December 2015 E-Brief

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It has been a very busy fall for the CSPCP and all of our Members. Here are some of the highlights:

Advocacy

The CSPCP has been actively promoting our messages about “palliative care first” and “do no harm”, including letters to the Prime Minister and key ministers in the new cabinet, and submission and presentations to both the Federal External Panel on Options for a Legislative Response to Carter vs. Canada, and the Provincial/Territorial Expert Advisory Group on Physician-Assisted Dying. Copies of the panel submissions are posted on the Hastened Death page in the public area of our web site: http://www.cspcp.ca/category/physician-hastened-death/

Palliative Care to Join LMCC Exam Writing Committees

Great news - the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) Evaluation Bureau has advised us that two palliative care physicians will be invited to join LMCC examination-writing committees starting in spring 2016. This is a welcome response to efforts by the CSPCP Undergraduate Education Committee to advocate for inclusion of palliative care content on LMCC examinations. The Evaluation Bureau was very responsive and invited us to submit profiles of palliative care clinicians with a background in education for their Committee Chairs to consider. Inclusion of palliative care physicians on the committees acknowledges the importance of teaching and evaluating the nationally-approved core competencies for undergraduate medical students that were developed in 2004-2008 by the CHPCA-led Educating Future Physicians in Palliative and End of Life Care (EFPPEC) project.

2016 Conference-Palliative Care in a Changing Landscape

Join us in Ottawa from May 12-14, 2016 for the 12^th Annual Advanced Learning in Palliative Medicine Conference: Palliative Care in a Changing Landscape. The conference features 2 ½ days of learning and networking through a variety of workshops, keynotes, exhibits, and social opportunities. Keynote presenters: Dr. Denise Marshall, Dr. Gary Rodin, Dr. Jose Pereira, and Dr. Tara Tucker.

Program information and registration are on the conference web site: www.alpmottawa2016.ca.

NOTE: WestJet is offering a 10% discount on flights to attend the conference. To book reservations using this discount code, visit www.westjet.com. The promo code Y0W02 and the coupon code NCZPZAF must be entered at the time of booking.

Reminder - Call for Abstracts

The deadline to submit abstracts (oral presentations and posters) for the 2016 ALPM conference in Ottawa is February 1, 2016. Visit the ALPM web site for details of the criteria and submission process.

http://alpmottawa2016.ca/home-page/abstract-program/

Special note to Residents: Residents are invited to submit abstracts for their scholarly projects through the Palliative Medicine Resident Research Award process. The call for abstracts for the Resident Award will be made in early January, 2016 and the deadline for submission under the Resident Award process will be April 8, 2016.

Donation from Teva Canada

Teva Canada Innovation has generously donated $15,000 to the CSPCP to support the work of our Society. We gratefully acknowledge the donation and will put it to good use in the coming year.

Thank you!!

NEW Narrative Award for Undergraduate Students

The Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians is inaugurating this award as a way to stimulate undergraduate medical students to think and reflect creatively about the multifaceted aspects of palliative medicine and caring at the end of life. The award is open to all undergraduate medical students in the penultimate year of their programs and will be promoted to them through the CSPCP Undergraduate Committee members. Submissions may include poetry, prose, images, audio and/or video. The winner will receive a $500 cash prize that is sponsored by Pallium Canada. The winning submission will be featured on the CSPCP web site and at the following year’s ALPM conference. For full details click here: http://www.cspcp.ca/about/awards/

New Online Course - Methadone for Pain in Palliative Care

An online training course for physicians wishing to improve their knowledge and develop core competencies in methadone prescribing for pain management in palliative care. The course was developed by Canadian Virtual Hospice and leading Canadian pain management specialists in collaboration with The Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians and Pallium Canada with funding by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. Approved by the College of Family Physicians of Canada for 1 hr of Mainpro-M1 credits and by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada for 1 hr of Accredited Group Learning Activity (Section 1). The course may have applicability to other disciplines.
Click the button to link to the course here:

Methadone Course

Nominate a Colleague for a CSPCP Award

Help honour outstanding colleagues by nominating someone for the Eduardo Bruera Award in Palliative Medicine or the CSPCP Humanitarian Award. View the criteria, submission information and names of past award winners here: http://www.cspcp.ca/about/awards/.

Submission Deadline: February 1, 2016.

Awards Committee

Dr. Paul Daeninck, Chair of the new CSPSP Awards Committee, is pleased to announce results that Dr. Noush Mirhosseini of Edmonton and Dr. Albert Kirshen of Toronto will join him as members of this committee. A key role of the Awards Committee is to lead the selection process for the Eduardo Bruera Award, the Humanitarian Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award on an annual basis. Terms of reference are located here: http://www.cspcp.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/TOR-Awards-Committee-Nov-2015.pdf

Dr. Teneille Gofton (London, Ontario) has kindly stepped up to assist Executive Director Kim Taylor with our continued engagement with the Choosing Wisely Canada Project. We would love for one or two more people to help out. To learn more, contact Kim: ed@cspcp.ca

Donation Opportunties

Are you interested in helping the CSPCP with equipment or funds to support our work? We have many activities we’d like to do that we simply can’t afford. For example, we would like to participate in a greater percentage of meetings we are invited to; promote the CSPCP by exhibiting at key conference held by other groups (such as family physicians, geriatrics, oncologists), and to disseminate our messages even more broadly. We would love to purchase a projector of our own for in-person Board meetings and Committee meeting (currently we scramble to borrow one for every meeting; often ending up with older machines that aren’t compatible with everyones’ laptops), and a banner that we can display at conferences and meetings. To make a donation or to learn more about our needs, contact Kim Taylor (ed@cspcp.ca). Please note: The CSPCP is not a charity. We cannot issue tax receipts; however, we will gratefully acknowledge donations in our newsletter and on our web site.

NEW Education Materials from CHPCA

CHPCA has developed some educational materials for physicians (and allied health care workers) that may be of interest to CSPCP members. These consist of a general FAQ on palliative care and a “Mythbusters” infographic. The materials are posted in the Members area of our Web site on the Resource tab.

Materials for Health Care Professionals_v2
MythBusters Infographic_FINAL-web

How the Leafs Inspired Me to Become a Palliative Care Physician

An entertaining story from CSPCP President Elect Dr. David Henderson

Link to PDF

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!