Rural, Remote and Small Urban Section

CAEP / EM Community / Rural, Remote and Small Urban Section

Welcome to CAEP’s Rural, Remote and Small Urban Section! We’re pleased to report to membership that, after an approximately decade long absence, the Section was revitalized within CAEP in February 2016.

Emergency medicine in rural and small urban communities have issues that are both unique and relevant, and we intend to bring those realities to the table. Our mission is to illuminate those issues for the CAEP Board, and advocate on behalf of these communities and providers.

Approximately 19 % of CAEP’s membership live and work in a rural and small urban setting. We need to expand our Section membership: we encourage you to join CAEP, and bring your unique and valuable rural expertise to the Section and CAEP!

Browse our links below – We look forward to serving and engaging our rural membership!

Vision and Mandate

Vision

To illuminate the issues unique and relevant to emergency care in small urban and rural communities, and advocate on behalf of the communities and providers with regards to these issues.

Mandate

Utilizing rural-specific expertise and knowledge, advise the Board on the unique matters affecting emergency care in small urban and rural communities.
Provide opinion to the Board regarding timely and appropriate access to skilled emergency care in small urban and rural areas.
Assist the Board in developing policies and positions that, in an evidence based fashion, adequately reflect the realities of emergency medicine practice in small urban
and rural Canada.
Assist the Board in developing and implementing strategies to collect and maintain essential data reflecting the human resources and ancillary supports in small urban and rural EDs, to facilitate evidence based policy and decision making in this setting.
When directed by the Board, collaborate with other external agencies to advance emergency care in small urban and rural environments.
Advise the Board on strategies that would enhance the knowledge, education and research capacities in small urban and rural environments.
Within CAEP advocate for strategies that enhance the knowledge and impacts of emergency care delivered within small urban and rural environments.

Rural and Small Urban Section Terms of Reference

Resources

Supplementary EM Training Programs Directory

CAEP CME	Society of Rural Physicians of Canada-Main Page SRPC-Events
Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine	BC Emergency Medicine Network
Canadian Point of Care Ultrasound Society	The Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine
Canadiem	Critical Care Reviews
The Bottom Line	EMCrit Project
Emergency Medicine Literature of Note	Academic Life in Emergency Medicine
Rebelem	First10EM
Dr. Smith’s ECG Blog	Emergency Medicine Review (Exam Preparation)

Current Activities

We are striving to create a place of belonging and support to rural providers within CAEP. Below are some of our current goals and activities. We are open to feedback and would love to collaborate with other groups involved in similar projects. Please contact cbova@caep.ca for more information.

Overarching Goals:

Facilitating Rural EM Competency
Enhancing the Rural EM Workforce
Supporting Rural Research and Excellence
Forming EM Networks of Care
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Current Projects

Rural CPD/CME: through representation on the CAEP’s CPD committee we will strive to support the development of rural-focused and rural-accessible courses.
Alternative Training Programs: a new list has been compiled of non-residency based EM training program alternatives and resources for rural physicians. AVAILABLE HERE
Practice-Eligible EM Exam Eligibility Criteria: through representation on the CFPC working group, we successfully advocated for changes to the eligibility criteria that are more inclusive of rural physicians. View the document: English | French
National Licensing: a valuable tool to improve rural staffing solutions. CAEP is currently partnering with the Canadian Red Cross and other stakeholders to advocate for a disaster/pandemic national license. We hope this will serve as a precedent for long-term national licensure opportunities. Read the recent statement and sign the petition here. Statement | Petition
HHR Survey: our section completed an informal survey several years ago. We hope to do a repeat within the next 1-2 years using more formal methodology to allow for publication. This will provide crucial data for HHR planning and advocacy. We are looking for a PhD candidate to support in this research, please contact us with interest.
Supporting Rural Excellence: with rural representation on the CAEP academic section, we hope to encourage inclusive research grant and award opportunities for rural physicians.
Transfers/Repatriation: through participation in the Rural Road Map Implementation Committee, we supported the creation of a call to action regarding rural patient transfers. Document
Telemedicine: Through rural representation on the new Digital Health interest group and the Future of Emergency Medicine Task Force, we aim to support digital advancements to improve local capacity and care in situ. Watch our recent National grand rounds on the topic and consider joining our Slack group for networking and further discussion.

Other Areas for Collaboration:

We do not yet have any active or planned projects on these topics; however, we would be interested in collaboration on related activities:

Rural experiences in medical education: encouraging core rural rotations for all FM and EM trainees (including FRCP) as this may help with recruitment and providing an understanding of rural practice for those that choose to stay urban but may be involved in transfers/consultation. Need to support rural FM trainees in gaining critical EM skills, e.g. through critical care opportunities and access to procedures on EM rotations.
Mentorship: especially for new graduates and practice eligible physicians.