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Meet this year’s nominees for CPSA Council!

Council | Posted September 20, 2019

It’s time to vote!

Physicians, ballots for this year’s CPSA Council election were distributed via email on Friday, Sept. 20. If you can’t locate your ballot or have any questions, email elections@cpsa.ab.ca.

Below are the physicians running to fill four vacancies on Council, starting Jan. 1, 2020. Check out their profiles to find out more about who they are and why they want to serve on Council. Then cast your vote by Oct. 18!

Dr. Majdi Askar

“I would be humbled to be a part of the Council for numerous reasons as I have many motivational reasons for running. As a physician, I believe the journey to leadership never ends, being an advocate for my patients has taught me a lot and now I believe I am ready to continue developing my leadership skills. My main reason for running for this Council is due to my passion to be a voice and advocate for my fellow physicians, enabling me with such a platform will allow me to be an asset that can contribute ideas, implement policies and help bring solutions to problems so that physicians can continue to provide the best standard of care. In my lifetime as a physician, I have been on many councils, firstly being the Libya Medical Council from 1996-2000 where I had voiced the issues and concerns of all doctors. In relation, I also was Vice President of the Continuing Medical Committee of the Libya Medical Council. Along with this position, I had the privilege of serving on the Ethical Committee of the Northern Manitoba Health Region and practiced as the standard committee there as well. If selected, my interest in serving the Council would include focusing on assisting International Medical Graduates in maintaining their clinical competence, and helping improve their communication skills. Another main focus of importance to me includes strategic planning, policy development and promoting leadership as well as extensive communication to find common grounds in all issues faced in the council. My recent accomplishment consists of completing the Council on Licensure Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR) on demand introduction to Regulatory Governance Board Member Training facilitated by the CPSA. After finishing five modules and completing the exam of foundation of Occupational and Professional regulation, I believe I will be a good fit as a council board member.”

-Dr. Askar

 

Dr. Richard Buckley

“When one gets to the end of their career, there is much experience that is accumulated. This does not just mean chairing a committee or running a conference. Wisdom is knowing when and how to do the ‘right thing’. I am hoping that over 30 years of working in the trenches of the Trauma services will have provided me with a unique skill set that can be put to use for the College. As well, I am now only working 1/2 time by my own choice and finishing up some education, research and admin commitments, so there is time in the day to do a good job with this task. A new challenge is also supposed to keep us ‘young’!”

 

Dr. Michael Coe

 

Dr. Robin Cox

 

Dr. Madhavan Das

“I consider privileged to be a physician and more so as a psychiatrist. Self regulation is inherently difficult, whereas being willfully subjected to a self regulating professional body offers one of the finest platforms for safely practicing as a physician, The beauty of Medicine as a profession is achieved through its emphasis on medical ethics.

 

Dr. Derek Dillane

“I would like to be considered for election to the CPSA Council as I am interested in maintaining a well-balanced and equitable approach to medical self-regulation. I believe as physicians we have a civic duty to our profession, our patients and society to contribute to leadership and direction. I am curious to learn and be part of the process which maintains the high standards of our profession, while providing physicians and surgeons with the support necessary to ensure that our health care system continues to improve with patient safety at the core of everything it stands for.”

 

Dr. Robert Ferrari

 

Dr. Josh Foley

“Over the past number of years, I have noticed a dramatic change in the way medical care is delivered and, on speaking to many colleagues, find confusion in the expectations the general public have of physicians.

 

Dr. Christopher Fung

“In my clinical and academic radiology practice I have always tried to find the balance between the needs of the patient and the needs of the system. My academic work has focused on quality assurance and guideline review/development with the goal of creating a sustainable and safe healthcare system for our current and future patients. This has resulted in the creation of a regional multidisciplinary guideline for pancreatic cysts, and further work on thyroid nodule management as well as abdominal aortic aneurysm screening is ongoing. Guideline development requires multidisciplinary coordination and cooperation, and the interaction between specialties working towards a common goal of excellence in patient care drove me to look into broader avenues for systematic improvements.

 

Dr. Daisy Fung

“Passion, honesty, and a deep yearning to do what is right describe me. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta and I are both defined by the College mandate to provide the highest quality medical care for Albertans. In my past 8 years of clinical practice I have striven to meet and exceed this goal through direct patient care, incorporating both home visits and community palliative/geriatric care into my daily practice.

 

Dr. Rose Marie Geonzon

“I have been active in various committees, community services ( like LIONS, CWL and various community organizations), and Medical Profession, like AMA Benefits and Trustees and Out of Country Medical Services Appeal Committee. I have not yet been involved in this particular CPSA Council. I am interested and motivated by the remarkable comments and experience from those who had been in the Council. I believe that I can be of help and will have time to be in the Council.

 

Dr. Salim Hamid

“I feel that the College of Physicians and Surgeons provides a pivotal role in physicians life beyond providing a license to practice the art of medicine. I believe the College provides a guideline for a physician to act and behave like a professional and become an important part of society per se.

 

Dr. William Han

“I have been always having this enthusiasm to serve the medical society or the College of Physicians and Surgeons.

 

Dr. William (Bill) Hendriks

“I am running for Council to help optimize patient care in an environment of cost-conscious medicine.”

 

Dr. Robert MacEwan

 

 

Dr. Sam Montasser

“As physicians, we must act in an exemplary manner and our conduct must be above reproach at all times. The nature of our profession requires that we agree to conduct ourselves according to an extremely high standard. Physicians are open to the closest public scrutiny on a continuous basis and, from my perspective, rightly so. We must not lose sight of the fact that we have been entrusted by the people of this province to self-regulate our profession and it is up to each one of us to ensure that public condence in that trust is not diminished. Should there be a decline in ethics or, if you prefer, personal standards of conduct, then our task to maintain this position becomes much more dicult, if not impossible. The key to the preservation of this trust lies in the individual and so long as we manifest principled values, the maintenance of our professional institution can be assured.

 

Dr. Prenilla Naidu

“Having transitioned from a general practitioner with rural, urban and inner-city practices, to a laboratory physician, I have witnessed the problems experienced by the public within a health care system bursting at the seams, yet continuously targeted by the politicians of the day for budget cuts, while being expected to improve service delivery. I believe that in protecting the public, the CPSA has a role in ensuring that the providers of healthcare and their administrators are providing high quality, accessible, best practice services in accredited facilities for Albertans, according to national and even global standards. I also believe that the CPSA should be advocating for a change in the healthcare culture and especially physician culture of taking increasing workloads with shrinking resources, as this is a recipe for disaster – for patients and physicians, to that of an emphasis on physician wellbeing which will translate into improved patient care, advocacy and safety.

 

Dr. Mark Ng

“Physicians in Canada enjoy the privilege of self-governance, an arrangement that recognizes the unique trials and tribulations doctors face during training and practice. The CPSA embodies society’s expectations of medical practice for all physicians. Therefore, physician representation should similarly derive from all facets of rank, specialty or practice experience. With the ever growing complexity of health care, it is vital that the newest generation of practicing physicians, such as myself, to take part in the process of contributing to the future of medical practice. I believe my unique skillset and early interest in health care governance and policy affords me the aptitude to excel in contributing to the discourse regarding the policies that affect our colleagues and the public at large.”

 

Dr. John O’Connor (incumbent)

“I am submitting my name for a second term as College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) Councillor. I have been honoured to sit at Council table for the past 3 years, and hope to continue to represent you, my peers, for a further term. I am currently the vice-chair of the Governance Committee, and the CPSA representative to RhPAP.

 

Dr. Oluseyi Oladele

“My focus is serving and supporting the medical community in order to ultimately benefit our patients. The respect and autonomy the public gives us require that we earn and maintain that trust. I hope to contribute to the College’s mission to do so.

 

Dr. Dawn Pearson

“At this point in my medical career I feel better equipped to give back on a larger scale by participating at the provincial level on behalf of the public good.

 

Dr. Zahid Rafiq

“I believe that we are in challenging times in health care in Alberta. I bring to the Council diversity, international experience, respect, integrity and commitment to excellence.

 

Dr. Dan Slabu

“Physicians ability to self regulate our profession is a privilege that I believe is strongly correlated with our capacity to deliver the highest quality care possible to our patient population. This requires good and sound governance.

 

Dr. Kirsten Westberg

 

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