Looking for opportunities to improve how we support you

Read time: 2 minutes

Thank you for your feedback on the 2021 Physician Survey

CPSA is committed to being a learning organization, and part of that is a commitment to our own learning and improvement. This is why back in February, we asked all physicians to complete the 2021 Physician Survey, to share your honest perspective on what we’re doing well as your regulator and how we could do better.

We received responses from 3,179 physicians, residents and medical students, which represents approximately 22% of the profession (a slight increase from the response rate of 21.9% on our last survey in 2018). We asked questions about a number of topics, including our reputation, your interest in serving on CPSA Council and your overall satisfaction with our communication and customer service. Results were positive overall, however, there were some areas identified in which we can improve:

• When asked if your impression of CPSA has improved, stayed the same or worsened over the last three years, most who responded (56%) said stayed the same, followed by worsened at 27% and improved at 17%.
• Slightly over half (57%) of respondents said CPSA does a good job communicating with the profession.
• When asked how CPSA can improve its interactions with physicians, suggestions included responding to inquiries in a timelier manner and more in-person/face-to-face interactions.
• There were a number of comments about CPSA being viewed as a disciplinarian as opposed to a supportive regulator. This view is consistent with feedback provided in 2019 during CPSA’s rebrand and suggests we haven’t yet impacted this perception as positively as hoped.
• When asked what would encourage one to run for CPSA Council, physicians told us they’d like to know more about what being on Council entails, hear about the experiences of Council members and would want to feel like they could make a difference by being a Councillor.
• When asked whether CPSA’s processes acknowledge equity, diversity and inclusion, over half of physicians said they agreed or strongly agreed, while 38% of respondents were neutral. Several comments elaborated to say they would like to see more transparent and deliberate work from CPSA in this area.

This is just a snapshot of all the valuable feedback you provided. The survey results have been shared with CPSA leadership and we are now looking at how we can make improvements with your suggestions in mind. While work on this will continue into 2022 and beyond, some changes are already in the works:

• We have several upcoming opportunities for face-to-face interactions with our Council President, Dr. Louis Hugo Francescutti. The next event is a physician Q&A on Aug. 19 at 12 p.m. about CPSA’s upcoming Council Elections, please register here if you’d like to attend.
• We have formed internal working groups to look at our customer service practices and our complaints process to identify how we can improve.
• We are in the process of establishing both an Indigenous Health Advisory Circle and an Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Committee to help us understand how we can support change and improved experiences for patients and physicians who have experienced racism in the healthcare system.

We would like to thank physicians for taking the survey (and congratulations to the physician who entered our draw after completing the survey and won the 2021 annual fee!). The results indicate that while some small advancements have been made, there remains considerable opportunity for us to enhance our relationship with the profession. We appreciate this chance to hear your feedback so we can work to implement positive changes.

If you have any questions about the Physician Survey or would like to provide additional feedback, please email info@cpsa.ab.ca.