Physician leader support

On this page, you will learn about regional managers and the constituency services team, and how they support OMA physician leaders as well as specialty-oriented constituency groups, such as sections, districts, fora, medical interest groups and branch societies.

Regional managers

Regional managers support members who live and work in various regions across the province.

The OMA has members who live and work in various regions, or districts, across the province. The regional managers are staff who live within those districts and they are dedicated to supporting our members locally.

Regional managers are here to:

Act as the primary point of contact for physicians when they want to access the support and services of the OMA
Assist members in implementing health transformation such as Ontario Health Teams (OHT) in Ontario
Support the activities of the OMA board, district and branch leadership with meaningful activities and content
Inform and support members about OMA initiatives, products, services and policy positions and identify issues for the OMA to resolve on behalf of members
Advocate for OMA members and ensure they are present and/or represented in local regional planning and decision-making within the health-care system
Develop and manage relationships with regional health-care stakeholders

Resources

OMA Districts

Communicating with members (member access)

Acronyms list

Diversity and inclusion

Materials from the 2020 workshop

On Sept. 26, 2020, council delegates gathered virtually for Physician Leaders’ Day and participated in a diversity and inclusion workshop. Council delegates were asked to consider their own perceptions and unconscious biases. This workshop aimed to empower and educate participants, focusing on anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism, as well as physicians’ leadership role in society.

Highlights from the session

The session began with an acknowledgment of the nuanced perspectives and understanding that exists around race and racism. It also addressed the concepts of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and their impact and importance — both at the broader societal level and within the medical profession. Attendees were challenged to confront and reflect on their own biases, as they embarked on a journey to arrive at a shared fundamental understanding.

Core objectives and session outcomes included the ability to:

Identify patterns of marginalization
Address and respond to inequity
Act in culturally appropriate ways

In health care, racism and marginalization are manifested a variety of ways with significant implications for health care providers and patients. Physician leaders learned about common equity issues faced by patients; and, examined systemic barriers within the profession and for those entering the profession. They also discussed best practices for moving forward.

Participants tested their learning and understanding of key concepts through simulated case scenarios. They were asked to provide a response and a course of action. View an infographic of the EDI session highlights.

Guest speaker and workshop facilitator

Kim Tran, Ph.D. is a global equity strategist who uses a grassroots organizing and transformative justice approach in non-profit, private and activist spaces. In 2008, she co-established the first LGBTQ YouthSpace in San Jose, Calif., for a county of two million residents.

For more than a decade, she has supported diverse organizations to align external work with internal values. Through full spectrum assessments, management training facilitated sessions and implementation, Kim specializes in working with social impact organizations to ensure that their commitment to mission-driven work is reflected in their interpersonal organizational dynamics. Her clients include UCSF, National Center for Lesbian Rights, the United States Foreign Service and Stanford University. Kim holds a doctorate from UC Berkeley where she researched coalitions across race.

Key terms and concepts

Equity

Equity acknowledges the privileges and/or barriers that exist and meets groups where they are. It is intentional actions and processes to ensure that individuals from marginalized groups are given the opportunity to grow, contribute and develop. Equity is a guiding principle of diversity work.

Diversity

Diversity is the presence of a broad variety of individuals at all levels of an organization or society.

Inclusion

Inclusion is not an automatic by-product of diversity. It is inviting people to the table by creating an environment in which they feel valued and welcomed.

Intersectionality

Intersectionality is the way in which various components of our identity (like race, gender, social class and sexual orientation) can intersect to create mutual experiences of either privilege or oppression.

Resources from the workshop

“When the Hospital Fires the First Bullet”
(The New York Times)

“The urgency of intersectionality”
by Kimberle Crenshaw (TED Talk)

“Why diversity matters”
(McKinsey)

So you want to talk about race
by Ijeoma Oluo

“White Fragility”
by Robin DiAngelo

Contact your regional manager

If you have any questions, requests or require additional information, please connect with your regional manager.

Frank Rubini

Districts 1, 2 (South West)

Scott Witmer

Districts 3, 4 (Hamilton, Niagara, Waterloo)

Jennifer Tran

District 5 (Central West)

Adam Jeronimo

District 6 (Central East)

Manon Leduc

Districts 7, 8 (East)

Richard Rodrigue

Districts 9, 10 (North)

Manny Khattak

District 11 (Toronto)

Constituency services team

The OMA constituency services team supports the high-level administrative functions and select initiatives of specialty-oriented constituency groups and their leaders. This includes co-ordinating activities and information for all of the OMA sections, medical interest groups and the AMF, as well as triaging inquiries and requests to the appropriate OMA subject matter expert or department.

The constituency services team strives to provide high-quality service to all OMA sections, medical interest groups and the AMF by offering support that includes, but is not limited to, the following:

General administration and co-ordination

Act as a single point of contact for specialty-oriented constituency group leaders
Provide information on OMA processes and procedures (such as constituency group funding, communications, high-level governance matters, etc.)
Provide orientation opportunities to help specialty-oriented constituency group leaders make the best use of OMA supports and services

Organizational navigation

Triage inquiries and identify OMA contacts or subject matter experts for response (such as advocacy initiatives, health policy initiatives, practice management, legal services, advisory committees, etc.)
Liaise and co-ordinate activities with other OMA departments, physician leaders and external stakeholders to ensure an effective and integrated flow of processes

Meeting support

Co-ordinate executive meetings, annual general meetings and town halls in collaboration with physician leaders (including managing RSVPs, distributing materials and assisting with triaging action items to subject matter experts where appropriate)
Distribute meeting resources and information to constituency group members, as requested by the section, medical interest group and/or the AMF chair

Constituency group funding

Funding is available to constituency groups to help them carry out their core responsibilities.

Meeting entitlements: The OMA will pay meeting honorarium, travel honorarium and related transportation and maintenance expenses for members attending constituency group meetings. Draft meeting minutes must be submitted to the OMA before accounts can be paid and should include, at minimum, the meeting’s date, location, start and end times, attendees and the resolutions passed. Constituency group meetings may be held in person or by video/teleconference.

You can find more information about the financial policy regarding member’s honoraria payments, including how to submit a claim, what can be claimed and when claims are processed, on the Financial Matters and Expense Claims web page.

Entitlement flexibility: To provide flexibility for each constituency group in managing its affairs, the OMA permits substitutions to be made for the allocation of meeting entitlements. Read the additional flexibility provisions in section nine of the Constituency Groups’ Financial Policy.

Communication entitlements: The OMA will provide funding each calendar year to support constituency group communication with primary and secondary members. Communication entitlements are calculated based on the total number of each constituency group’s membership. Constituency groups may use this funding to distribute information by mail, fax or email, offset costs associated with hosting meetings via video/teleconference, social media management, website setup and support, marketing and design costs and/or tools to support communications with members.

Annual general meeting facilities: The OMA will provide meeting rooms and audiovisual facilities for annual meetings held in person in conjunction with the OMA’s annual general meeting. Additional funding of $1,000 is available for catering, room rental and audio-visual expenses when these meetings are held separate from the OMA’s annual general meeting. Detailed receipts are required in order to receive this funding.

For more information about constituency group entitlements and member honoraria, please email memberhonoraria@oma.org.

Constituency groups may raise funds from their members or other sources to support additional activities. These funds can be used for:

Additional meetings (when entitlements have been exhausted)
Special events or meetings (venues, speaker fees, AV equipment and/or catering)
Executive stipends
Paying consultants or administrative staff
Awards of recognition

The OMA will assist in collecting constituency-raised funding, if requested, by:

Including a funding request on the OMA’s MyAccount page of the constituency group
Maintaining a discretionary spending account for any funds the constituency group raised, including any expenses/honoraria re-directed by executives
Providing banking, cash disbursement and bookkeeping. The OMA does not provide financial advice or tax filing

Learn more about how the OMA’s constituency raised funding is governed in section 14 of the Constituency Groups’ Financial Policy.

The member services team will reach out every October to confirm your constituency group’s participation in the collection of constituency-raised fees.

For more information about this type of funding, please email memberhonoraria@oma.org.

If you want to discuss collecting constituency-raised funds for your constituency group, please email our member services team at membership@oma.org.

Constituency group communications

There are several ways constituency group leaders can communicate with their membership, including through the outbound communication service.

Learn more about member communications.

To better understand and keep pace with the needs of members, the OMA can provide support to constituency group leaders through the development and programming of surveys for their members through our insights tool.

Contact your constituency services team specialist to learn more about surveying members or visit the Member Insights web page.

OMA Connect is a modern new community platform for all constituency groups, including sections, districts, fora, MIGs and branch societies. OMA Connect offers:

An efficient and safe space for you to communicate with all your group’s constituents — moderated by artificial intelligence and a third-party vendor
A secure home for constituency group discussion, resources, a consolidated calendar of group events and OMA member directory
A daily email digest summarizing the latest group activity for each member
Customizable notification and privacy settings for each member

Learn more about the main features of OMA Connect via a brief introduction video. For further information, visit the OMA Connect webpage.

Constituency group engagement

The CST has developed a monthly summary of key items requiring attention and/or action from OMA elected leaders. Each month, I will be sending you a summary of OMA initiatives that may be relevant to you in your elected role with key deliverables and deadlines clearly highlighted to ensure you have all the details in a single place. This won’t be a comprehensive list of all of the work underway at the OMA, however, it will highlight major initiatives and ongoing work to ensure you have the opportunity to provide input and feedback.

Constituency groups

Sections, districts, branch societies, medical interest groups and fora represent the interests of their constituency groups.

See the OMA’s constituency groups

Contact the constituency services team

If you have any questions, requests or require additional information during your tenure as a section, medical interest group and/or AMF leader, please connect with your primary contact. If you need help finding your primary contact, search the team directory.