PRESIDENT’S NOTE
THE PHYSICIAN PRIVILEGE
Dear colleagues,
e, as physicians, are privileged
people, but not only in the
usual sense of the word.
W
We have the privilege, on a routine
basis, of being invited into the intimacy of our patients’ personal problems and are allowed to intervene at
critical moments of illness, birthing
and dying.
As surgeons, we may enter and alter
the anatomy, the very physical person of our patients.
We, as physicians, interact intensively with our patients in ways that others can not.
We have the privilege of working by
day and by night in a province that
takes health care seriously, recognizes the essential role of physicians in
any sustainable transformation effort
and is not afraid of innovation.
Physicians are also “privileged” of
course, by the authorities within whose
jurisdictions we work.
We are licensed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan,
and we are granted privileges to practice
by the credentialing committees, the departments, and the practitioner advisory
committees of our Health Regions.
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SMA NEWS DIGEST | SPRING 2014
“A people that va
We will continue to defend our proper right to these privileges, as protected in our bylaws, and not liable
to cancellation by convenient clauses in contracts.
Physicians, in general, are highly principled professionals. In no way am
I saying that physicians can consistently claim the moral high ground we can’t. But I will argue that most of
our hearts and minds are in the right
place, and we dedicate ourselves to
noble efforts.
We need to continue to do the right
things, for the right reasons.
This will mean some critical selfexamination, and some updating to
current best practices. It will mean
learning to “choose wisely,” and to
work cooperatively.
Principles are the foundation of
best behaviors and best pr