At Issue

Section Calls For National Support On De-Linking Teaching and Research

President Milton Baker has written to the Presidents of all provincial Medical Associations, asking them to support the principle that clinical teaching appointments should not be linked to research. This principle was supported in a CMA resolution. The UBC Dean of Medicine, Dr. Gavin Stuart, has confirmed that the linking of CF appointments and research is not Faculty of Medicine policy and that he has not attempted to achieve this linkage. Any Section member who is aware of any violation of this policy by hospital or regional health authority management should report the facts to the Section.

Section responds to report that evaluated UBC Faculty of Medicine

The Board has sent UBC a critique of the recent “External Review Of The Faculty Of Medicine”.
The good news? UBC's external reviewers agreed that Clinical Faculty need more support. The bad news: the reviewers failed to understand the shortcomings of the present CF contract and the process that led to it. To read the Board's letter, click here. To read the full External Review report, click here.

AGM Debates Resolutions
The Section's Annual General Meeting heard vigorous debate on resolutions asking BCMA to put the new Clinical Teaching Contract to a BCMA member ratification vote, and to create a Faculty of Medicine at Simon Fraser University. To watch highlights of the debate, click the play button below.

Rights and Responsibilities of Clinical Faculty and UBC Faculty of Medicine

In 1999, after many months of work by a committee composed of UBC Faculty of Medicine personnel and Clinical Faculty representatives, a 15 page memorandum of agreement was struck outlining the mutual obligations and commitments of the two groups. This memorandum was then signed by the UBC Dean of Medicine and Clinical Faculty representatives. It covered remuneration for teaching, rights of Clinical Faculty, representation of Clinical Faculty and many other matters.

This agreement was not honored by the University. It remains a definitive statement of what the relationship between the University and Clinical Faculty should be. For the full text of the Agreement click here.

Accreditation of UBC Faculty of Medicine

Accreditation of the Faculty of Medicine is currently under review by the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada. The Section of Clinical Faculty is concerned that the University has not yet complied with the findings of the first accreditation report of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, dated June 8, 2006. The 2006 report stated that several areas “remain in transition” and that “their outcomes could affect the school’s ongoing compliance with accreditation standards.” The report stated::

“Clinical Faculty Recognition: At the time of the survey visit, plans to compensate clinical faculty for teaching in the context of clinical care have not been released. A number of faculty members have expressed strong concern about the issue and some has tied its resolution to their willingness to teach. The issue is complex, and requires actions by the Faculty of Medicine, the Ministry of Health, and the Health authorities. …The LCME voted to continue the accreditation of the educational program leading to the MD degree at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine, for the balance of the eight-year term. The next full survey will take place during the 2007-2008 academic year at which time the unresolved issues described above will be addressed.”

Representatives of the Section of Clinical Faculty met with the Accreditation Team in Vancouver in March and submitted that these issues have not been resolved by UBC. For a copy of the Section’s letter, click here.

The response of the Accreditation Team will not be known for some months.