Apathy: Dr Cavers replies

Issue: BCMJ, vol. 57, No. 3, April 2015, Pages 98-99 Letters
By: Bill Cavers, MD

Dr Boggie raises some good points. I too would like to see a greater number of members voting in our elections. At the same time, the number of members who voted in the Physician Master Agreement referendum was the second highest on record, exceeded only by the turnout for the contentious 2002 agreement. Dr Boggie interprets the response rate as apathy. But we don’t really know for certain. It could be that members are distracted by workload, or they may have confidence that the proposed agreement is a good one and would be ratified. The fact remains that it was passed by a landslide of those who did vote. To quote Winston Churchill, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.”

Dr Boggie’s letter also speaks to his disengagement and disenchantment with the status quo. In fact, our new agreement has funding and supports in place to enable facilities-based physicians to have a stronger voice and greater influence in health authority decision making. Will it be tremendously successful in every location? I believe that some locations will be hugely successful and some will face challenges. The reality is that if we do nothing, the status quo prevails. Our new agreement represents an important step to help us do just that—overcome the status quo and bring about positive change for our profession and for our patients.
—Bill Cavers, MD
Doctors of BC President

Bill Cavers, MD. Apathy: Dr Cavers replies. BCMJ, Vol. 57, No. 3, April, 2015, Page(s) 98-99 - Letters.


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