A respirologist from Saskatoon is the new president of the Saskatchewan Medical Association. Dr. John Gjevre was elected during the Spring Representative Assembly, which was held virtually. He succeeds Dr. Eben Strydom, a Melfort physician, and he will serve a one-year term.

One of Dr. Gjevre’s goals is to re-establish connections among doctors after two years of the pandemic, barring any further waves of COVID-19 requiring public health measures. He says, “It’s important that we start to re-engage with each other, see each other, within pandemic boundaries. He plans to meet physicians where they work to make these connections. SMA’s new president suggests that some physicians are feeling isolated and some are feeling disconnected because of the pandemic, so the SMA needs to rebuild relationships among its members.

Dr. Gjevre also hopes during his term to acknowledge the resilience of health care workers.