The Eye Physicians and Surgeons Association of Alberta (EPSAA) will host the Scientific Meeting on February 12, 2022 in a digital format, from 08:00 to 12:30. Featured speakers include Dr. Nupura Bakshi, an assistant professor from the University of Toronto (specialty Retina & Uveitis), and Dr. Marie-Claude Robert, a professeure adjointe de clinique from Université de Montréal – CHUM (specialty Cornea & External Disease).

The 2022 Eye Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta Annual Scientific Meeting is an Accredited Group Learning Activity (Section 1), as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and was approved by the Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Physicians may claim a maximum of 4 hours.

Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the learning activity.

Through an agreement between the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the American Medical Association, physicians may convert Royal College MOC credits to AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Information on the process to convert Royal College MOC credit to AMA credit can be found at www.ama-assn.org/go/internationalcme”

The International Ocular Inflammation Society (IOIS) will host the 2021 Meeting with the Hellenic Society for the Study of Ocular Inflammations and Infections from December 3 – 5, 2021. The meeting will be held Virtually.

One-day online interactive case-based workshop for developing approaches for good record-keeping. This workshop addresses the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario Medical Record Keeping Policy. Pre-workshop and post-workshop assignments are required.

2021 Upcoming Dates

• Friday, April 23, 2021
• Wednesday, May 12, 2021
• Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Access Details

Visit the University of Toronto CPD website for registration details.

About the Strategies for Managing Unprofessional Behaviour online program.

This is a comprehensive program that supports healthcare managers and leaders, as well as those who wish to grow into leadership positions, in recognizing and addressing unprofessional behaviour. The course is offered online, as five 2-hour sessions delivered over the course of five weeks.

CPD Credits

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada MOC Program 30.0 credits (Section 3)

Access Details

Visit the Saegis website for course information, dates and costs.

Articles

Patients’ complaints involving ophthalmologists in the province of Ontario, Canada: a 5-year review (June 2020) – Published in the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology (CJO)

Review of Ophthalmology Medical Professional Liability Claims in the United States from 2006 through 2015 (May 2018) – Published in Ophthalmology

Doctors’ experiences and their perception of the most stressful aspects of complaints processes in the UK: an analysis of qualitative survey data (July 2016) – Published in the BMJ

The impact of complaints procedures on the welfare, health and clinical practise of 7926 doctors in the UK: a cross-sectional survey (January 2015) – Published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ)

CMPA Articles

What to do if you’re notified of a College complaint (March 2018) – For many physicians, a regulatory authority (College) complaint is stressful, but can be managed by speaking with the CMPA, assessing the complaint, and responding professionally and respectfully.

Coping with a College complaint: Suggestions for reducing anxiety (April 2012) – Dealing with the stress of a College complaint is easier when a physician understands the complaint process and receives support, advice, and coping strategies from the CMPA.

This workshop-style online program provides practical strategies for effectively interacting with colleagues in a team environment. Participants will be equipped with skills that ensure clearer communication between healthcare colleagues, reduce risk and lead to improved patient safety. The program was developed in partnership with the CMPA, this program leverages the CMPA’s breadth of knowledge and understanding of physicians’ needs and healthcare safety issues

Topics Covered

• Team communication in the context of safe patient care
• The concept of psychological safety allowing team members to raise concerns
• Active listening and assertive communication skills
• Situational awareness

Duration

Seven hours. Currently offered online as three 2-hour online sessions and one 1-hour session delivered over the course of four weeks.

Learning Objectives

• Explain how the attributes of effective teams contribute to reliable patient outcomes
• Demonstrate communication strategies that support effective team functioning
• Identify opportunities for teams to implement psychological safety
• Demonstrate effective use of one structured communication tool to accurately, clearly, and efficiently share information within a healthcare team
• Demonstrate assertive communication approaches for addressing a healthcare-related safety concern
• Develop a clear and actionable change plan to improve team communication

CPD Credits

Accredited through the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, this course offers 10 MOC credits (5.5 credits Section 1 and 4.5 credits Section 3)

Access Details

For more information visit the Saegis website.

Getting a complaint can be one of the more stressful experiences for a physician. If you’ve received a complaint, you are not alone! In this webinar, we will explore the do’s and don’ts related to complaints, delve into the experience of receiving a complaint and discover strategies to minimize your risk going forward.

Title: So You Got A Complaint – Now What?!
Date: Wednesday, March 3, 2020
Time: 8:30 pm EST / 5:30 pm PST / 9:30 pm AST
Registration: https://encoreglobal.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_G3Ps7vvEQaiswm15Dy4xIg

Speakers:

Richard Mimeault, MD, Canadian Medical Protective Agency
Andrea Wheeler, Lenczner Slaght
Yvonne Buys, MD, FRCSC Past-President COS
R. Rishi Gupta, MD, FRCSC – Moderator

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this webinar participants will be able to:

• Review the who, what, where and why of complaints
• Outline the complaint process
• Describe the do’s and don’ts after receiving a complaint
• Discuss the psychological impact of complaints and how to stay well

Accreditation

The webinar So You Got a Complaint, Now What?!  is an Accredited Group Learning Activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by the Canadian Ophthalmological Society. You may claim a maximum of 1.5 hours

Access Details

Join this webinar on March 3. Register online now.

This program was delivered with financial support from an educational grant from provided to the COS by the Canadian Medical Association, MD Financial Management and Scotiabank.

As a physician, when you’re well, everyone benefits. Healthy and fulfilled physicians perform at a higher level and have better patient outcomes.

The Physician Wellness Hub aims to improve physician wellness individually as well as at the system level, and to promote a collaborative approach to physician health and well-being. It does so by:

• Offering day-to-day strategies physicians can use to build resilience or how to start institutional wellness programs;
• Creating a safe supportive virtual community to enable physicians and learners to connect with others interested in wellness;
• Providing immediate and confidential support and counselling to physicians, learners and their families through the Wellness Support Line.

Access Details

Visit the Physician Wellness Hub: cma.ca/wellness

Full day workshop that will take place as a virtual event, online.

Date: Saturday, February 6, 2021
Time: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET
Maximum Participation: 30 ophthalmologists
Facilitators: Rev. Andrew Blake and Dr. Agnes Wong
Language: Presentation will be in English
Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZckfumrqDkpGdQRy5mZQSRht0TURRlggAev

Physician wellness is an important issue and a growing concern within the medical profession. The recently released CMA National Physician Health Survey (2018) revealed that physicians experienced high burnout (30%), depression (34%), and lifetime suicidal ideation (19%). In addition, surgical specialists had 1.74 higher odds (74% increase in odds) to report low emotional well-being than those practising in other areas. Research has demonstrated that both intrinsic (e.g., personal traits) and extrinsic factors (e.g., high workload, long working hours, poor work-life integration, practice environment) adversely impact physician wellness.

In this one-day workshop, we will address physician wellness by introducing and developing mindfulness skills in participants so that they could tackle these contributing factors more skillfully at personal, interpersonal, and system levels. The emphasis will be placed on experiential exercises and everyday strategies aim to enhance personal and situational awareness in a physician’s busy life. A variety of formats including mindfulness training, didactic sharing, dyad exercises, prose/poem reading, and group discussion will be used to ensure an interactive experience that is invigorating, informative, and practical.

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Engage mindfulness skills in participants through the practice of different types of mindfulness training (formal and informal).
• Describe the contributing factors that lead to decreased physician wellness and burnout, and to learn skillful strategies to tackle them.
• Draw on a personal repertoire of mindfulness skills and strategies that can be applied in their daily lives.

Resources/Reference

CPD Credits

The workshop Everyday Mindfulness for Busy Clinicians is an Accredited Group Learning Activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by theCanadian Ophthalmological Society. You may claim a maximum of 5 hours.

Access Details

Kindly note that there is a maximum attendance of 30 participants, when you register you will be sent a confirmation email with the event details. To attend this event, please register online: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZckfumrqDkpGdQRy5mZQSRht0TURRlggAev

This program was delivered with financial support from an educational grant provided to the COS by the Canadian Medical Association, MD Financial Management and Scotiabank through the Affinity Agreement.