Getting Your Money’s Worth in 2025
We have both read and heard your feedback as we prepare for the SOGC’s new Strategic Plan, which will be presented at the Annual General Meeting, as part of the ACSC in Whistler from June 17 to 20, 2025. The Board of Directors and the management team both have taken note of your suggestions following the October member survey, and we thank you for your participation. Many new issues are appearing on our radar; and the practice of our profession is becoming increasingly challenging. Some of the highlights included the importance of staying in constant contact with our members and providing you with different tools that will help you keep your skills up to date, as well as offering simple ways for you to navigate through them. Many of your recommendations are already available, but unfortunately, they are often buried in our website.
Our health systems only operate at one speed: fast! It is always unsettling to meet a new patient who is already aware of a recent publication we haven’t heard about yet. It’s even more unsettling if the information comes from social media, where misinformation and, worse, disinformation, are widespread, especially regarding sexual and reproductive health. Thanks to funding from Health Canada and support from the industry, we are now able to prepare educational tools for women and members of the LGBTQ+ community on difficult topics such as endometriosis, contraception, and soon, menopause. Just as we did with the RSV vaccination, we will be able to send you a collection of tools for you, your patients and their families on specific topics. All public education tools are freely accessible on our website, and I invite you to go take a look…there’s a wealth of information that is regularly updated.
You may not know this, but our guidelines cost, on average, $1 per word…we have to pay our bills at the SOGC, and the budget is based on the following revenue sources: 33% member dues, 33% industry support and 33% grants from government and private organizations. Members alone cannot fund the education of all health care professionals, which is why our guidelines and journal are free only to membership. As for conferences and training, we keep costs as close to actual expenses as possible. Did you know that it costs approximately $300 per person to cover meals and room rentals? We also add the costs of speaker travel, staff, IT teams, etc. Our budget is presented at each Annual General Meeting, and we maintain complete transparency. We expect a budget of around $8 million for 2025, and guess what? It was $10 million in 2015 when I was the President of the SOGC. Our goal is to diversify our revenue sources to return to that level of financial stability, as COVID-19 has had a significant impact on industry contributions.
As you know, the cost of living has risen dramatically in 2024, except for the remuneration of doctors in most provinces. We now have enough data to shed light on the pay gap between men and women, as well as the difference in billing for treating men and women. This, too, is part of the work-life balance conversation, which we will discuss in plenary in Whistler. In the meantime, since you will be coming so far to visit the beautiful mountains in June, plan to join us for a little hike -that, too, is important! Personally, that’s how I maintain my mental health, and I come back even more passionate about serving women and those who care for them.
2025 will be a year of adaptation and great opportunities!
Dr. Diane Francoeur
FRCSC, MHCM, ICD.D
Chief Executive Officer