1st Leadership Program for Medical Directors/Coordinators

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On November 5th & 6th, 2004, with the support of numerous stakeholders across British Columbia, and inspired by the vision of Dr. Akber Mithani, VP Medical Affairs at Providence Health Care, the Centre for Aging and Health successfully organized and hosted Canada's first ever Leadership Program for Medical Directors/Coordinators in Long Term Care. The program was held at St. Paul's Hospital and was very well attended: the 82 attendees represented every Health Authority in BC. Dr. Penny Ballem from the Ministry of Health welcomed the group in her opening remarks and pledged her support for this important program.

Our vision is to ensure that Medical Directors have the skills and tools to enhance the quality of care for residents and fulfill the widely varying responsibilities of their role. Furthermore, we anticipate that this unique forum will facilitate stakeholders' efforts to define and support this role. Course topics covered a broad blend of clinical and administrative subjects, focusing on the leadership role potential for medical directors. The program opened with an interactive panel discussion between physicians from each health authority about challenges facing the role. Topics included the following: methods and techniques for infection control; dealing with challenging behaviour in the RC setting; quality improvement; risk management; ethical decision-making; the family physician's role in preventing falls; working with families; medical staff management; and alternative dispute resolution.

Attendees were very positive about the value of program content and extremely enthusiastic about repetitions. The Centre is very excited about continuing to work with this group.