The Family Medicine Summit (Summit) Planning Committee is an operational committee of the ACFP. The Summit, held in the late winter/early spring of each year, provides a forum for continuous learning and sharing of best practices on a broad variety of clinical topics that are timely and relevant to family physicians practising in a wide range of settings. The philosophical basis of the conference is that the Summit program is conceived for family physicians by family physicians.

PURPOSE

The Committee is responsible for the development and delivery of the ACFP’s Family Medicine Summit (FMS) CPD program.

OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES

The Summit Planning Committee will:

• Provide input into the overall Summit conference format and design.
• Identify and analyze the continuous professional development (CPD) needs of the target audience (family physicians) to determine educational objectives that will shape the planning and delivery of the event.
• Develop learning needs and select speakers/presenters.
• Ensure that the program content is relevant to family medicine, and that an effective selection of up-to-date educational experiences for family physicians working in a variety of settings is provided.
• Ensure that the planning, content and conduct of the program is compliant with CFPC Mainpro+ Certification and meets acceptable ethical standards.
• Read, understand, and adhere to the ACFP Volunteer Code of Conduct and the Roles and Expectations of Committee Members found in the Volunteer Information Manual.

The actions and negotiations of each member on behalf of the Committee must be approved by the Summit Planning Committee and the ACFP.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership will have provincial representation to ensure that the CPD needs of the ACFP’s membership throughout the province are met. Committee Members must be ACFP Members in good standing. The Summit Planning Committee will consist of a minimum of five (5) members and a maximum of nine (9) members who will serve a 3-year term, with an opportunity for renewal for a second 3-year term. The renewal for the second term is not subject to the ACFP’s Nominations process. Whether the renewable term will be offered to a Committee member is determined by the Chair, Executive Director, and Staff Liaison assigned to the Committee.

Membership will include:

• Chair
• Up to seven (7) Members at Large
• CPD Advisory Committee Chair

Committee Chairs are selected by the existing Committee Members, recommended to the Governance Advisory Committee, and approved by the Board. If a Chair cannot be chosen or elected by the Committee, nominations will be sought through the regular nomination process. Operational Committee Chairs and Members are presented to the ACFP Membership for their information at the AMM and posted on the ACFP website.

To give all Operational Committee Members an opportunity to lead, Committee Chair terms will be for a maximum of three consecutive years based on the July 1 to June 30 term cycle. A Committee Member’s term supersedes their term as a Committee Chair. For example, if a Member is serving in their second 3-year term and they have only one year left, then their term as Chair ends when their Committee Member term ends in one year. If a Committee Member is starting a new 3-year term, for example, and they become Chair, they can choose to serve a maximum of three years, renewing annually their commitment as Chair through the Committee Staff Liaison. If a Chair decides to step down at any time, they simply advise the Committee Staff Liaison of their intent and together they work the current Committee Members to recruit for their replacement.

In addition to the membership, it should be noted that the President and the Executive Director of the ACFP are members of all ACFP Committees without voting privileges.

Internal Linkages:

Linkage to the CPD Advisory Committee will ensure alignment with the ACFP’s mandate and responsibilities in areas of CPD development and Mainpro+ certification. The Summit is the ACFP’s annual premier educational conference for family physicians. To help inform guide, and determine program content, feedback from CPD surveys will be provided to the Summit Planning Committee.

MEMBER EXPECTATIONS

The actions of each member shall serve the best interests of the Committee, the ACFP Board, and the wider membership. It is expected that each member will:

• Know and support the organization’s vision, mission, and belief statement
• Know the Committee’s scope of work and Terms of Reference, and assist in developing future goals and strategic direction for the Committee as required
• Positively promote the work of the Committee and the ACFP through interactions with the ACFP membership and external colleagues and stakeholders
• Attend the first face-to-face spring planning meeting, as this is the most important meeting of the Summit Planning Committee Attend the Family Medicine Summit conference
• Adhere to the ACFP Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest Policy and declare to the Committee if at any time you think you might have a potential conflict.
• At the point of onboarding, ask as many questions as necessary of the Staff Liaison and Chair to bring yourself up-to-date with the work of the Committee and the ACFP as quickly as possible
• Help to make members, especially new people, feel welcome
• Assist in recruiting new members
• Complete your three-year term of office

Meetings and Communications

Guidelines to facilitate decision-making and communication:

• Attend at least one (1) face-to-face and at least three (3) virtual meetings as scheduled. If unable to attend, advise the Staff Liaison as soon as possible in advance of the meeting. If unable to attend, provide your feedback to the Staff Liaison or Chair on any matters to be discussed at the meeting.
• Prepare for meetings by reviewing the meeting agenda and applicable documents, including draft meeting minutes
• Contribute to the meeting discussions and participate in decisions made; encourage others to do the same
• Be kind and considerate of other members’ ideas even if you do not share the same opinion
• Engage in and be responsive to email communication, dialogue, and committee actions required between formal meetings; respond to requests within 48 hours or as otherwise directed by the sender
• Perform agreed upon tasks as decided in committee meetings in a timely fashion
• Report progress of tasks as requested
• Complete meeting or program evaluations and/or ACFP surveys as required

REPORTING RELATIONSHIP

As an Operational Committee, the Summit Planning Committee is accountable to the Executive Director. The Committee will make recommendations to the ACFP Staff Liaison for the implementation of existing programs and initiatives, as well as to the ACFP Board through the Executive Director for extension or development of new programs or initiatives with budget or resource implications.

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT

Administrative and operational support for meetings and ongoing communications will be provided by the ACFP. A senior Staff Liaison will be assigned to the committee who will be responsible for formulating agendas; collecting and presenting information regarding the areas of discussion; passing on discussion, recommendations, and input from the committee to appropriate parties; and will facilitate the work of the Committee between meetings. The Staff Liaison will develop and forward reports to the Summit Planning Committee Chair for approval and submit same to the Executive Director.

MEETINGS

Meetings will be called by the Chair and facilitated by the Staff Liaison. It is expected that the Summit Planning Committee will meet face-to-face in the spring each year and via teleconference as determined as necessary by the Chair, and have ongoing communication via email between meetings. The face-to-face planning meeting allows the Summit Planning Committee to review and confirm the conference format and schedule, review evaluation summaries from the previous Summit, and determine topics, learning objectives and speakers for the upcoming Summit. A significant amount of work is also done by the Planning Committee through email communication and teleconference meetings (as required) during the months of September through February, prior to the Summit. The Committee Chair shall report on the meetings of the Planning Committee to the ACFP Board Committee via the Staff Liaison. As in-person meetings are limited, it is the ACFP’s expectation that the members-at-large endeavor to attend any in-person planning meetings, teleconferences, and the Summit.