next year's process.

Annual Review analysis will continue throughout the coming months and will be presented to the SSC FE Working Group. The themes and trends generated from your annual reports allow us to demonstrate the value of physician engagement and the impact of your work to our provincial funding partners.

The FE team will continue to support post-AR planning and activities with MSAs and use AR data findings to prioritize program activities, resources, and tools.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with your Engagement Partner or contact engagement@doctorsofbc.ca.

Doctors of BC’s Awards Month: Nominate a Colleague

May marks Doctors of BC’s annual Awards Month, dedicated to recognizing outstanding physicians who make extraordinary contributions to the profession and their community, and inspire those around them. To ensure no deserving individual goes unrecognized, we are seeking your help and your nomination. 

If you know a colleague or mentor who has made a difference, a medical student or resident who advocates for a stronger healthcare system, or an individual or group working to make BC a healthier, safer place to live, then please consider nominating them for a Doctors of BC award. More information can be found on our Awards for Physicians and Awards for Residents, Students, and Community webpages. 

The nomination deadline is May 31, 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact awards@doctorsofbc.ca.

FEMS Tip of the Month

This month, want to share a quick note with everyone to thank you for your patience and understanding with the series of unforeseen FEMS errors and glitches that happened during April. 

At this time, we have a log of the current errors in the system, so please rest assured we are working on resolving them soon and will provide an email to all MSAs when completed.

If you have any questions or seek further clarification, please feel free to email us at femssupport@doctorsofbc.ca. We’re here to assist you!

Knowledge-Sharing Highlights

Is your MSA curious about how to apply strategic communication principles to spread and increase engagement in an activity? Check out the summary, recording, and resources from the Strategic Communications Webinar on March 14^th.  

If you missed it, the recording, slides, and summary from the April 3^rd FE peer-to-peer panel showcasing the Medical Staff Association (MSA) work on Recruitment and Retention challenges are available here.

Suppose your MSA is looking for guidance about evaluation for its FE initiatives. In that case, you can check out a FEI case study and quality framework in the winter issue of the Canadian Journal of Physician Leadership here.

Should you have any questions, reach out to engagement@doctorsofbc.ca. 

PM Helpdesk Lunch and Learn Library

We’re excited that the FE provincial office and PM Helpdesk Consultant Erica Kjekstad have developed a comprehensive library document featuring all MSA Lunch and Learn sessions from 2022 through 2025. The links are on the provincial webinars tab on the FE website.

Should you have any inquiries, please don’t hesitate to contact engagement@doctorsofbc.ca.