Marcia Clark, MD, FRCSC, has been selected as the Royal College’s new President-Elect for the 2024-25 term. In this new role, she aims to support the CEO recruitment and transition process and champion the implementation of the new strategic plan, as well as the continued advancement of the CanMEDS Framework. 

“I’m looking forward to gaining a deeper understanding of member needs, especially in the face of a dynamic and evolving health care environment,” says Dr. Clark. “The past four years have seen much change and adaptation of our health care systems. Be it in understanding how technology enhances or is integrated into health care, the impacts of the environment on health and systems, or the challenges of our working environment — our members want to feel supported and to be able to flourish within the adapting societal needs. Our Royal College has an evolving role.”

Dr. Clark is an orthopedic surgeon focusing on arthritis care (arthroplasty), and a clinical associate professor at the University of Calgary. She is the deputy head of surgery for Alberta Health Services Calgary Zone, representing over 400 surgeons and overseeing five hospitals and 100,000 surgeries yearly. She has been accountable for operational planning and teams, and led site-based communications, risk management, policy adaptation and safety monitoring during COVID-19. This role increased her understanding of health policy, systems and administrative decision making.

A member of the Royal College Council since 2018, Dr. Clark has served on many Royal College committees. In addition to Council, she currently serves on the Board of Royal College Canada International as vice-chair. Dr. Clark has previously served on the Executive Committee, the Committee on Specialties, the Simulation Accreditation Committee, Regional Advisory Committee 1 (chair) and the Surgical Foundations Advisory Committee (vice-chair), contributing to entrustable professional activities development and the rollout of competency-based medical education nationally.

Dr. Clark helped develop and teach the Simulation Educator Training (SET) course that the Royal College has delivered for 10 years. She has represented the Royal College internationally in delivering medical education topics in China, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. She was the Royal College’s 2017 Simulation Summit co-chair and has helped design the International Conference on Residency Education (ICRE) and ICRE-China programs. She was the Surgical Foundations program director at both the University of Alberta and Calgary.

Dr. Clark will assume the President-Elect role on February 21, 2024.