MSES & MDSA Newsletter - October 2025 | Annual General Meeting Recap | Our recent AGM and All-Staff meeting was well attended by 124 BC Cancer Medical Staff. After the formal AGM business we had engaging presentations on the Patient Portal, PHSA updates and BC Cancer updates. Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in this event. We look forward to hosting you again at our next All-Staff Meeting. The date and time of the next meeting is yet to be confirmed. An Outlook invite will be sent out once the date is finalized. All-Staff Meeting: Date TBC | Peer Recognition in Action! | As a community of medical staff, you are improving wellness by sharing gratitude and coffee! To date: 155 Kudos submissions have been made, 73 this fiscal year so far; both senders and recipients have received a $5 coffee gift card and a message of gratitude. Since our last newsletter, these medical staff have been recognized for leading the way, providing excellent care to patients, and supporting and inspiring colleagues. - Dr. Corinne Maurice-Dror, Medical Oncologist, Vancouver
- Dr. Alison Weppler, Medical Oncologist, Vancouver
- Dr. Thao Nguyen, Medical Oncologist, Abbotsford
- Bonnie Leung, Nurse Practitioner, Vancouver
- Dr. Chad Lund, Radiation Oncologist, Surrey
- Dr. Mike Humphreys, Medical Oncologist, CON Site Vernon
- Dr. Kian Khodadad, Medical Oncologist, Kelowna
- Dr. Guliz Ozgun, Medical Oncologist, Vancouver
- Dr. Srinivas Raman, Radiation Oncologist, Vancouver
- Dr. Ting-Chia Wong, General Practitioner Oncology, Vancouver
It only takes a few minutes to spread your gratitude, share a coffee, and bring a little positivity to a colleague's day. | DoBC Health Authority Engagement Survey 2025 | This survey launched on October 1 and runs until Thursday October 30. All physicians who are members of Doctors of BC are invited to complete the survey. It is being conducted by an independent third party and all response data is anonymous. You will have the option to enter a prize draw for one of two $1000 gift cards to Costco or Canadian Tire.
The email invitation came from surveys@doctorsofbc.ca with the subject line: Doctors of BC Health Authority Survey 2025. Results from the previous surveys can be found on the Doctor's of BC website. | | Shared Care Committee Cancer Plan Project Update | There is some exciting work underway across the province in cancer care. We look forward to partnering with the project team at PHSA supporting the Cancer Care Initiative of the Shared Care Committee to highlight the projects in our newsletters over the next year. Tune in every month for more great details | Project Approval Stage The full reviews of project proposal has been completed and approval has been granted for projects to move forward. Congratulations to the projects moving through to approval. All projects have been categorized into three main groups: Transitions in Care, Improving Diagnostic Pathways, and Pain & Symptom Management. The work on these projects is now underway and expecting to wrap up in late fall 2026. We will bring you highlights and updates once per month. Transitions in Care Projects: - Bridging Care: Collaborative Pathways for Seamless Cancer Transition, Dr. Leah McDonald, VIHA, Victoria
- Equity Model of Cancer Care for the Downtown East Side, Dr. Michael McKenzie, PHSA, Vancouver
- Increasing Community Oncology Network Capacity Through Alternative Care Pathways for Low-Risk Oral Therapies, Dr. Jason Hart , and Dr. Ashley Freeman, PHSA, Victoria
- Developing a rural network of cancer care in the East Kootenays, Dr. Trina Larsen Sole, IHA, East Kootney
Improving Diagnostic Pathways: - Improving Lung Cancer Diagnosis in the South Okanagan, Dr. Bradly Biagioni, IHA, South Okanagan
- BC Cancer Victoria Cardiovascular, Dr. Abe Alexander, PHSA, Victoria
- Improving Comunication between Radiologists and Radiation Oncologists for Timely Referral of Urgent Spinal Cord Compression Cases, Dr, Angela Lin, PHSA Kelowna
- Reduction of wait times for tissue diagnosis in incidentally detected cancer, Dr. Vamshi Kotha, VIHA, Victoria and South Island
- Rapid Autopilot Program (RAP) for expedited diagnosis of suspected lung cancer in Fraser region BC, Dr. Jenny Ko, FHA, Abbotsford - Pending secured project support.
Pain & Symptom Management: - Symptom management and quality of life support for patients with gynecological cancer after surgery and/or pelvic (chemo)radiotherapy, Dr. Hamid Raziee, PHSA, Kelowna
- Fine-tuning of a digital remote symptom monitoring program (RESPONSe) and Richmond Hospital to reduce acute care usage, Dr. Jeremy Ho, VCH, Richmond
- Improving Capacity to provide SABR for spinal metastasis accross BC through mentoring and education, Dr. Emma Dunne, PHSA, Vancouver
- Supportng patients on endocrine therapy for breast cancer to reduce symptoms, Dr. Hannah Nette, Comunity based and PHSA, Vancouver
- Improving access to evidence-based group psychotherapy for BC Cancer Agency patients, Dr. Jennifer Laidlaw, PHSA, Vancouver
- Outpatient IV chemotherapy, an innovation to optimize health care service delivery in pediatric, adolescents and young adult oncology patients in BC, Dr. Meera Rayar, PHSA, Vancouver
| Regulation Updates: the HPOA | The new Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) with be in-force April 1, 2026. All registrants of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC re invited to attend a series of webinars on the transition to the HPOA CPSBC staff will share details about changes to processes, policies, and programs that registrants can expect. There will be opportunity to ask questions as well. Register before Friday October 24 to attend | | Facility Engagement Funding: Turning ideas into action | Medical Staff Led Engagement Projects | September Project Approvals Congratulations to the leads for the most recently approved projects! More information will be shared on these projects as we receive it. - Dr. Elisa Chan - Vancouver Lung Triage Process Improvement
- Dr. Lauren Capozzi - Launching Cancer Rehabilitation through Collaboration and Engagement
- Dr. Angela Lin and Dr. David Nguyen - Interior Health & BC Cancer Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Dinner Meeting
| 2025/26 Applications are now closed All funds allocated to support projects for this fiscal year have been distributed, no further applications for projects this year will be considered. We look forward to funded projects moving forward and to sharing project results with you as they come in. Accepting Applications for 2026/27 You can get a head start on project ideas for next year (beginning April 1, 2026). If you have an idea to engage medical staff or to improve the quality of patient care at your centre or across the province, let us know. You can receive up to $7500 in funding to use during our fiscal year (April 1 - March 31). Next deadline: November 15 for review and decision in December. Approved funding will be available April 1, 2026. Regular 2026/27 Application Deadlines: - February 15, 2026
- May 15, 2026
- August 15, 2026
- November 15, 2026
| Get Inspired! Past Engagement Projects | Tap into your colleagues across the province for inspiration See what other BC Cancer Medical Staff have done with recent project funding here. For a peak into the projects and learnings at other sites across BC check out the Site Engagement Activity Tracker (SEAT) Database from Facility Engagement. | | Regional Funding Working for Medical Staff Priorities | MSES & MDSA sets aside Facility Engagement Funds to support your regional centre. Regional Representatives will be looking for ideas or topics of interest. Connect with your MDSA Regional Representative with your ideas for events. - Vancouver: Dr. Elisa Chan & Dr. Janine Davies
- Prince George: Dr. Allison Ye
- Surrey: Dr. Will Jiang & Dr. Elysha Vanderveer
- Abbotsford: Dr. Thao Nguyen
- Victoria: Dr. Zia Poonja & Dr. Sally Smith
- Kelowna: Dr. Angela Lin & Dr. Susan Ellard
- CON sites: Actively seeking a new representative, email us if you are interested in more information
| | Wellness session at the BC Cancer Summit | MSES & MDSA and BC Cancer Staff Wellness and Engagement team are collaborating to bring you a wellness focused session for the BC Cancer Summit Ideas to Impact: A Strategic Approach to Staff Wellbeing at BC Cancer is a two-hour session scheduled for Thursday November 20 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. Look out for it when you register for the BC Cancer Summit November 20-22, 2025. | | What's Happening at BC Cancer & PHSA | AI Scribe Cycle 3 Deadline Approaching | The final cycle of the Free Scribe BC Trial starts October 22, 2025 We have learned that there are enough licenses in this round for everyone to get access to their first-choice tool. You are also now able to sign up with your personal email address. More information in an email from PHSA Medical Staff Communications send Friday October 3, 2025. Sign up for Cycle 3 between Oct 15 and 22. Don't miss out on this opportunity to engage with some great tools. | | In case you missed it: Cancer Action Plan Update | Share your thoughts Where have you seen BC Cancer prevention and screening in your community? Every milestone in BC’s 10-Year Cancer Action Plan is achieved thanks to the countless contributions of our care teams and support staff. How can we improve how we recognize this work? Talk to your Regional Rep or send us an email with your thoughts | The latest information: In case you missed it: | | As medical staff with privileges at BC Cancer including regional centres and community oncology network sites, you are a member of MSES & MDSA and receiving this bulletin. MSES is funded through Facility Engagement, a provincial initiative of the Specialist Services Committee. | | | | | |
