Members enjoyed another great evening at our annual VC Appreciation Event at VanDusen Botanical Garden in early June. The event was an opportunity to network with colleagues across Vancouver Community as well as Vancouver Acute and hear from leaders about VC’s important work.

Family physician Dr. Junella Lee, a member of VPSA’s Community Building & Wellness Task Group, welcomed attendees and noted that the evening was dedicated to fostering connections.

“With nearly a quarter of our members practicing in Vancouver Community, we understand the challenges they face in connecting with colleagues and leaders,” said Dr. Lee. “Vancouver Community is spread across multiple sites, limiting opportunities for in-person gatherings. That’s why we are thrilled to host this event for the fourth year in a row. The success of our previous years has been encouraging, and we are grateful for the ongoing support from our VC leaders, who recognize the value of engaging with their medical staff.”

Dr. Lee then turned the podium over to the newly appointed vice president for Vancouver Community, Bonnie Wilson, and Dr. Vandad Yousefi, Department Head, Family and Community Practice at Vancouver Acute. They described how VC delivers both episodic and longitudinal community-based services with a budget this fiscal year of approximately $1 billion. There are close to 6,000 full-time employees and a little over 500 medical staff. The wide variety of areas where these people work was touched on, from MHSU Tertiary, Community, and Supported Housing to Specialized Substance Use, Primary Care, UPCC, Long-term Care, Home Support, Home Health, Palliative/EOL Care, and MAiD.

VMDAS/VPSA President Dr. Ka Wai Cheung was the last speaker to address attendees. She reported that VMDAS represents over 2,000 medical staff, with about 500 of these based in Vancouver Community.

“As you may know, one of the unintended consequences of the recent privileging changes at VCH was the impact on the membership eligibility of both VMDAS and VPSA that affected a large number of VC providers,” she said. “I’m pleased to share that VPSA has since updated its bylaws to include Credentialed Medical Providers (CMPs) from Vancouver Community as members, ensuring your voices continue to be part of the conversation.”

Following the speeches, members were able to continue mingling and connecting with colleagues.

Special thanks to VCH’s Sarah Weir and Lori Benning for their assistance with the event as well as to the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation for its generous sponsorship.

View photos from the evening here.

Member feedback

Twenty members completed the post-event survey. Over 90 per cent agreed that the evening met its objectives of building collegiality, supporting well-being, and improving their perception of VA/VC as a place to work. The event had a 65 per cent net promoter score.

Comments included:

• It’s wonderful to reconnect with many colleagues, especially when we are spread across various sites in VC. I look forward to attending again next year!
• Thank you for an excellent event. Please consider more choices for non-alcoholic drinks. Also, as a community psychiatrist, I felt a bit out of place as the focus was entirely on the department of family practice. I’d really appreciate being able to feel part of VC.
• Loved the venue and the chance to mingle with others who work in a variety of settings.
• Amazing evening; could not have been better. Beautiful venue and delicious food enhanced interactions with others; speeches were not too long.
• It would be nice if the directors would make an effort to seek out the doctors as well. I felt I had to insert myself into their conversations and it’s intimidating.
• VanDusen Garden is a perfect venue and I enjoyed visiting the gardens in addition to connecting with my colleagues.
• It seemed more like a networking and information session about what we are doing at a bigger level. As a doctor, I didn’t feel much appreciated.
• Perfect venue and time of year to enjoy the garden. Nice that you have most of the time to be informal, with a relatively short presentation.
• Invite partners so they can wander around the gardens while members join the presentations.
• Would have been nice to have coffee. Thank you very much for organizing; enjoyed it very much.
• These are so much fun! Please keep them coming!