Voice for the members

Issue: BCMJ, vol. 50, No. 7, September Page 359 Letters
By: Caroline Wang, MD,

During the past 10 years that I have sat on the BCMA Board, I have tried to be a voice for the members by bringing their unique and diverse perspectives and ideas to the decision-making table. I believe that for an organization that represents and speaks for the doctors of BC, transparency and accountability to its members are paramount. 

I believe that the leadership of the BCMA must exemplify physician values of honesty and integrity in conducting the business of the Association. We must ensure that decisions are made through rational debate informed by facts, not by politics. As a physician organization, we must remember to first, do no harm.

I have tried to shine a light on what’s wrong, so we may make it right. We need to challenge ourselves and each other to do better as part of a shared commitment to continuous improvement and sharpening of our Assoc­iation. We must foster a culture of respect that embraces the diversity of our profession.

At times I have had to stand alone, but thanks to the support of many members and colleagues I have never felt alone, while I have stayed true to my purpose and values.

I want to thank all the physicians who have provided me with invaluable guidance and pearls of wisdom over the years. I am especially grateful for the many, many messages of support from physicians all across the province more recently. 

I am grateful for the privilege to serve our profession and for the opportunity to work with you to advance our common goals—to improve health care for our patients and work for a vibrant medical profession. 

To those members who may be feeling disheartened by the recent tumultuous events before and during the election, I believe this signifies only the beginning of an awakening of the membership that will lead to the positive changes that are necessary to revitalize our Association. 

When members work together to take action based on principles and values, I am confident that collectively the physicians of BC will set the right course for their future.  

—Caroline Wang, MD
Richmond

Caroline Wang, MD,. Voice for the members. BCMJ, Vol. 50, No. 7, September, , Page(s) 359 - Letters.


Above is the information needed to cite this article in your paper or presentation. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommends the following citation style, which is the now nearly universally accepted citation style for scientific papers:
Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347:284-7.

About the ICMJE and citation styles

The ICMJE is small group of editors of general medical journals who first met informally in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1978 to establish guidelines for the format of manuscripts submitted to their journals. The group became known as the Vancouver Group. Its requirements for manuscripts, including formats for bibliographic references developed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), were first published in 1979. The Vancouver Group expanded and evolved into the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which meets annually. The ICMJE created the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals to help authors and editors create and distribute accurate, clear, easily accessible reports of biomedical studies.

An alternate version of ICMJE style is to additionally list the month an issue number, but since most journals use continuous pagination, the shorter form provides sufficient information to locate the reference. The NLM now lists all authors.

BCMJ standard citation style is a slight modification of the ICMJE/NLM style, as follows:

  • Only the first three authors are listed, followed by "et al."
  • There is no period after the journal name.
  • Page numbers are not abbreviated.


For more information on the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, visit www.icmje.org

BCMJ Guidelines for Authors

Leave a Reply