CMAJ, April 16, 2013, 185(7) 621

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CMA Bulletin reports on CMA activities and other issues of interest to the medical profession, and is not reviewed by CMAJ editors.

First chair in military care: A veteran ofCanada’s 10-year combat role inAfghanistan has been appointed the coun-try’s first chair in military care research.Captain (Navy) Raymond Kao, a critical

care physician who has served in theCanadian Forces since 1991, received theappointment in military critical careresearch Jan. 31 during a ceremony atOntario’s London Health Sciences Centre.

e chair is named in honour of GroupCaptain G. Edward Hall, a former deanof medicine at the University of WesternOntario who also did research involvingmilitary medicine.

AS MARKET TIGHTENS, RESIDENTS GET JOB-HUNTING HELP

Growing concern about the employment outlook for some newly trained doctors hasresulted in the creation of a job-search service designed specifically for residents.

e Canadian Association of Internes and Residents says its Transition into PracticeService (TIPS) has already registered more than 130 residents. Under the program,TIPS (www.cair.ca/en/tips) contacts recruiters on residents’ behalf to help them deter-mine what positions are available or may become available. e new service waslaunched because of growing concern that job openings for new doctors are becomingscarce in several areas, particularly among hospital-based specialties.

On March 12, for instance, the CMA’s online career centre listed 56 job openingsfor physicians. ere was only one opening listed for orthopedic surgeons — that jobwas in Singapore — but across Canada more than 20 positions were available for fam-ily physicians. (On March 13, the Saskatchewan government offered a $120 000incentive to FPs who settle in communities with fewer than 10 000 residents.)

Bryan MacLean, the TIPS program manager, says there’s little doubt that theemployment outlook is causing anxiety among residents nearing the end of train-ing, but he says the situation is “not as dire” as some think.

MacLean, who has been working as a physician recruiter since 1999, said theemployment outlook is “tightening up” across medicine, “but no, there are not a lotof unemployed doctors.”

In a recent article in the newsletter of the Canadian Association of Staff PhysicianRecruiters, MacLean wrote: “Some areas of the country are overstocked with doctors,while other areas are crying for more. New docs can’t find jobs, while older docs can’tretire because there is no one to replace them. e myriad of reasons ‘why’ is practi-cally endless.”

MacLean said his message for certain new specialists is simply that “you are not ableto be too picky these days.” He thinks the job market has tightened in all areas exceptfamily medicine and psychiatry. He said orthopedic surgery has been hit particularlyhard, forcing some new graduates to turn to part-time work and locums. “But thesethings always swing back,” he said. “In around 5 years, 10 at a maximum, we won’thave the orthopedic surgeons we need.”

CMA President Anna Reid said the CMA has been targeting the need for anational approach to physician resource planning for decades. “We brought this upagain last summer by recommending that Ottawa collaborate with medical groupsto lead a benchmark study on the current specialty mix in Canada,” she said. “Wealso need a supply- and needs-based projection to support health human resourcesplanning.”

PUBLIC SKEPTICAL ABOUTNEW MARIJUANA RULES:CMA

A poll conducted for the CMA indicatesthat Canadians share physicians’ skepti-cism about the federal government’s pro-posal for revising its approach to the useof medical marijuana. e online poll of1000 Canadians found that 85% ofrespondents believe that the drug “shouldgo through the same rigorous testing andapproval as other medicines.” As well,70% said Health Canada would be fail-ing to meet its responsibility to Canadi-ans if it ended its role in authorizing theuse of medical marijuana.

A 2012 survey of CMA member foundthat physicians are leery about the pro-posal — 57% said they do not haveenough information about the risks andbenefits of marijuana use to prescribe it.

e 2013 poll of non-physiciansfound that 79% of respondents thinkHealth Canada should maintain its cur-rent role in the approval process, a resultthat did not surprise CMA PresidentAnna Reid. “Citizens rightly expectHealth Canada to approve medicationson the basis that they have been provensafe and effective,” she said.

Most respondents to the February poll(92%) thought it was very or somewhatimportant for Health Canada to main-tain its oversight role until proper guide-lines are available. “ey understand thatit’s not fair to impose that gatekeeper roleon physicians when the necessary scienceis clearly lacking,” Reid said.

A COMMUNICATION FROM THE CMA

AROUND THE CMA

CMAJ, April 16, 2013, 185(7) 623

Send death notices to patrick.sullivan@cma.ca • Prière d’envoyer les avis de décès à patrick.sullivan@cma.ca

BOYD, EDMOND A., Saanichton, BC;Cambridge University (England), 1946;former executive secretary, BCMA. DiedFeb. 13, 2013, aged 90. Survived by hiswife Janice, 4 children, 8 grandchildren and4 great-grandchildren. “He was among thefirst wave of liberators of the concentrationcamp at Belsen. ere he ministered tohundreds of survivors of the Nazi horrorabout which the world was just beginningto learn. During his time in the camp hebecame very ill with typhus and was con-fined to care for 2 years.”

CAMPBELL, DONALD B., Oakville, Ont.;University of Toronto, 1948; obstetricsand gynecology. Died Jan. 22, 2013, aged87. Survived by his wife Vicki, 4 childrenand 13 grandchildren. “He was on staff atthe Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospitalfor 36 years.”

HORSLEY, TERENCE H., QualicumBeach, BC; University of St. Andrews(Scotland), 1959; diagnostic radiology.Died July 23, 2012, aged 76.

JOHNSON, JOHN M., Dundas, Ont.;University of Toronto, 1956; psychiatry.Died Feb. 12, 2013, aged 81. Survived byhis wife Barbara, 5 children and 11 grand-children. “He practised psychiatry inHamilton for over 40 years. His mottowas that we should be kind to each other,share a hug with a child, wear brightcolours and make time for good music.”

JOLY, DIANE, Sainte-Marie (Qc); Univer-sité Laval, 2000; médecine familiale.Décédée le 7 janvier 2013, â l’âge de 39 ans.

JULIEN, PIERRE-PAUL, Outremont (Qc);Université de Montréal, 1948; médecineinterne. Décédé le 11 février 2013, â l’âgede 91 ans.

LEE, JAE R., North York, Ont.; SeoulUniversity (South Korea), 1954; internalmedicine. Died Nov. 13, 2012, aged 83.

LOUW, SUEDRINE, Brandon, Man.; Stel-lenbosch University (South Africa), 1983.Died Feb. 10, 2013, aged 64. Survived byher husband eo and 3 children. “Shetaught high school science in South Africafor 7 years before pursuing her dream ofbecoming a doctor. In Brandon, she wasmuch loved by her very loyal patients.”

MACGILLIVRAY, PATRICK C., Courtenay,BC; University of Edinburgh (Scotland),1946; RAMC; pediatrics. Died Jan. 14,2013, aged 89. Survived by his wifeAudrey, 3 children and 4 grandchildren.“He was a fourth-generation doctor.” Aparent wrote: “My family was so sorry tohear of Dr. MacGillivray’s passing. If itwasn’t for him, our daughter would not behere now.”

MCPHAIL, BRYAN E., Edmonton; Uni-versity of Alberta, 1970; family medicine.Died Nov. 26, 2012, aged 66. A patientwrote: “Doc Bryan was special, a greatdoctor and person.”

NATTRESS, JOHN R., Lloydminster,Alta.; University of Alberta, 1949; familymedicine. Died Feb. 8, 2013, aged 86.Survived by his wife Marjorie, 6 children,15 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchil-dren. “He joined the Lloydminster Clinicin 1951 and practised there until heretired in 1990.”

PRACSOVICS, ANTHONY S. (TONY),Stoney Creek, Ont.; McMaster University,1985; family medicine; former chief,Department of Family Medicine, JosephBrant Memorial Hospital. Died of ALSFeb. 6, 2013, aged 53. Survived by hiswife Nancy and 3 children. “He practisedfamily medicine, including obstetrics, forover 23 years, and shared in the joy ofbringing new life into the world.”

RAY, MIHIRENDRA N. (MIKE), Edmon-ton; Rajasthan University (India), 1962;general surgery. Died Dec. 27, 2012, aged

73. Survived by his wife Supama, 2 chil-dren and 2 grandchildren. A parent wrote:“I will never forget the day he brought mydaughter into the world. Matter of fact, hehad no choice — all he could say was, ‘I’ma surgeon, I don’t deliver babies’ — but mydoctor wasn’t there. He did a great job.”

ROUSSEAU, PAUL W., Kelowna, BC;McGill University, 1955; diagnostic radiol-ogy. Died Jan. 25, 2013, aged 82. Survivedby his wife Jan, 6 children, 8 grandchildren,1 great-grandchild and 3 stepchildren.

SCHULTZ, SUSAN A., Owen Sound,Ont.; University of Toronto, 1986; familymedicine. Died Jan. 28, 2013, aged 58. Afriend wrote: “She was a lovely lady.”

SHULMAN, D. GEOFFREY, Toronto; Uni-versity of Toronto, 1978; dermatology.Died of abdominal GIST cancer July 2,2012, aged 57. Survived by his spouse andwork partner, Dr. Charlene Linzon, 5 children and 3 grandchildren.

SMULSKI, JOHN, Edmonton; Universityof Alberta, 1942. Died Oct. 30, 2011, aged95. Survived by 4 children, 7 grandchildrenand a great-grandchild. “John was born ina log cabin near Sturgeonvale in 1916, andafter graduating from medical school in1942 he practised at the Edmonton Gen-eral Hospital for 48 years. A strong propo-nent of preventive medicine, he was instru-mental in implementing the fluoridation ofEdmonton’s drinking water. He was also acertified seed grower who experimentedwith innovative methods to increase yieldsof canola and cereal crops.”

WILKINSON, ALEXANDER A., Saska-toon, Sask.; Cambridge University (Eng-land), 1956; nuclear medicine. Died Feb.26, 2013, aged 83. Survived by his wifeEileen and 4 children. Colleague PaulKorol recalled: “I will always rememberour great camaraderie, laughs, and lessonslearned during our radiology residency.”

A COMMUNICATION FROM THE CMA