Dr Tommy Gerschman considers leadership to be an integral part of his life. Working as a pediatric rheumatologist out of North Vancouver he has been forging his own leadership path since he graduated from UBC. He sat on several Doctors of BC committees on health policy and was a member of its board from 2016-19, followed by serving as the Specialists of BC President until 2020. Through the years, Dr Gerschman’s voice has grown into being one of the leading advocates for BC’s community-based specialists (CBS): those specialists who choose to establish their own clinics and not pursue hospital or health authority privileges.
Opening the lines of communication to better serve patients
Sep 15, 2021
In the last couple of years, SSC has been learning about the unique concerns of community-based specialists to help identify ways to better support their work.
Enhancing Access Initiative decreases patient wait times by an average of 75 days
Aug 31, 2021
Specialists and family physicians alike have long advocated for a more timely referral process for patients waiting to access speciality consult and care.
Save the Date: Specialists Symposium 2022
Aug 10, 2021
Specialist physicians are invited to join their colleagues and health care partners for an in-person, full-day symposium to collaborate on how to improve specialty care in a post-pandemic world.
Sponsorship Available: Finding and Creating Joy in Work course
Aug 9, 2021
Specialists are invited to participate in the next cohort of the Finding and Creating Joy in Work course
Spotlight on a Specialist – Dr Nazira Chatur
Jul 5, 2021
Dr Nazira Chatur, a Vancouver gastroenterologist credits her mentors for inspiring her to pursue her chosen specialty.
A new care space for reproductive infectious diseases
May 25, 2021
BC Children’s hospital and BC Women’s Hospital & Health Center have many available experts and resources to address reproductive infectious diseases (RID), affecting mothers and their infants. However, up until now these services were siloed in their respective hospitals. Mothers with RID delivered at BC Women’s and their infants born with congenital infections received their care at BC Children’s. Lead by Dr Chelse Elwood and with the help of the Joint Collaborative Committees (JCC)’s Health System Redesign (HSR) project, both the RID and Pediatric Infectious Disease programs are transitioning into one space – the Oak Tree Clinic (OTC).
Passion project saves lives of those in respiratory crisis
May 10, 2021
When Dr Hussein Kanji decided to develop expertise in the Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation machine -- or ECMO -- as his “passion project”, he had no way of knowing that it could be a lifeline d
Spotlight on a Specialist: Dr Andrew Krahn
Feb 25, 2021
Dr Andrew Krahn, Head of UBC Cardiology and a cardiologist at St Paul’s and Vancouver General hospitals, is a leader in genetically related heart disease. His journey to his current position started by following his own heart. Originally, leaning towards studying engineering, he veered at the last minute to taking undergraduate sciences that eventually led to a career in medicine.
BC doctors join the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s annual forum virtually
Feb 12, 2021
Over the last five years, the Specialist Services Committee (SSC) and Shared Care Committee (SCC) has funded BC doctors to attend the Institute of Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) annual forum in Orlando, the world’s premier healthcare event that attracts thousands of health care participants from across the globe, providing them with inspiration, networking, and knowledge sharing opportunities. Adapting to the travel and gathering restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was hosted virtually last December (6-9) with 128 participants from BC sponsored by SSC and SCC.
Introducing the new SSC Co-Chair, Dr Ahmer Karimuddin
Feb 11, 2021
Representing Doctors of BC on the Specialist Services Committee (SSC) as the new Co-Chair, Dr Ahmer Karimuddin, a general and colorectal surgeon, is a familiar face on SSC, the Joint Collaborative Committees (JCCs), and Doctors of BC.
Registration open for online course on Finding and Creating Joy in Work
Feb 9, 2021
Given the popularity of the course on Finding and Creating Joy in Work among the participa
Physician project cuts patient wait times by half
Jan 29, 2021
Patients who are getting bloodwork done at the outpatient lab in the Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre are no longer facing lengthy wait times, with the introduction of new online booking system that allows appointments to be made ahead of time. The project is another example of advancements supported by the Physician Quality Improvement (PQI) initiative, to improve the quality of health care for British Columbians.
Helping to change the paradigm of treatment for alcohol use disorder in BC
Jan 28, 2021
When Dr Jeff Harries first read in a 2003 Lancet article about a pharmacotherapy that helped some patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD), it began a change in how he understood AUD.
Funding support available for BC doctors to attend Quality Forum
Jan 19, 2021
BC doctors are invited to join the annual Quality Forum on February 25 and 26, 2021.
Leveling the playing field for osteoporosis care
Dec 11, 2020
A Canadian study conducted in 2014 found that more than 320,000 hip fractures occur in North America each year and the death rate within a year of surgery ranges from 14 to 36 per cent -- fractures
Specialist Services Committee Backs Expansive Strategy For Improving Cystic Fibrosis Patient Care
Nov 4, 2020
This article was first published in the BC Medical Journal's November 2020 edition.