Meet the New CPSM Council President, Dr. Nader Shenouda

“Medicine is a field of curiosity and innovation,” says Dr. Nader Shenouda, who assumed the position of president at the CPSM AGM on June 28th, 2023. He joined the CPSM council because of his curiosity and interest in health policies and practice rules. Now, seven years later, he has a clear idea of what he wants to accomplish in his two years as president.

He emphasizes collaboration and transparency as part of his main objectives. He will aim to give the other council members comprehensive explanations and background information on each subject under debate. According to him, "Decisions made by engaged council members that are impartial and truly informed are essential to CPSM’s mandate."

Learn more about Dr. Shenouda, Council president:

Can you share some background about your practice journey?

After graduating from medical school and completing my postgraduate training, I worked as a medical school faculty. A few years later, I served as a general practitioner in a few rural areas. As my family decided to explore a new life and immigrated to North America, I completed the required licensing examinations and joined the ready-to-practice International Medical Graduate (IMG) program. I have been practicing in rural Manitoba since 2007.

Through my practicing journey in Canada, I pursued my Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada LMCC certification, Certification in the College of Family Physicians (CCFP), and in 2022 I obtained my Fellowship in The College of Family Physicians of Canada (FCFP).

Why did you decide to join CPSM Council?

I believe that CPSM council is in charge of establishing the highest standards of medical care that promotes public safety. The council, in my opinion, is the best traditional example of the profession's self-governance and sets a great example for the public.

As a Councillor, you have participated on several committees. What perspective have you gained from being on those committees?

Since I joined CPSM, I have had the honour of being a member of the Complaint Committee, the Investigation Committee, and chair of the latter. My work on the two committees brought an important perspective: professional mistakes will happen; but the question is: how can CPSM members improve themselves through education and rehabilitation in a fair way to achieve the public safety mandate of CPSM? In the last two years as president-elect, I chaired the Finance, Audit, and Risk Management Committee of CPSM. The Committee was able to make several decisions regarding how to meet the financial needs of the newly developed Quality programs of CPSM. Also, risk mitigation (for instance, cyber security) was a focus of this committee.

What do you hope to accomplish in your years as President?

Being elected President is a privilege that I will hold to the highest standard. Upon reflection, in the next couple years, I will strive to accomplish the following goals:

1)    Integrating and emphasizing collaborative, patient-centered care. This involves developing a standard of care and practice where there is an alliance between emergency and family medicine physicians and different specialists.

2)    Working on continuing to build trusting relationships with Indigenous communities and continue the work started by the Truth and Reconciliation Advisory Circle including developing a well-established curriculum that addresses Indigenous healthcare and restorative justice.

3)    Improving the relationship between the CPSM and registrants and making quality of care, a priority of CPSM.

4)    Continuing promoting collaboration with the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba with the goal of improving safe and timely patient access to medications.

5)    Enhancing the scope/role that physician assistants and clinical assistants play in safe and accessible patient care.

What is your advice to physicians who are being impacted by physician burnout, shortages, system issues, and other challenges in the medical profession?

Physician burnout

The past few years have absolutely been very challenging for everyone. Despite the unprecedented stresses that doctors and other healthcare professionals have been under, they have remained selfless and have continued to provide exceptional, necessary care to patients. We recognize that, until recently, the ability to step away from work and replenish our energies has largely been unavailable. This combined with the ongoing professional demands has, inevitably, resulted in increasing burnout among healthcare workers. The reality is, we can’t care for our patients if we don’t first ensure our own mental and physical health is in check. The mental health support of any of us facing burnout can be facilitated through CPSM’s Physician Health Program as well as Doctors Manitoba’s physician wellness programs.

Physician Shortage

There is a need for short-term and long-term planning to address this issue. This includes:

●     Removal of all the non-essential requirements for registration of internationally trained physicians, with a focus on public safety (as per the College mandate).

●     Increase the number of training spots for IMGs in Manitoba to meet the physician demand - this year, the Manitoba Licensure Program for International Medical Graduates training spots have increased to 25 from 20 spots last year.

●     Increase the number of seats in Canadian medical schools to meet the demands of the healthcare system

○     Looking at other provinces such as Ontario, Queen’s University has attempted to combat the current family physician shortage by increasing the number of their medical school seats with the caveat that these seats be dedicated to individuals who are committing to pursuing a family medicine residency. 

Other System issues

There is a need to increase the capacity of our current hospitals (staff and space-wise) to meet the increased health needs of the newcomers to Manitoba and the increased number of aging populations in our province.

Looking back on your career, what are some of your fondest memories and/or achievements?

Some of my fondest memories/achievements have come from the many different roles I’ve had the privilege to play throughout my career:

●     Rural community practice - working in family and emergency medicine where you are working withlimited resources. This has challenged me to problem-solve in ways that I was never exposed to before and made me more adaptable to uncertain situations. Seeing a smile on the face of an elderly person who I looked after was always worth a lot to me!! 

●     Mentorship - through my practice, I was able to serve as a mentor to many aspiring medical students. As a mentor, I took every opportunity to get them involved and ensure they were comfortable with the clinical environments and procedures. These are our next generation of physicians and ensuring they have a support system to rely on through this rigorous journey is a priority.

• Educator - as an IMG myself, I am very happy to assist in helping other IMGs make their way through the system by working as a tutor in the Pearls.ce program from the College of Family Physicians of Canada, which is a prerequisite to CCFP. Our main goal is to provide the best quality of care possible. Our patients are our main priority, and ensuring that our healthcare workers are equipped with the necessary skills is of the utmost importance to me as a physician.