North America region young doctors
Announced on World Family Doctor Day, May 19, 2014, Polaris is the newest Young Doctor movement in WONCA.
Since its inception, WONCA has promoted various supportive environments
for junior family medicine or general practice physicians. Such backing
became even more evident with the introduction of regional young
doctors' movements (YDM), the first being the Vasco da Gama Movement in
2005. Since then, each region has slowly but surely adopted its own
version of the YDM – all regions except North America.
Several barriers, including strong national family physician academies,
large distances, and limited knowledge of WONCA’s existence, stood in
the way of such a movement in this part of the world. Initial interest
after the 2010 WONCA World Conference in Cancun generated momentum for a
North American YDM; however, the aforementioned barriers proved too
formidable at the time.
At the 2013 WONCA World Conference in Prague, a renewed energy and
desire for a North American YDM emerged. Furthermore, the timing for
such a Movement proved perfect, secondary to continued global
interconnectivity and the need for improved healthcare systems – among
many other factors. The generation of physicians entering the profession
today reached maturity in an increasingly globalized world where junior
physicians more than ever want to "think globally and act locally."
With key support from the Caribbean, American, and Canadian professional
family physician associations as well as the WONCA North America
Regional President, Dr Ruth Wilson, the region launched its WONCA
North America YDM in a strategic manner on May 19 – World Family Doctor
Day.
The Movement’s formal name is Polaris, representing the brightest
stellar body in the celestial sky seen by all those within the Northern
Hemisphere. This star has served to lead travelers and seafarers during
their journeys for centuries.
As generation gives way to generation, it is our hope that the Polaris
and all YDMs together can help guide the profession forward into a
bright future.
Kyle Hoedebecke, MD and John Parks, MD
Join the Polaris Movement