COVID-19 Update (April 8): Life-saving content

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COVID-19 Update (April 8): Life-saving content

April 8, 2020 | Author: Dr. Susan Moffatt-Bruce

3 MIN READ

Dear Fellows,

This week I passed my first 90 days as Royal College chief executive officer. Suffice it to say, it has been filled with many great opportunities and unexpected challenges, and I am grateful for the support and collegiality that I have experienced from so many of you. It is my hope that when we get to the other side of this pandemic, it will be as a stronger Fellowship and more resilient Royal College.

I have a lot of updates to share with you this week. I hope you find some value in this information.

Free eBook: Navigating Medical Emergencies (now with COVID-19 content)

Our interactive Navigating Medical Emergencies eBook is filled with potentially life-saving content on managing acutely ill patients. Use it to seek out specific topics or jump between chapters. Originally launched in 2018, this free, practical eBook was updated this week with new COVID-19 content aimed at frontline clinicians.

Access the eBook from our website.

Please contact ppi@royalcollege.ca with any specific feedback or questions.

Supporting call for guidelines on PPE use and mobilizing Canadian production

I have received numerous inquiries on what the Royal College is doing to advocate for the physical safety of our Fellows and residents who are responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Monday, we took a public stand with our partners in the Canadian Medical Forum to urge federal, provincial and territorial governments to ramp up manufacturing and guide the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Building community through stories

As this crisis continues to evolve, I appreciate how the vernacular has changed from “social distancing” to “physical distancing,” in recognition of the importance of human connection. In the spirit of connecting as a community of Fellows, I would like to gauge your interest in launching a “Perspectives” series in our Royal College Newsroom. The idea is to publish your first-person experiences or reflections on teamwork, ingenuity, triumph and hope, amidst these very difficult circumstances. I am hopeful we can encourage each other through these stories. Please email newsroom@royalcollege.ca if you would like to contribute (350-400 words).

To get the ideas flowing, I would like to highlight two recent stories in our newsroom:

Treating homeless communities amid a global pandemic (featuring Dr. Jeffrey Turnbull)

COVID-19 simulation series delivers virtual reality experience (featuring Dr. Glenn Posner)

National COVID-19 Volunteer Recruitment Campaign

As some of you may have seen, the Government of Canada is currently seeking volunteers to help with COVID-19 in the areas of (1) case tracking and contact tracing, (2) health system surge capacity and (3) case data collection and reporting. The closing date to apply is April 24, 2020.

Please visit the Government of Canada website for full details and to apply online: https://emploisfp-psjobs.cfp-psc.gc.ca/psrs-srfp/applicant/page1800?toggleLanguage=en&poster=1437722

Free cybersecurity course

The CEO of Saegis, a subsidiary of the Canadian Medical Protective Association, reached out to me earlier this week to share a COVID-19 cybersecurity course being offered for free to Canadian health care professionals. Its aim is to help protect hospitals, organizations and health care professionals from cyberattacks, which we are all at heightened risk of during this crisis.

The course is two modules estimated to take seven minutes each to complete. Access the COVID-19 Healthcare Cybersecurity eLearning online.

Thank you for your engagement and support

In closing, I would like to thank you all for your response to my last email. Many of you sent in resources and wellness tips, or provided general feedback or story ideas. This was truly heartening and reinforced what I said in my last update: we have tremendous strength in our Fellows. We are working our way through responses, and plan to update our resource pages in the coming days.