future leaders’ day
Why I ran
for Council
T
hree years ago, Dr. Judith Plante had just
recently retired as Chief of Family Practice
at Pembroke Regional Hospital, and was
looking to embark on a new professional
challenge. Around this same time, she received a letter
from the College inviting her to participate in its Future
Leaders’ Day Conference. The invitation was a surprise;
she had never given much thought to the principles of
medical regulation and certainly, had never envisioned
herself in any role at the College. But, if the conference
proved to be a bust, she reasoned, it would, at the very
least, give her an opportunity to visit Toronto and meet
other physicians.
As it turns out, the day proved to be far from a waste
of time. “I was blown away. It was such interesting stuff
that I was learning about,” she told attendees at the most
recent Future Leaders’ Day event.
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Dialogue Issue 2, 2017
It was so compelling, in fact, that she decided to run
for a Council seat. And within a year of attending that
Future Leaders’ Day conference, she was sitting around
the table as a Council representative for District 7 and
participating on the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports
Committee (ICRC).
“It is intensely engaging work,” she told the attend-
ees. “And, certainly in dealing with cases on ICRC, it
has been a real eye-opener in terms of how often – in
so many of the cases that I see – the fault lies with poor
communications.”
She urged the attendees to consider participating in
some aspect of the College, whether as a peer assessor, a
committee member, or as a member of Council. It has
been an experience, she said, that she has been grateful
for, and believes that exposure to College work will only
help inform a physician’s practice.
MD
Invitation came at right
time for doctor looking
for new professional
challenge