IAMRA Webinars

IAMRA hosts webinars on a regular basis.  Please check the homepage and Upcoming Events for announcements.  Recordings of the webinars are available to Members in the Members Only section of the website.  For more information on IAMRA or the webinars, please contact the IAMRA Secretariat.

IAMRA Webinar:  Indigenous Cultural Safety, Cultural Humility and Anti-racism

September 13, 2022

Special guests, Elder Sulksun joined us from British Columbia and Kaitiaki Mana Māori, Richard Tankersley joined us from Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Mrs. Joan Simeon, Chair-elect of IAMRA and Manukura/Chief Executive of the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) and Kiri Rikihana, Manukura Tuarua/Deputy Chief Executive of MCNZ, spoke to the Cultural Safety work they have done in Aotearoa/New Zealand as it relates to practice standards, educational accreditation requirements, and their work with the Māori doctors group.

Dr. Heidi Oetter,  Chair of IAMRA and Registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia spoke about her organization’s commitment to Cultural Safety and Humility and reconciliation on everything from governance and board/ committee education requirements through their review of the complaints processes to make them more accessible and safe for Indigenous people.

IAMRA Webinar:  Telehealth and Virtual Care - COVID and Beyond

July 28, 2022

The emergence of COVID-19 has resulted in a rapid expansion of the use of technology to deliver health services. Virtual services such as telehealth played an important role in the pandemic planning and response.

The rapid integration of telehealth was an innovative and necessary solution to ensure the ongoing delivery of healthcare. However, with such rapid advancement a need has emerged for increased education, quality assurance, protocols and monitoring.

During this webinar panel members discussed lessons learned through the pandemic and issues that regulators need to pay attention to, as telehealth and virtual care are embedded in the ongoing delivery of healthcare services.   

This webinar was facilitated by Mrs. Joan Simeon, CEO of the Medical Council of New Zealand.  Speakers (in order of introduction):

• Dr. Heidi Oetter, Chair of IAMRA and Registrar, College of Physicians and Surgeons, BC, Canada
• Dr. Ruth Large, Chair, Telehealth Leadership Group, New Zealand
• Dr. Taruna Ikrar, Chair of the Medical Council of Indonesia
• Dr. Humayun "Hank" Chaudhry, President and CEO of the Federation of State Medical Boards in the United States

IAMRA Webinar:  Duty of Candour

June 22, 2022 (8:00 pm/20:00 UTC)

Is honesty ever optional?

Patients and their families expect physicians to be open and honest especially when something goes wrong with their healthcare. Indeed, honesty and integrity are key ingredients for a relationship of trust between a doctor and a patient. However, there are too many examples of situations in which honesty, dialogue and openness are not what patients and families experience in the face of something going wrong. Too often there is a defensive response with little information or explanation provided, let alone empathy and support. Is medicine the only profession where honesty is optional?

In this webinar we heard the voices of patients and their advocates arguing for much greater openness among doctors with their patients. We learned about the experience in the United Kingdom of a legislated duty of candour which sits alongside professional obligations.  And we considered how medical regulators can do more to support much greater openness and honesty between doctors and patients and the worldwide movement of patient champions to make this a reality.

Speakers (in order of introduction):

• Ms. Susan Sheridan and Mr. Marty Hatlie, Founding Members of  Patients For Patient Safety (PFPS) US and WHO Patient for Patient Safety Champions
• Ms. Yael Bradbury from the UK General Medical Council, which has developed joint guidance with the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council on the responsibilities of doctors and nurses when things go wrong with patient care

The webinar was chaired by Adjunct Professor Martin Fletcher CEO of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, along with invited reflections from Dr. Hank Chaudhry, President and CEO of the Federation of State Medical Boards.

IAMRA Webinar:  Misinformation and Challenges to the Independence of Medical Regulation

May 24, 2022

In this webinar, we explored the ways in which medical regulatory authorities (MRAs) around the world are being subjected to external pressure to base their regulatory standards, policies and decisions on misinformation or information that is not evidence-based – a phenomenon particularly apparent in relation to COVID-19.  We also discussed how MRAs might resist this pressure.

Mr. Mark Staz, Management Consultant, Regulatory Policy for the FSMB facilitated this event.  Speakers included Dr. Divine Banyubala, Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council, Ghana and Dr. Ken Simons, Immediate Past Chair of the FSMB.

2020-2021 IAMRA Webinars

2020-2021 IAMRA webinar recordings and additional content can be accessed here, and include the following topics:

Disruption in Healthcare and Regulation (May 17, 2021)

Be kinder? The challenge of humanizing medical regulation in a post-COVID world (April 20, 2021)

Physician Health and Wellness (March 29, 2021)

Emerging COVID-19 Challenges for the Safety and Standards of Patient Care (December 10, 2020)

Professional Conduct and Discipline in the Era of COVID-19 (October 28, 2020)

A Guide to Conducting Video Hearings (October 2020)

Registration Assessments in a Pandemic Environment (September 28, 2020)

COVID-19 and the Acceleration of Virtual Care and Virtual Regulation - Lessons and Questions from Canada (August 26, 2020)

The Medical Regulator's Role in Cultural Safety and Health Equity (August 6, 2020)

ECFMG Response to COVID-19 – Upholding Standards in a Global Pandemic (June 23, 2020)

COVID-19 and The Impact on Medical Regulation (May 20, 2020)