This article originally appeared in the Summer 2023 issue of the Ontario Medical Review magazine.
Reflecting on lessons learned and path forward
What was it like to be president of the OMA? That is a question many people have asked me since I completed my one-year term as OMA president. Whether I am speaking to a politician, a journalist or a colleague, I answer that question the same way: “Incredible.”
Being OMA president was an enormous privilege and a challenging responsibility. I am proud of my year and the relationships I built with the OMA staff who support us, the media who are eager to hear from us and the government that is listening. I also came to understand how critical it is to work alongside other health-care system stakeholders to advance our health-system solutions.
I learned a lot about myself this past year. In particular, I learned that imposter syndrome is a myth. Showing up in a leadership space you have never occupied can bring anxiety and self-doubt. That doesn’t mean you don’t belong there — it means you are a human being. In fact, that leadership space needs you. Especially you. How liberating to bring your authentic self forward and have a positive impact.
My goal as immediate past president will be to exercise this belief in myself and those around me. Physicians are regarded highly as leaders. Let’s leverage that for the good that needs to be done inside the health-care system.
“We need to keep respectfully communicating with the change-makers. We want to be on the forefront of positive change, and we have been.”
My work focused on advocating for three immediate, priority solutions developed by the OMA to ease the strain on the health-care system — licensing more foreign-trained doctors, creating integrated ambulatory centres and increasing access to palliative care.
We have seen progress in these areas, which strengthens my resolve to have physicians at the decision-making table. The new publicly funded community surgical and diagnostic centres will help reduce wait times and create more capacity. We will continue to insist that these centres be integrated with hospitals and incorporate a human health resource strategy, and that no Ontarian will ever pay out of pocket for a medically necessary service.
Another achievement was locking in patient-centred virtual care in the new Physician Services Agreement, creating access to health services from the comfort of a patient’s home. This helps reduce barriers to care.
I know these solutions do not eliminate physician burnout or solve everything we are struggling with as a profession. We need to keep respectfully communicating with the change-makers. We want to be on the forefront of positive change, and we have been. Thank you for working so incredibly hard to make this happen.
Thank you for your support this year. Meeting many of you was an incredible highlight and to those I haven’t met yet, know that I will stay engaged in the conversations that matter. I will be guided by a deep moral conviction to care, for you as my peers, always for our patients and for a health-care system that needs us all.
Dr. Rose Zacharias
OMA Immediate Past President