Facilitators: Jennafer Wilson, MD; Atussa Behnam-Shabahang; Katie Alexander; Amanda LaBoucane

Improving health outcomes through systemic change for Indigenous clients and other equity deserving populations is a common goal that unites programs, departments and service providers across healthcare systems. This workshop will discuss and demonstrate how human to human connection is transformative to quality patient care within an Indigenous culturally safety context. We will explore the role that non-Indigenous leaders play in advancing meaningful reconciliation and culturally safe work within teams. Participants will be empowered to define their own personal framework and how to navigate their leadership role in reconciliation. This will be translated into a medical leadership context with applicable case study for attendees focused on lateral kindness.

Participants will have the opportunity to self-reflect on their own humility and positionality, while being introduced to strategies and resources they can incorporate into their daily practice and lives. These insights aim to empower participants to drive meaningful, systemic change toward true equity and quality.

Learning objectives

• Define and discuss cultural safety.
• Model humility and lateral kindness in the participant’s sphere of influence.
• Design a personal culturally-competent leadership plan.
• Develop commitments to incorporating culturally safe competencies into leadership practice.

Facilitators: Shazma Mithani, MD, FRCPC; Stephanie Choquette; Tracy Huckabone

In today’s digital landscape, social media has become an essential tool for physician leaders to share expertise, connect with peers and influence public health conversations. This interactive workshop will equip participants with strategies to effectively and responsibly leverage social media platforms. Through discussions on healthcare topics and combating misinformation while maintaining professional integrity, participants will gain practical skills to amplify their voices and inspire positive change in healthcare.

With more healthcare professionals turning to social media for advocacy, health education and brand development, the way health information is delivered has forever changed. Social media is no longer “the way of the future” as more people consume information on social platforms than through traditional media.

This workshop is designed for physicians with minimal social media experience, aiming to expand their knowledge of platforms, demographics, engagement trends and their role in advocacy and information sharing. Participants will also gain an understanding of major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X, and develop best practices as they begin their social media journeys.

Learning objectives

• Identify the role of social media in health information and advocacy.
• Define the demographics of each of the major social media platforms.
• Compare and contrast the type of content presented on each of the major social media platforms.
• Explore best practices for using social media to champion important issues in healthcare.

Facilitators: Heather Murray, MD, MSc, FRCPC; Keleigh James,MD, CCFP, FCFP

Critical incidents in medicine occur frequently. Some physicians are involved with significant patient-related events regularly, even daily, in some types of clinical work. These critical incidents include expected and unexpected complications, tragic or traumatic health or social situations and patient safety incidents where patients experience iatrogenic harm. Some of these scenarios cause further distress for physicians navigating patient complaints and legal actions. The urgent need to effectively support physicians in their careers has become more apparent with the increasing challenges of clinical practice related to scarce resources and difficulty accessing needed care. Mental health challenges, moral distress and burnout in practising physicians are increasing, which in turn raises the risk of complications and patient safety incidents. Understanding how best to support physicians to thrive in their practice has never been more important for healthcare leaders.

This workshop will cover key steps in supporting physicians and building resilience in the immediate aftermath of a critical incident. Using case-based scenarios, participants will review evidence for interventions and evaluate barriers and feasibility of implementing these interventions in the healthcare workplace.

Learning objectives

• Describe the impact of regular exposure to critical incidents and signs of trauma in the workplace.
• Evaluate strategies for building individual and team resilience following a critical incident.
• Compare barriers and feasibility of incorporating these strategies in individual workplaces.

Facilitators: Marilyn Crabtree, MD, CCFP, FCFP; Nicole Nitti, MD, CCFP (EM), FCFP; Kim McIntosh, MD, CCFP, FCFP

At CCPL2024, attendees prioritized the idea of “bringing primary care home.” However, many hospital and health system leaders struggle to engage family physicians and primary care teams in change initiatives due to clinician burnout, skepticism and a lack of unified leadership.

This workshop will explore actionable strategies for fostering a more engaged and cohesive primary care workforce, aiming for success both within organizations and across local communities. It will underscore the critical role of primary care leadership in transforming health systems by involving family physician leaders in decision-making processes and integrated care program development. This approach will help create a more patient-centred, efficient and equitable healthcare system. Effective, cross-sector collaboration is essential to improving access, particularly for underserved populations and ensuring care reaches people in their own communities.

Key concepts include:

• Authentic Co-Design: Explore the difference between co-design and stakeholder engagement through the “Heard, Seen, Respected” exercise, highlighting the impact of tokenistic engagement.
• Structured Primary Care Networks: Discover the value of connecting family physicians and primary care teams through self-determined governance and leadership, followed by “Wise Crowds” discussions to share strategies.
• Primary Care Leadership Education: Learn how formal leadership education equips family physician leaders to drive system change, reduce burnout and collaborate effectively. Presenters will share their journeys and insights.

Learning objectives

• Identify and explain the difference between authentic co-design and traditional stakeholder engagement and its impact on success.
• Build upon existing primary care structures to advance organized primary care structures as part of integrated health system transformation.
• Encourage and support family physicians to pursue formal physician leadership training.
• Gain confidence in mentoring emerging family physician leaders and fostering cross-sector collaboration.

Facilitator: Anurag Saxena, MD, M.Ed., MBA, FRCP, FCAP, CHE, CCPE

Effective leadership is rooted in authenticity and an artful navigation of multiple aspects of organizational life. While frameworks like LEADS and CanMEDS outline what leaders should do, the “how” is equally important. Leaders may and do find themselves overwhelmed, relying on positional power, focusing sporadically and striving for organization-wide accountability. Following an introductory segment to lay the foundations, the four themes (personal – inward leadership journey; philosophical – leading a values-aligned life and practice; pragmatic – process-based leadership and political – practice of positive politics) will be explored sequentially.  

With increasing awareness of and a slowly increasing number of individuals across intersectionality variables in leadership positions, a consistent two-fold theme running through this workshop is what can leaders with diverse backgrounds do to ensure, a) “psychological granting of leadership “ by the constituents and b) that their leadership practice is not excessively constrained by (and what can they do to manage) existing organizational structures, processes and protocols. 

Learning objectives

• Explain the four dimensions of effective leadership – personal, philosophical, pragmatic and political.
• Appraise structures and processes conducive to success in their sphere of responsibility.
• Integrate the practices into their leadership repertoire to develop personal leadership brand.

Facilitators: Mamta Gautam, MD, MBA, FRCPC, CCPE, CPE; Kathleen Ross, MD, MSc, MCFP

Artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies are increasingly prevalent in business and society and are now being applied to healthcare. These technologies have the potential to transform many aspects of patient care and the associated administrative processes to provide better health outcomes. The key areas of applications of these tools involve diagnosis and treatment recommendations, patient engagement and adherence and administrative activities.  

Implementing AI in clinical settings can be highly complex due to cultural, economic and regulatory factors. Leaders must overcome challenges, including data quality and bias, algorithmic trust and skills deficits, while focusing on patient-centricity and treatment options.   

Using the LEADS framework, this workshop will help leaders develop the competencies necessary to lead change, remain agile with evolving technologies like AI and communicate effectively. It will focus on building trust, creating a culture of innovation and integrating AI tools ethically and transparently into healthcare systems. 

Participants will reflect on their own adaptability, practise communication skills, plan AI adoption strategies aligned with patient-centred care, build trust to engage stakeholders and analyze a real-world AI integration case study. This workshop will equip leaders to develop AI strategies that support digital healthcare transformation and enhance excellence in patient care. 

Learning objectives

• Define Artificial Intelligence (AI) and discuss its use in healthcare.
• Identify key leadership competencies, using the LEADS framework, required to embrace change and remain agile in the face of evolving technologies such as AI, communicate effectively, build trust and create a positive culture of innovation.
• Describe how to successfully integrate AI tools