Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) president Dr. Barb Konstantynowicz is gravely concerned that the government’s refusal to immediately vaccinate essential workers, including physicians and health-care workers who have not yet received their shots, will result in more lost lives and long-term illness due to COVID-19, and put non-COVID patients at even greater risk given delays in the services and care they need.

The provincial government’s Immunization Delivery Plan unveiled this week fails to give the protections all physicians and health-care workers need to care for their patients, whether they have COVID-19 or not, and does not provide reassurance to patients that the health-care system is safe, according to Dr. Barb Konstantynowicz, president of the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA).

More than two dozen Saskatchewan health-care organizations have joined forces in an online ad campaign that targets young adults and asks them to “hang in there” by following public health guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

University of Saskatchewan (USask) fourth-year medical students will be able to take the national award-winning Indigenous wellness online course, The Role of Practitioners in Indigenous Wellness, at no cost with the generous support of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and two committees of the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA).

There is a proverb that speaks to looking at the past to understanding the future. It is proving to be very prescient during the COVID-19 pandemic. We don’t have to look too far back or too far away to know what is in store for us in Saskatchewan if our political leaders don’t take swift, decisive action to blunt the surge that is overwhelming our health care system and putting Saskatchewan citizens at risk.

Supporting physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing racism within the medical profession were two major themes explored by delegates to the Saskatchewan Medical Association’s 2020 Fall Representative Assembly (RA).

The Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) commends provincial health officials for their decision to mandate the wearing of non-medical masks in Saskatchewan’s three largest cities.

n recognition of integral role physicians play in the health system, the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) annually recognizes leaders in the medical community with three awards – one each for Physician, Resident and Student Leader of the Year.

Longtime pediatrician Dr. Biswa Datta of Regina is the recipient of the Saskatchewan Medical Association’s (SMA) 2020 Physician of the Year Award. The award was presented as part of the SMA’s virtual 2020 Fall Representative Assembly (RA) on Friday, Oct. 30. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fall RA was held via video conferencing rather than in-person, as is the tradition.

By Dr. Barb Konstantynowicz: The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in rural health care that the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) believes need to be addressed by the next provincial government following the Oct. 26 election. Physicians recognize the pandemic is unprecedented in its scale and its scope, but now is not the time to shy away from new ideas and strategies.