Like the last post, many people have asked for copies of my first address to Council as President.

A number have shared bits and pieces on social media, so I thought it was best just to share the whole thing here.

This is just a starting point. I look forward to seeing where we – all of us – take this from here.

Shawn

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Thank you, Mr. Chair, Members of Council and Special Guests.

In my election speech, I offered three priorities for the OMA over the next year: trust, unity and excellence. I’d like to expand those ideas a bit more over the next few minutes. I offer these for discussion. I hope you will argue with me. I offer them as a starting point to a larger conversation.

Everyone agrees: We need an agreement. But we need more than that. We might get a wonderful agreement. But if we do not have a system—the excellence—to socialize it with our members, it will fail. Continue reading “First Address to Council”

A number of doctors have requested my election speech, and others have posted parts of it on social media already. So, I though it best to put down what I said.

Doctors have a new hope for positive change. They are eager to build. It feels like we have turned a corner.

Thanks so much to everyone who worked so hard this weekend!

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Thank you Mr. Chair and Members of Council.

 

It’s time for change.

 

The OMA faced an unprecedented crisis:

We’ve been heckled in the legislature,

slandered in the media,

ignored for multiple pieces of legislation,

and now, after almost 4 years, we still don’t have a contract.

This is intolerable.

 

The OMA must do 3 things to fix this. Continue reading “Whatley Election Speech”

Most doctors want to see patients, not fight government. Doctors pay dues so that their medical associations will speak for them.

Is it even possible for a medical association to tell the truth about problems inside healthcare?

Can doctors speak about problems, without fear that the government will punish doctors for doing so?

Public Relations in Medicare

Everyone in our single payer system wrestles with what to say. Hospitals, associations, unions and patient groups must choose carefully what to say about:

• Patients suffering on wait lists.
• Provincial budgets that fall short.
• System mismanagement.

One option is to only share good news, all the time. If you have something bad to say, do not say it publicly.

This is the most popular approach. Nothing panics hospital administrators more than hearing that one of their nurses or doctors has sent bad news to the media. Continue reading “Public Relations Strategy or Just Tell the Truth?”