The new president of the Yukon Medical Association (YMA) aims to improve the understanding of residential school impacts within the medical community.

Dr. Ken Quong was named the new president of the YMA Friday afternoon at the association's annual general assembly held at the Coast High Country Inn.

Quong served as the president previously, in the late 1990s.

Following the announcement, Quong outlined a number of his priorities for his term as president.

Improving Yukon doctors' education about the impact of residential schools is high among them.

"This past winter, I have been on sabbatical but working maybe 10 days a month in Watson Lake, and I've had the real privilege of meeting some people who have shared their experience with me,” he said.

"It's going to be one of my focuses to bring that education to this community; because it's a small Yukon medical community, I think it would be amazing to achieve some level of greater understanding of the residential school experience among the physicians.

"I have an opportunity here I don't want to miss,” he said.

While the government has touted the successes of its doctor recruitment strategy, the ongoing issue of "orphan patients” remains a priority for Quong.

"It's still our issue, because everyday we face pressure from patients who don't have doctors, who have real medical problems and so it's in our interest to solve that problem,” he said.

There are about 18 Yukoners who are currently medical residents, Quong noted. His goal is to recruit most, if not all of them.

"When people come from here, they have a sense of what it's like here, they fit in easily, the community knows them and they know the community. It's a good fit,” he said.

Quong is a born and raised Yukoner himself. He attended medical school at the University of British Columbia, graduating in 1987.

He worked in B.C. and in what is now Nunavut, before moving back to the Yukon in the early 1990s.

Dr. Rao Tadepalli has served as the YMA president for the past nine years.

"I'm so thankful for him (Quong) stepping up to the plate,” Tadepalli said Friday. "It is a hard, grueling job to be the president. It takes quite a bit of time and effort, and it was time for me to move.”

Tadepalli was nominated by the Yukon doctors to serve as the territory's representative on the Canadian Medical Association's board of directors.

He will be appointed officially by the CMA at the organization's annual general assembly in August 2014.

Moving into his new role, Tadepalli explained that he'll have to broaden his lens to include national health issues.

Addressing the impacts of the social determinants of health, including income level, education, living situations, etc. and senior and end-of-life care will be among his top priorities.

Premier Darrell Pasloski offered his congratulations to Quong and thanked Tadepalli for his contributions over the past nine years at the YMA's AGM Friday afternoon.

The premier highlighted the government's work to improve collaborative care opportunities, including nurse practitioners legislation, and forthcoming pharmacy legislation.

During a brief question and answer period following his remarks, Pasloski was asked what the government is doing to protect the Yukon's environment.

In asking his question, the doctor highlighted the importance of the natural environment to overall health and well-being, particularly mental well being.

Pasloski noted the Yukon is 483,000 square kilometres in size, with a population of 37,000, and that only B.C. has more protected areas in Canada.

There's still more work to do, he agreed, but "it's an economy that pays the bills.

"It's through the revenues that governments generate from businesses and from people working that pay for the services and programs,” Pasloski said.

"It's those revenues that pay doctor bills, that build hospitals, that build schools and build roads.”