This article originally appeared in the Summer 2023 issue of the Ontario Medical Review magazine.
Challenging, yet important role, helped leaders deepen understanding of association's role
In the first of a two-part series, the Ontario Medical Review takes a deeper look into the role of OMA president and the skills, sacrifices and stewardship needed to advocate on behalf of Ontario’s doctors.
Dr. Sohail Gandhi says a motto instilled in him by his grandfather, a guiding force throughout his life, was what propelled him to run for president of the Ontario Medical Association in 2018, a role he describes as an honour to hold.
“My grandfather, who is my hero, always told me that it’s one thing to speak out, but it’s another thing to actually get involved and work to fix a problem,” said Dr. Gandhi, OMA president from 2019 to 2020, and a rural family doctor in Stayner for more than three decades.
“Hearing those words, I decided that it wasn’t enough for me just to be critical of the path that I thought the OMA was taking us down…that I had to get involved and try and change things.”
Dr. Samantha Hill, a cardiac surgeon in Toronto, said she ran out of a sense of duty.
“I felt strongly, and I still feel strongly, that physicians, when brought together, are some of the most potentially powerful people in the world,” she said. “The majority of us are hard-working, smart and well-educated. We represent significant diversity — culture, origin, gender, previous experience, formative education, political leaning and more. If you bring all of these people together and unite them behind a common problem, what solutions couldn’t we find?”
“For me, my why was always about the members. It was always about the idea that I didn’t have the answer, but that we as a group did.” — Dr. Samantha Hill
Dr. Adam Kassam was a 32-year-old physiatrist when his peers encouraged him to put his name forward for president. They believed his youthfulness could bring a fresh vision to the OMA and help modernize the organization founded 140 years earlier. He threw his hat in the ring pre-COVID-19 and was appointed OMA president in 2021, as the pandemic roared on and doctors were charged with leading Ontarians through it.
“That obviously changed the way in which the leadership of the association had to react to the crisis and also changed how my role as president ended up being mostly remote,” Dr. Kassam said. “It also allowed us to bring together a common vision for the future, and also helping to try and support our membership who are at the front lines of the pandemic every single day.”
The OMA announces a new president each spring, following winter elections that are a key part of the organization’s democratic process. Those who are chosen spend a year as president-elect and have responsibilities as immediate past president in addition to their 12 months at the helm. They are fully supported by OMA staff, who provide briefings on issues and workshops in government and media relations.
Members are encouraged to put their name forward to help chart a path for the OMA and advocate on behalf of members.
Looking back on the experience, past presidents interviewed by the Ontario Medical Review agree on two things: One, while the role is challenging both in terms of making progress on issues and finding time to fulfill their responsibilities while also running their practice, it’s an important one. And two, it is a privilege to represent 43,000 doctors, even if, as Dr. Kassam said, “there’s a joke that you put five doctors in a room and you get six opinions, and you multiple that by 43,000, you can imagine the conversations that are had at various levels.”
The past presidents say the experience deepened their understanding of the OMA, their profession and the issues facing health care. They heard viewpoints from colleagues on how to improve the system which they perhaps hadn’t considered. They toured the province and saw first-hand the many ways doctors are caring for their patients, adapting health care to their own regions, settings and specialities. They saw behind the curtain of government, and learned more about how it operates, how to move an agenda forward and how to negotiate a deal.
“I was able to understand why we’ve had, quite frankly in some cases, so many roadblocks to trying to advocate for good patient care,” Dr. Gandhi said. “I was able to understand how we can work around some of those roadblocks to satisfy the needs of some of the bureaucrats to try and get us to where we want to be.”
Dr. Hill learned that even the easiest solutions require significant buy-in and hard work to achieve.
“It’s not just about what one wants or what one thinks the system needs. It’s about putting that into the greater context of all of our colleagues and our negotiating partners and trying to come up with a way forward that makes sense – not for 2022 or 2023, but for 2082 and 2083,” she said.
All three past presidents spoke with pride about their role in shepherding the massive modernization of the OMA’s governance structure and its leadership during the most challenging years of the pandemic.
They each came away from the experience with a renewed appreciation for the OMA.
Dr. Gandhi described himself as a member of the “rebel alliance” and one of the loudest critics of the OMA when he became president-elect. “And then when I got involved, one of the things I realized is that the staff of the OMA really do want to help physicians,” he said. “Where they really need our support as physicians is they need us to elect strong leaders.”
“I decided that it wasn’t enough for me just to be critical of the path that I thought the OMA was taking us down…that I had to get involved and try and change things.” —Dr. Sohail Gandhi
Dr. Hill said being part of the board and part of OMA operations, media activities, advocacy and policy-making opened her eyes to the breadth of activity that goes into supporting the work of doctors.
“These are people who are intensely devoted to their jobs and to physicians in Ontario, and every day they come in and bring 100 per cent. I saw people working through COVID. I saw people working through personal stress. I saw people working through the restructuring of the Ontario Medical Association. And through it all, I saw people who were excited and devoted. That’s something I’ll never forget,” she said.
They each have advice for anyone thinking of running for president.
“The first thing I would tell folks who are contemplating running to be president-elect is to do it. We need people who are engaged or energetic, who bring a new philosophy and vision for the future of the organization,” Dr. Kassam said.
“It is just an incredible opportunity to make a difference, to advocate on behalf of your physician colleagues, to really insert the OMA into the health-care conversation in a meaningful way and ultimately make real progress for the lives of our physician members and also their patients.”
Drs. Gandhi and Hill said anyone interested in the job should ask themselves why they want to do it.
“It is just an incredible opportunity to make a difference, to advocate on behalf of your physician colleagues, to really insert the OMA into the health-care conversation in a meaningful way and ultimately make real progress for the lives of our physician members and also their patients.” — Dr. Adam Kassam
“Do you want to do it because you want to make connections and improve your own personal careers and get yourself some consulting jobs? Then, don’t run and I won’t vote for you,” Dr. Gandhi said.
“On the other hand, if you’re sitting back saying, ‘Geez, you know we’ve got a great profession, but right now we’re under all this pressure. We’ve got some burnout issues, we’ve got some concerns about how we provide health care, we’ve got physicians who really need extra support to get the job done for the people of Ontario, and I think I can lend my voice to make that better,’ then I think you really should consider running.”
Said Dr. Hill: “For me, my why was always about the members. It was always about the idea that I didn’t have the answer, but that we as a group did. You need to know what your why is and you need to know exactly how much of yourself you’re prepared to devote to it.”
Wendy McCann is a North Bay, Ont.-based writer.
Learn more about the upcoming nomination period leading up to OMA Elections.
The president acts as the OMA’s spokesperson on physician and professional matters for a 12-month period. This includes communicating to the public through the media, in promotions, on issues management, and at district meetings, industry events and conferences. As a voting board member, the president ensures an effective working relationship with the board chair, fellow board directors and the CEO. The president acts as a mentor and coach to the president-elect in co-operation with the immediate past president.
The president-elect sits as an observer on the board of directors in preparation for taking on the role of president. During those 12 months, the president-elect learns all aspects of two roles: board director and OMA spokesperson.
The OMA’s immediate past president sits for a 12-month period as an observer on the board and supports the board of directors with experience and knowledge gained in the role of president. They carry out the responsibilities and duties of the OMA president in the absence of both the president and the president-elect.
Next issue: The second of the two-part series will explore the impacts on practice and finances when seeking the role of president, and the other positions available across the OMA.