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summer 2009 |
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A G
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Professionalism, leadership, unity key to successful negotiations: Dr.
Brendan Lewis
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Don Lane Photo |
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Dr. Brendan Lewis |
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“Professionalism lies at
the heart of being a good doctor and it sets a standard for what our
patients should expect from us. At its very core is the
physician-patient relationship and the practice of putting our patient’s
care above our own interests."
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By Jonathan Carpenter |
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The 2009 NLMA Annual General Meeting
featured an interactive negotiations session that provided
members with an update on talks with government. While much of the
discussion focused on monetary issues, incoming NLMA
president Dr. Brendan Lewis said other issues of equal importance
must be addressed.
“One of the core tasks during this round
of negotiations will be reinforcing our sense of unity as an
association. Our unity is the reason we were successful in past
negotiations and we must continue to nurture that cohesiveness,” says
Dr. Lewis.
Dr. Lewis is an orthopedic surgeon hailing
from Colliers, who has practiced in Corner Brook since 1991. He says
that he intends to use his position as incoming president to initiate a
dialogue and stimulate ideas about the future of medical professionalism
in the province.
“The medical landscape in this province
has changed dramatically since we negotiated our last contact with
government. But with these changes have come opportunities. Because we
are now in a negotiations year, NLMA members are in a unique position to
come together and respond to the challenges that face our patients and
the challenges we face as a profession,” says Dr. Lewis.
Medical professionalism is generally
considered to be the social and moral contract between medicine and
society. The contract grants the medical profession a monopoly over the
use of its knowledge, the right to considerable autonomy in practice and
the privilege of self-regulation.
“Professionalism lies at the heart of
being a good doctor and it sets a standard for what our patients should
expect from us. At its very core is the physician-patient relationship
and the practice of putting our patient’s care above our own interests.
The trust that our patients have placed in us is an essential element of
that relationship and it rests squarely on the integrity of individual
physicians and our profession as a whole,” says Dr. Lewis.
However, Dr. Lewis explains the
relationship between doctors and society is not the same as it was a
generation ago. He points to the rise in readily accessible medical
information as well as advances in science and technology as reasons for
the public’s rising expectations for health care delivery.
Conversely, he says that recent events in
the province’s health system, such as the highly publicized Cameron
Inquiry, have undermined the public’s confidence in the system and have
sparked a growing demand for transparency and accountability.
“The first step in restoring confidence in
health care must come from within the system. As physicians, we must be,
and be perceived as being, committed to transparency and accountability
through leadership and self-regulation,” says Dr. Lewis.
He also attests that if physicians want to
be active participants in shaping the landscape of health care, they
must take ownership and a greater involvement by working more closely
with the health authorities and health managers.
“If we’re going to shape the evolution of
medical professionalism at all, then we have to provide valuable input
to administration, nurture leadership within our profession and speak
with one unified voice,” says Dr. Lewis.
“More importantly, we have to value each
other. Our relationships with our colleagues must be strengthened and
reinforced because the only way we can improve this system is if we are
working together in an atmosphere of trust and support.”
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