WONCA North America Annual Report
Photo: WONCA North America meets in Rio 2016
Member organizations of the North American region of WONCA remained strong and active in the past year. All held successful and well-attended meetings in 2017.
Polaris
The young family doctor group under the leadership of Dr. Kyle Hoedebecke and Dr. Maria Colon-Gonzalez met during the World WONCA conference in Rio de Janeiro. The meeting provided an opportunity for networking, planning North American FM360 activities, and finalizing a structure and constitution for the group. Thanks to the American Academy of Family Physicians and the College of Family Physicians of Canada for supporting these initiatives.
Montegut Scholar
Our Montegut scholar for 2016 was Dr. Marvin Reid from Jamaica. He attended the World WONCA conference in Rio de Janeiro, and represented the Caribbean College of Family Physicians at the WONCA World Council meeting. He is President-Elect of the CCFP. Thanks to the American Board of Family Medicine for sponsoring these opportunities.
Regional President’s activities
Dr. Wilson was able to strengthen ties throughout the region with visits and speaking engagements. She attended the American Academy of Family Physicians FMX in Orlando in September 2016 along with World WONCA president Michael Kidd. She also attended the College of Family Physicians Family Medicine Forum and Besrour Conference in Vancouver. .She also participated in the Starfield Summit on Health Equity in Portland Oregon.
She was pleased to strengthen ties with members of the Caribbean College of Family Physicians through her appointment as the external examiner for the family medicine examinations of the University of the West Indies in May 2017. She addressed the Bahamian chapter of the CCFP on this visit. (pictures at right with University of West Indies examiners)
In Rio de Janeiro at the World WONCA conference she was re-elected as WONCA North America President for a second term, to end at the time of the next world conference in Seoul, Korea in 2018.
On behalf of WONCA, she spoke and participated in the 10th International Conference on Person Centred Care through the life course in Geneva in May 2017. This meeting, co-sponsored by WONCA, included a special session at the WHO on WHO global programs. She also participated in the Starfield Summit on Health Equity in Portland Oregon.
Prof Ruth Wilson
WONCA North America region president
(pictured at right with Prof Michael Kidd, WONCA immediate past president in Orlando)