Our Resources
The LibraryBrowse the Library

Library Privileges
Readers may print a single copy for personal use. No further reproduction or distribution of the articles should proceed without permission. Journalists are welcome to write news stories based on what they read here, but should acknowledge their source as "an article published on the Internet by The Society of Rural Physicians of Canada <http://www.srpc.ca>".

Some of the documents on this site are in PDF format and require Adobe® Reader® in order to view. For a free download, please click here.

National Rural Health Strategy
Select a PDF document to download:

• Summary - Resumé
• Solutions - Solutions
• Strategy - Stratégie

Notes For Speaking to MPs

Child and Youth Mental Health Project Needs Assessment Survey

Proceedings From the GP Surgery
Symposium, June 2007
Select a PDF document to download:

• Part A
• Part B
• Part C

Practice SOOs

Links (English and French) to the CFPC website featuring a collection of 10 SOOs as exam preparation resources. http://www.cfpc.ca/SOOs/ or http://www.cfpc.ca/Entrevues_médicales_simulées/

Society Policy and Discussion Papers

• Discussion Paper on Rural Hospital Service Closures. April 2009.
• Admission of Rural Origin Students to Medical School: Recommended Strategies to support rural medicine. April 2004.
• A Policy Paper on Regionalization: Recommended Strategies to support rural medicine. April 2004.
• Presentation on Strengthening the Medical Workforce in Canada. The Role of Rural/Northern Medical Education - Michael Jong.
• A Policy on Primary Care Renewal to support rural medicine. April 2003.
• Canada has always depended on International Medical Graduates (IMGs) to care for Canadians.  The SRPC IMG policy describes the measures needed to deal with IMG's ethically and fairly. November 2002.
• How do you train a GP/FP anesthetist and keep their competency levels high? These issues are described with recommendations in The Position Paper on Training for Family Physicians in Anaesthesia. This paper has been prepared by a working Group of the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada in cooperation with the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society. Énoncé de principe conjoint sur la formation en anesthésiologie pour les médecins de famille du milieu rural. November 2001.
• Rural Healthcare: The chasm not crossed. April 11, 2002. The Future of Rural Health Care. August 14, 2001. SRPC submission to the Romanow Commission.
• The State of Rural Health in Canada - a May 31, 2001 SRPC presentation to the Kirby Commission, and in French as well as the (unofficial) transcript.
• Primary Care Renewal - Rural Perspectives on Templates. SRPC Ontario Region. March 7, 2001.
• Primary Care Reform - A Rural Perspective. A Discussion Paper of the SRPC Ontario Region. January 27, 2000.
• Hear an excerpt from the 2000 Policy Day Conference on Working Conditions. 2000.
• The official SRPC comment on the 1999 Barer and Stoddart report.
• Policy guideline on financial sponsorship and the SRPC. 1999.
• Nurse Practitioners and Rural Medicine: Voices From the Field. Report from the 1998 SRPC Special Conference Day. Five resolutions approved by the conference participants 1. There should be a national process to develop guidelines for the scope of practice of nurse practitioners. 2. There is an enhanced skill set and education required by nurse practitioners. 3. The activities within the role of nurse practitioners are location specific. 4. Funding models must be developed to enhance cooperative and collaborative care. 5. Innovative education is needed to provide core competency and an enhanced skill set.
• We have only two or three training programs in the Country for FP-Surgery, but it remains an essential service, especially in more remote regions. The Position Paper on Training for Family Physicians in Surgery, is in draft format for discussion pending review by the SRPC council.
• The ability to provide cesareans on site is not essential, but is very helpful to provide safe on site maternity care for over 90% of pregnant women in the community. The Policy on Advanced Training in Rural Maternity Care Including Caesarean Version 11 has been approved by SRPC, SOGC and CFPC councils and published in English and French in journals of the organizations in 1999.
• The Society of Rural Physicians of Canada published a discussion paper on Physician on-call frequency in CJRM. Communities or facilities with less than 5 physicians available to share the after-hours work, should not require these physicians to provide continuous 24-hour per day coverage. 1998.
• Rural doctors do not need caesarean capability on site to practice safe maternity care, but this will limit them to attending about 60% of the communities deliveries. Policy on Rural Maternity Care. Spring 1998. It is also available in French.
• Recruitment and Retention Policy Conference report Banff. 1996 - CJRM1997 V2 N1.
• The Society of Rural Physicians - Policy Agenda/Outline. 1995.

• Evidence Based Practical Management of Type 2 Diabetes Guidelines with flow chart.
  • Type 2 Diabetes Flow Chart - 2004 and in French.
• Burr Hole PDA point of care summary
• Vaginal Breech Delivery PDA point of care summary
• C-Spine interpretation PDA point of care summary

• The Fyke Commission on Medicare Report.  This 2001 paper suggests closing all remaining GP run rural hospitals in Saskatchewan.
• Health Canada Rurality and Physician Supply Paper. This 1999 report predicts worsening doctor to population ratios in rural Canada through 2021.  There is also a report on what rural doctors think contributes to the ruralness of a community.
• Barer Stoddart 1999. This "dynamic duo" of academics released a discussion paper September 16, 1999, entitled Improving Access to Needed Medical Services in Rural and Remote Canadian Communities: Recruitment and Retention Revisited. (Full Report) They are unrepentant on an earlier paper of theirs that resulted in reducing medical school admissions in Canada by 10%, (SRPC comment) but agree that more of the same is not a viable option and call for reform.
• The SRPC-ON PAIRO Blueprint. In the spring of 1998 the SRPC, Ontario Regional Committee and The Professional Association of Intern and Residents of Ontario convened 12 prominent physicians from across the country to produce a blueprint for addressing physician recruitment and retention in rural and remote Ontario. Alternately, view the entire report.
• The Scott Report is the landmark Ontario document that established that being "on call" had value in low volume ER's.
• The Dobbin Report is the document that ended work action in northern BC and established that being "on call" had value for GP anaesthetics etc. Alternately, read the full text.
• The Australian Solution is by far the most unique document, because it describes a rural solution that actually works!
• The PAIRO Report gives the resident's perspective. Refreshing.
• The WONCA paper is the rural training document that is given lip service everywhere, but rarely has been read.  Alternately, read the entire report.
• The CMA Report of 1992 demonstrates trends of increasing or stable rural population and decreasing rural physician population. If only it's recommendations had been implemented back then...

• Small/Rural Hospital Emergency Department Physician Service Ontario's "Scott Report." March 1995.
• The Dobbin Report. Details of the 1998 BC deal that pays a bonus for low volume emergency room call, GP-anesthetic call and much more.
• A New Rural Emergency on-call Remuneration Program. Details of the Sept 1998 Alberta deal that pays a bonus for low volume emergency room call.
• Community Sponsored Contracts available for 1-2 MD towns in Ontario. Press release and Fact Sheet. 1996.
• Ontario Northern Group Funding Plan contract available for northern 3-7 MD towns. Fact Sheet. 1998.
• The Rural Emergency Room Support Plan (Ontario). This details the late 1999 deal and its problems.
• The SRPC-Ontario and PAIRO Blueprint is an expert report on how to reform rural medicine in an integrated fashion. It is also available as a review. Education - Rural Practice - Appendices
• In follow-up to the blueprint A fair share for rural health at the millennium produced by the Ontario Region of the SRPC and the Rural Section of the OMA, discusses a list of priorities for rural incentives and templates for their implementation. November 1999.
• The Québec Experience. This article from the Spring 1998 Issue of the CJRM describes some of the medical school and postgraduate programs in place in Québec to encourage the exposure of medical trainees to Québec's rural areas.
• The Newfoundland Memorandum of Understanding. This represents an understanding on which there might be a new contract in Newfoundland for both fee for service and salaried physicians. October 1998.
• The September 1999 Report on the effects of the 1993 closures in Saskatchewan of ER rooms and acute beds in 52 mostly 1 and 2 doctor hospitals an average of 51 Km from the next nearest hospital.
• The Report of the RPAP Coordinating Committee Working Group on Rural Medical Education. (Alberta)  September 1999.
• The Report of the RPAP Coordinating Committee Working Group on Advanced Skills Training. (Alberta)  September 1999.
• Access to Defibrillation Conference Report. 1999.
• CMA's Projections of Physician Workforce Supply in Rural and Remote Areas of Canada. 1999.
• Canadian Health Network's "Resource Mapping of Rural Health Information in Canada." October 1999. Executive summary - Full document.
• The McKendry Report executive summary and 145 page document. December 1999.
• CFPC Working Group on Postgraduate Education for Rural Family Practice. March 1999. Executive summary.
• The Expert Panel report "Shaping Ontario's Physician Workforce" summary and 113 page document. January 2001.
• The February 2000 SRP-ON paper on Primary Care Reform and the HSRC report on Primary Care Reform and appendices.
• The Now Alliance 12 point plan media release and the 12-point Action Plan. February 2000.
• The CMA rural policy paper. September 2000.
• The June 2000 Northern Ontario Rural Medical School proposal NORMS.
• The Fyke Commission Report . April 2001. Central committee response.
• The Melbourne Manifesto (rural WONCA) about recruitment of overseas trained doctors (IMG's).
• The BC Reproductive Care Program's Review of Nelson and recommendations to decentralize perinatal services.
• Romanow Report on the future of Health Care. Chapter 7 - Background - Executive Summary
• Ministerial Advisory Council on Rural Health Report. English Summary - French Summary - English Full - French Full
• Ontario Rural and Northern Group Physician Agreement contract available for 1-7 MD towns. Fact Sheet. 2004.
• Proceedings of the GP Surgery Symposium. June 2007. Part A - Part B - Part C

• Needs of Rural Physicians. In order to assure sustainable physician based health care services in a rural community, one must ensure that there is enough volume of a wide enough range of services to allow sufficient funding for enough doctors to be able to support each other in a reasonable call schedule. Hal Irvine MD FCPC, Carol Rowntree MD CCFP, Jim Thompson MD CCFP (EM). November 22, 1994.
• Rural Midwifery. To the old and now illegal unlicensed practitioners these new health professionals are "midwives in suits." Can this new breed help sustain maternity care services for rural women, or are they yet another establishing force, brought in from outside? Peter Hutten-Czapski MD CCFP. August 16, 1999.
• Rural Physicians' Perspective of Midwifery in Sundre, Alberta. Rural family physicians and midwives philosophically share much in common. Continuity of care, family-centered care and providing non-interventionist care of low risk pregnancies and deliveries are central tenets to both groups. Carol Rowntree MD CCFP, Hal Irvine MD CCFP FCFP, Jim Thompson MD CCFP (EM), Darren Larsen MD, Janet Morse MD CCFP. December 22, 1994.
• Toward Development of a National Rural Health Strategy. A report of the National Liberal Rural Caucus, April 30, 1999. Associated Press Release.
• Barer and Stoddart released a discussion paper on September 16, 1999, entitled Improving Access to Needed Medical Services in Rural and Remote Canadian Communities: Recruitment and Retention Revisited. (Full report - Official SRPC comment - Unofficial rural review) They are unrepentant on an earlier paper of theirs that resulted in reducing medical school admissions in Canada by 10%.
• A Position Paper Prepared for Rural Health Research in the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. 1999.

• Rural Critical Care. Jim Thompson MD CCFP (EM), Keith MacLellan MD CM, Tom O'Neill MB, BcH, CCFP. June 27, 1996.

Back to top of page