Advocacy
CAGS includes in its mission, the pursuit of exemplary surgical care for all Canadians. Implicit in this mission is a role for CAGS to advocate for the optimization of access to surgical care by vulnerable populations, including those in rural and remote communities. Canadian General Surgeons are already active in providing the highest standards of surgical care for rural and remote areas. However, advances in our understanding of systems of surgical care, coupled with exponential advances in communication technologies, have the potential to at last address longstanding disparities in access to surgical care for all communities in Canada.
The need to advocate for the specialty of General Surgery remains a high priority for all CAGS Members. CAGS continues to advocate for the development of programs and services that can enhance the lives of General Surgeons such as the creation of a national locum registry, quality on-line educational tools such as EBRS to allow busy Surgeons to obtain CME credits remotely, and by providing a robust network of General Surgeons who can tap into a powerful group of peers when needed.
