No Images? Click here Family MattersYour updates from the University of Alberta Department of Family MedicineFebruary 2019 Message From the ChairRes ipsa loquitur. The thing speaks for itself. This month’s newsletter is packed with news of impressive awards received and accomplishments achieved by DoFM faculty, and they speak for themselves better than I could speak for them. I’ll just stay out of the way this month, and let them do so. Read on! (p.s. Good on you, Mike!) - Dr. Lee Green, Chair, Department of Family Medicine Congratulations Mike Allan named Alberta's Top Doc for 2018 Congratulations to Dr. Michael Allan, who was named the 2018 Family Physician of the Year for Alberta at the March 2019 Family Medicine Summit. Dr. Allan is also a recipient of the Reg. L Perkin Award from the College of Family Physicians of Canada, presented at the Family Medicine Forum in November of 2018. Sheny Khera and Marjan Abbasi Named EZMSA Innovators of the Year Congratulations to Sheny Khera and Marjan Abbasi, who have received the Innovators of the Year Award from the Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association (EZMSA) for the Seniors Community Hub project. The award presentation will be made at the 2019 EZMSA General meeting to be held March 21, 2019. Chris Koo and Lucy Wang Recognized by ACFP Congratulations also to recent graduate Dr. Chris Koo, who received the Alberta College of Family Physicians (ACFP) Family Medicine Resident Leadership Award, as well as medical student Lucy Wang, who received the ACFP Rising Star Student Leadership Award at the 2019 Family Medicine Summit. Decision-Making Capacity Toolkit Launch Congratulations to Jasneet Parmar on the official launch of the Decision-Making Capacity Assessment Model Toolkit (DMCA), which was made at an event on February 25, 2019 at the Delta Hotel South in Edmonton. A partnership between Covenant Health, Alberta Health Services and the University of Alberta, the Toolkit is a practical and evidence-informed resource which was developed based on 12 years of work within Alberta’s healthcare system. It aims to offer information and resources related to Decision-Making Capacity Assessment (DMCA), best practices, capacity-building process and the implementation of the DMCA Model. As the life expectancy of Canadians and prevalence of complex health conditions continues to rise, assessment of independent decision-making capacity emerges as an issue of increasing importance. Use of a comprehensive, standard and sustainable approach by healthcare providers and organizations is essential. The DMCA Toolkit will serve as an important tool in providing support and services to individuals, service providers, and organizations at the local, zonal, and provincial levels as well as beyond Alberta’s provincial borders. For a copy of the Toolkit, please visit www.seniorsnetworkcovenant.ca Staff Welcomes Ali Dixon Alexandra Dixon The BETTER Prevention Practitioner Training Institute is excited to welcome our new team member Alexandra (Ali) Dixon! Ali completed her Master of Public Health degree in the Health Promotion concentration at the University of Alberta in 2017 and previously completed a BSc. in 2012. She comes to the Department with a wide-variety of career experiences including working as an evaluation and improvement consultant with Alberta Health Services, writing for the official newspaper of the American Public Health Association in Washington, D.C., and completing a media fellowship with CBC Radio to improve the communication of health and science information in the broadcast media. She is a born-and-raised Edmontonian, an avid Arsenal soccer fan and can be found training for triathlons in her spare time. Ali is the Implementation Lead for the western branch of the BETTER Training Institute and will be responsible for supporting the implementation of the BETTER Program in primary care organizations and practices interested in adopting the approach in Western Canada Christine Rimell We are pleased to welcome Christine Rimell, who joined the department in the position of CBAS and Development Administrator. Prior to becoming part of the family medicine team, Christine worked in endocrinology and rheumatology in the Department of Medicine here at the U of A, and joins us with research, administration and clinical experience. Christine will provide support to both the CBAS team as well as to the staff and faculty development program (see photo with the staff and faculty development team's introduction below). Christine is an original Edmontonian, and in her spare time enjoys horseback riding, paddle boarding and drinking coffee. Sarah Simpson We are also pleased to welcome Sarah Simpson to the department. Sarah spent her previous couple years with the U of A in obstetrics and gynecology before joining us in family medicine as the undergraduate program secretary. Sarah lives in Edmonton with her fiancé and son, but has previously lived in Calgary, British Columbia and Ontario. In her free time, Sarah enjoys true crime shows, cats, practicing modern calligraphy and spending time at the beach with her family in the summer months. Sarah Simpson Introducing the Faculty and Staff Development Team Welcome to our new Staff and Faculty Development Team: Sudha Koppula, Karen Moniz and Christine Rimell. Staff and Faculty Development Team members Sudha Koppula, Karen Moniz and Christine Rimell Faculty Provide Medical Support at Canada Winter Games "THIS IS OUR MOMENT" The Canada Winter Games took place in Red Deer, Alberta during the last two weeks of February, 2019. Some 3600 athletes from across Canada participated in 19 different sports during this major athletic and cultural event. The youth athletes range in age from 14 to 22. A major event like this requires a huge number of volunteers including medical volunteers. As a family doctor you may be called on to volunteer for a sporting event in your community someday. Four sport medicine physicians from our University are volunteered: DeFreitas, Lebrun, Markevych and Persson. Lebrun, a seasoned veteran as Chief medical officer for the Olympics in Sochi, is a great mentor for physicians interested in sports event work. DeFreitas and Persson have both enjoyed Olympic and Canada Games experience. Markevych was chief medical officer for the Alberta Summer games in Leduc a few years ago. As a family physician in a rural or city setting, you may be asked to help out some day. Consider it please! You will enjoy the athletes, and the volunteer experience. So, if you get a chance to volunteer for a major event in your community here are a few things to keep in mind. · What sport and level are you covering? The Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine (CASEM) website is a great resource for physicians who are interested in field-side care. - submitted by Terry DeFreitas Connie Lebrun (l) and Terry De Freitas (r) Olesia Markevych (l) and Erika Persson (r) Oh deer! Waskasoo might be injured, but is in good hands with members of the medical team. Khatija Westbrook from Red Deer is holding Waskasoo's head. We don't have the names of the other two medical team members, but we know they are doing a great job! Grant Announcement Dr. Ginetta Salvalaggio is the Co-PI on CIHR grant Implementing supervised consumption services in acute care: evaluating a novel opioid crisis intervention. Applicants: Dr. Ginetta Salvalaggio, Dr. Elaine Hyska and Dr. Ryan Mcneil Amount: $ 99,996.00 FAMILY MEDICINE IN THE NEWSFamily Medicine residency program graduate Dr. Stephanie Liu has started an evidence-based blog for parents: Life of Dr. Mom There has been news coverage of this blog on Global News Edmonton, CBC Edmonton and Folio. Professional Development Opportunities April 13, 2019 Take in informative state of the art updates on topics related to gastroenterology, and take advantage of this unparalleled change to interact with faculty and other participants through small group case study workshops. Gastroenterology for General Practitioners – offers a robust, impactful single day of learning for Alberta’s family practitioners. For the past 15 years, gastroenterologists from the University of Alberta and other sites in Edmonton have developed and taught the course with the goal of enabling family practitioners to better serve their patient populations, and to bridge the relationship between these medical specialities. The 2019 course builds on this tradition, promising to be better than ever. You’ll hear updates on cutting edge developments in gastroenterology, and receive practical tools and advice on topics relevant to today’s family practitioner. In the small group Workshops on four key topics, you’ll discuss cases with your peers and a gastroenterologist. New this year, we will be asking our participants to submit cases to be included in the colorectal cancer Workshop. SAVE THE DATE: Family Physician and CancerControl: Strengthening Linkages Workshop Date: Saturday, April 13, 2019 Registration can submitted via this link: This Group Learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Alberta Chapter for up to 6.5 Mainpro+ credits. As participants have expressed the importance to broaden our outreach, please extend invite to physicians and health professionals you feel may be interested in attending the workshop. This year’s conference takes disruptive action as valuable action, and the “disrupters” as crucial voices for change. When our beliefs about health and our structures in health care are challenged, our ethical obligations come most sharply into relief. Patients whose preferences and behaviours are challenging or inconvenient are often labelled as “difficult” or “non-compliant”. Yet these individuals hold a mirror up to the system that may highlight its shortcomings and flaws. This can force positive reflection at all levels about the nature and goals of health care and what accommodations and limits are reasonable in healthcare delivery. Visit the conference website for more information or to register. SAVE THE DATE: Edmonton Zone General Surgery Education Day 2019 Date: Saturday May 25, 2019, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. On behalf of the Division of General Surgery The 3rd Annual National Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) Conference May 31 – June 1, 2019 (Friday - Saturday) Preliminary agenda now available online at maidconference.ca University UpdatesUniversity of Alberta Logo and Templates Some years ago the University of Alberta adopted the current logo (see image below). You can find the information about the current logo and appropriate use of the logo here. This logo is for use on university publications and on promotional items. In order to make use of the logo as easy as possible, Marketing and Communications has developed a toolkit with downloads of all available versions of the logo, including for each faculty and department at the university. There are also templates for downloads of letterhead, posters and PowerPoint presentations that feature the university colors and logos. All staff and faculty are able to access these useful resources, and are encouraged to do so. If you have any questions, please contact Danica Erickson, Communications Administrator in the Department of Family Medicine: danica.erickson@ualberta.ca. |