July 2022

Dear Colleagues,

It was a pleasure meeting many of you in person at our successful June ACSC event and hearing your stories and insight as valued members of our organization. We had the opportunity to learn about many timely and important topics related to women’s health. I would like to thank our session speakers and partners for making this all possible.

During the ACSC we also welcomed our new President, Dr. R. Douglas Wilson in person among many of his peers. You can read his Presidential Address here.

We had a very well attended Annual General Meeting where we voted on three important governance changes intended to support the future of the SOGC. Two out of the three proposed changes were supported by the necessary two thirds of the votes cast. What does this mean? It means we are reducing the size of our Board of Directors to eight to twelve in keeping with good governance practices. As well at the AGM, we made adjustments to the bylaws in order to remain compliant with CNCA regulations.

The changes made at the Annual General meeting are necessary for the future sustainability of the organization.  The operational changes that support the new bylaws will begin to be implemented over the summer months.

A detailed message from Dr. Wilson can be found HERE and we invite you to meet our new SOGC Board by visiting our updated leadership page.

Another subject that is surely at the front for all of us, is the recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade. The SOGC is being proactive on the potential impact we will see in Canada and we invite you to listen to our most recent podcast episode on this topic with our special guest Dr. R Doug Wilson and myself as host.

Our now focus is now on our upcoming FMC Quebec that is scheduled to take place in Tremblant, Quebec (October 6-7^th 2022). The SOGC moving towards in-person meetings has been a refreshing change and more precisely a reminder of how events once were. We will continue to exercise caution as we move ahead to ensure we can keep doing so.

I hope to see you in beautiful Tremblant this fall until then stay safe and make sure to enjoy your summer.

SAVE THE DATES: FMC Quebec and ON CME 2022!

Mark your calendars! The 2022 FMC QC is taking place October 6-7 in Mont Tremblant, Quebec and our Ontario CME takes place in December 1-2 in Toronto.

THE SOGC’S ACADEMIC COUNCIL

The SOGC is proud to have concluded the first ACSC back in person after two years of virtual conferences. The Academic Council and its committees have worked continuously throughout the year to plan a multitude of endeavors for ACSC including the academic half-day, medical student program and various awards.

The Academic Council presented five awards at this year’s ACSC; the Excellence in Research Award to Dr. Deborah Money, the Mentorship Award to Dr. Wendy Wolfman, the Andree Gruslin Award to Dr. Charles Litwin, the Robert Reid Award to Dr. Jennifer McCall, and the Phil Hahn Award to Ryan Chow.

THE SOGC JOB BANK

With vacancies in the healthcare field at an all-time high, the SOGC hopes to bridge a gap between those interested in career opportunities and those looking to fill positions within their department or practice.

The SOGC is expanding the capabilities of its Job Bank, allowing partners more flexibility in their recruitment efforts and maximizing the impact of the SOGC Job Bank on their ROI.

The SOGC Job Bank now offers three, six and one-year subscription options, with unlimited job postings and variability in the length of each posting.

For more details, click HERE.  

THE CRISIS IN U.S. HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS WITH DR. R. DOUGLAS WILSON 

In this episode, our host, Dr. Diane Francoeur, speaks with Dr. R. Douglas Wilson about the crisis in reproductive rights taking place in the United States and what the overturning of Roe v. Wade means for Canadians. 

Streaming now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major listening platforms.

Additional information from CMPA regarding the nature of CMPA assistance for physicians providing abortions to non-resident patients can be found HERE.

MONKEY POX STATEMENT

Read our Interim Guidance on Monkeypox Exposure for Pregnant People statement authored by Vanessa Poliquin, Andrea Atkinson, Isabelle Boucoiran, Chelsea Elwood, Julie van Schalkwyk, Mark H. Yudin, Deborah Money, on behalf of the SOGC’s Infectious Diseases Committee, HERE.

HEALTH CANADA UPDATE: HYPOALLERGENIC INFANT FORMULA SHORTAGE

Canada is currently experiencing a shortage of hypoallergenic infant formula. This problem is the result of the unexpected closure of a major North American manufacturing facility operated by Abbott Laboratories in Michigan. This has particularly affected specialized infant formulas, which are often used as the primary source of nutrition for infants with metabolic disorders, severe gastrointestinal diseases and allergic intolerance. 

A national clinical decision tree entitled, “Use of Specialized Infant Formula During a Shortage” has been recently developed to support healthcare providers across the country guide treatment decisions, and support families and caregivers to make appropriate formula choices while rationing the use of specialized infant formulas. Health Canada facilitated bringing together experts from a broad community of healthcare stakeholders for its development, including: Canadian Pediatric Society, Canadian Pharmacists Association, Food Allergy Canada, Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Dietitians of Canada, Hospital for Sick Children and McMaster Children’s Hospital.   This tool offers specific guidance to healthcare providers when counseling families, discussing safe alternatives, and conserving limited national supplies of specialized formulas.

JUNE AND JULY CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINES

Guideline No. 427: Folic Acid and Multivitamin Supplementation for Prevention of Folic Acid–Sensitive Congenital Anomalies

R. Douglas Wilson, MD, MSc and Deborah L. O’Connor, PhD

Guideline No. 428: Management of Dichorionic Twin Pregnancies

Elad Mei-Dan, MD, Venu Jain, MD, PhD, Nir Melamed, MD, Kenneth I. Lim, MD, Amir Aviram, MD, Greg Ryan, MB and Jon Barrett, MD

SOGC members can access all guidelines by signing into their SOGC Portal.

Click HERE to read the FAQ on accessing guidelines.

MANAGEMENT OF UTERINE FIBROIDS

Claim 3 hours of MOC 3 credits after completing this course! In this course, you will learn to:

• Discuss the emerging role of medical management in uterine fibroids
• Individualize the approach to medical management of uterine fibroids
• Differentiate the therapeutic and adverse effects of medical therapies available for treatment of uterine fibroids