Who We Are

Doctors of BC is a democratic association representing more than 16,000 physician members.

Mission

Working together, we support BC’s doctors to be leaders in delivering and improving patient care.

Vision

Doctors making a difference for patients by:

• Providing quality patient-centred, culturally safe care.
• Being trusted leaders and partners in health care system transformation.
• Achieving professional satisfaction by feeling valued.

Values

Better together. We are:

• Caring
• Pursuing excellence
• Courageous
• Inclusive

Our strategic plan guides us in our work to transform the health care system and improve patient care. 

Download the Strategic Plan

Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation

Doctors of BC is committed to advancing truth and reconciliation across the profession in alignment with the Declaration of Commitment—Cultural Safety and Humility in Health Services Delivery for First Nations and Indigenous people in BC, signed in 2019.

Direction and priorities

• Increase the influence of the physician voice.
• Promote physician health, wellness, and safety.
• Ensure fair compensation and provide business support.
• Engage members on the future of the profession and the culture of medicine.

Principles

• Equity. Support all members to access the same participation opportunities at Doctors of BC without barriers. Apply an equity lens to all aspects of our work.
• Modernization. Provide exceptional and easily accessible services to our members, recruit and retain great staff, and assist physicians in modernizing their practices.
• Sustainability. Consider the environmental impact of our work, and the sustainability of the health care system. Respect the capacity of physicians and Doctors of BC staff in our work.

Our governance model has a dual-structure:

• Our Representative Assembly (RA) ensures members’ views are fully represented. The 108-member Representative Assembly provides wide-ranging representation from all geographical areas of the province, family physicians and specialists, those practicing in rural and First Nations communities, medical students, residents, members in their early years of practice, and the Canadian Medical Association.
• Our Board of Directors has the legal and fiduciary responsibility to manage the affairs of the Association. The nine-person Board oversees the activities and internal affairs of the Association and sets strategic direction and policy.

The two bodies strike a balance between an efficient, nimble governance body (the Board), and a body that will ensure members’ views are fully represented (the RA).

Constitution and bylaws

The member-funded Association of Doctors of BC—commonly known as Doctors of BC—is governed by an established constitution and bylaws. Explore full details of the Constitution and Bylaws.

In January 1900, the BC Medical Association was established, with Dr R.E. McKechnie, a surgeon from Nanaimo, as its president. Founded on two primary principles, the association was to guard and strengthen the economic security of doctors and to promote education so that the best medical minds had a forum to share the knowledge of the profession. Membership was open to BC doctors with an annual fee of just $2.00.

The first annual meeting, held in August 1900, opened with an address by the president on "The Relation of the Profession to Politics," in which Dr McKechnie emphasized the importance of the association in the influence of legislation that would protect the practice of medicine.

After decades of advocating for physicians’ best interests, in 2014 the BCMA was re-named Doctors of BC to better describe who we are. Today, the association fervently supports 16,000+ physician members and tirelessly works with government to enhance BC’s health care system, as well as improve the lives of BC’s physicians and the health of their patients.

You can find a more detailed history of Doctors of BC’s past in Dr Brad Fritz’s 2017 book “The BCMA, Then and Now”, available for free via PDF. 

See the list of Doctors of BC’s past presidents.