Alberta Medical Association inducts new president and welcomes Canadian Medical Association president

CALGARY, Alberta, Sept. 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Alberta Medical Association will install its president for 2018-19 on Saturday, September 22, during its Annual General Meeting and Representative Forum at the Hyatt Regency in Calgary. The AMA president serves a one-year term, in addition to one year each as president-elect and immediate past president.

Dr. Alison M. Clarke will officially assume the role of AMA president at the end of the Representative Forum meeting on Saturday afternoon.

Dr. Clarke is a family physician who has practiced for over 20 years providing care to patients and their families in the rural community of Strathmore, Alberta. She is also an admitting physician for acute and long-term care for Strathmore District Health Services. Dr. Clarke has been involved with primary care networks since the PCN concept was first established and participated in the original planning and implementation in the Strathmore medical community. She has been the medical director of the Calgary Rural PCN since 2014. Dr. Clarke has also written columns for Vital Signs magazine focusing on the practice of medicine from a rural perspective.

She has served in leadership roles including president of the Rural Medical Staff Association and chief of staff of Strathmore District Health Services. She is a member of the Health Services Support Task Group under the direction of the Secretariat of the Calgary Zone PCNs with specialty groups to facilitate and stream referral processes.

During the Annual General Meeting, current AMA President Dr. Neil Cooper will reflect on some of the highlights of his year as president and comment on the events and issues that have defined his term.

Dr. Cooper will also officially welcome to Alberta the Canadian Medical Association's 151st President, Dr. Gigi Osler. Dr. Osler became CMA president in August at the CMA's Annual General Meeting, held this year in Winnipeg.

Dr. Osler is head of the Section of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at St. Boniface Hospital and is an assistant professor with the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Manitoba. When working at St. Boniface Hospital, she is actively involved in the teaching of medical students and residents.

Dr. Osler is a dedicated advocate for global surgery and the promotion of safe, accessible surgical care. She volunteers annually on surgical missions to low and lower-middle income countries. She was a member of Canadian Helping Kids in Vietnam's medical mission to Long Xuyen, Vietnam, in 2011. The mission's goals were to educate Vietnamese doctors and nurses, deliver donated medical equipment and supplies, and present bicycles to deserving schoolchildren.

For the last several years Dr. Osler has been volunteering in Mbarara, Uganda. Working with members of the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, the group collaborates with Mbarara University of Science and Technology to improve the quality of local health care through education, training and mentorship to surgeons, residents and medical students.

A passionate advocate for physician health, Dr. Osler serves as chair of the Physician Health and Wellness Committee for Doctors Manitoba. The committee oversees the Physician and Family Support Program and creates events to promote physician wellness. In 2017, she received their Health or Safety Promotion Award in recognition of her efforts to develop and implement programs to support the health and well-being of doctors.

At the Lunch with the CMA President on Saturday, Dr. Osler will officially install Dr. Clarke as the AMA president, address Representative Forum delegates and present the CMA Honorary Membership awards to Alberta physicians.

The Representative Forum is the governing body of the AMA. It includes representatives of all sectors of the profession ? specialty sections, zones, students, residents, past presidents and deans of medicine. The RF meets at least twice a year to establish policy and set direction.

For more information, or to request an interview, please contact:

Shannon Rupnarain
Assistant Executive Director, Public Affairs
Alberta Medical Association
Cell: 780.907.9003
Email: [email protected]