No images? Click here Family MattersYour updates from the Department of Family Medicine, University of AlbertaFebruary/March 2020 Message From the ChairI’m writing this from home, and that’s likely where you’re reading it, too. It’s where I’ve done most of my meetings. “Zooming” has taken on a whole new meaning. So I’d like to take this column to give some applause where due. I’ve been repeatedly impressed with and proud of the myriad things the staff and faculty of the Department have done to cope with and make life better in this unprecedented situation. In no particular order: The residency and UME teams have done Herculean feats in looking after our learners. With the rapidly evolving guidance about who can and should go where, the possibility of redeployments, exam postponements, etc., just keeping up has been tremendous work for them. They’ve kept on top of a turbulent situation and provided calm support to our learners. Amazing work, and they’re nowhere near done yet. The Centre Directors have taken initiative, been creative and effective in generating solutions and adapting. Tremendous leadership and grace under pressure. Our administrative staff have set the benchmark for adapting and keeping the wheels turning despite the chaos. The highest praise: things are working. Our FREzER team worked hard for months to come up with a great program, and graciously called it off. The curling bonspiel showed graphically what could have been had we gone through with it. I’m certain they’ll be up to even better next year! Mind, these are just the ones I know about already! If you know of others I’ve missed, please pass them on to me and to Danica, so we can give them the recognition they deserve. We haven’t much ability to control how things go in the next few weeks, but we certainly have the ability to support each other and get us through it. Let’s be distant physically, but not in caring. - Dr. Lee Green, Chair, Department of Family Medicine Condolence Message of Condolence The faculty and staff of the department extend our deepest condolences to the family of Dr. Dave Willox, a family physician in Peace River, AB, who passed away on February 18 of this year. Over the course of 25 years, Dr. Willox taught many medical students and family medicine residents in his Peace River practice, not only imparting the skills required to be a good family physician, but also being a strong role model of commitment to the medical profession and compassion for patients, something for which he was well-known. His absence will be a great loss for the medical community, as well as his friends and neighbors in the community in which he lived. Congratulations Congratulations to Connie Lebrun Constance (Connie) Lebrun, family physician and sport & exercise medicine physician with the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic, has been designated a Fellow of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM). According to the AMSSM, this designation “recognizes physicians who have demonstrated ongoing commitment to lifelong learning, the advancement of the profession, service to the AMSSM and leadership in their communities.” Congratulations Kelly MacGregor Dr. Kelly MacGregor, Interdisciplinary Care & Gender Health Lead - Undergraduate Medical Education, has been recognized by the Canadian Federation of Medical Students for her contributions to a positive learning environment at the University of Alberta. MacGregor has worked with the undergraduate and postgraduate family medicine teams lecturing on breastfeeding and infant nutrition in both urban and rural learning sites. She is also a PDG preceptor, teaches communication and physical exams for undergraduate learners and is a resident-as-teacher (RAT) faculty mentor when her time allows. Willow Family Medicine, MacGegor’s Clinic, hosts residents for horizontal electives as well. Congratulations to Dr. MacGregor for this well-deserved recognition. Who Will We Congratulate Next? Family physicians, clinics, residents, and medical students continue to step up during these trying times. Please help us in recognizing those advancing excellence in Family Medicine and nominate them for our 2020 ACFP Awards. In light of the unpredictability of the current COVID-19 pandemic and in order to ensure that we can continue bestowing honours and awards to the many deserving family physicians and PMH teams, we have extended our application deadlines. DEADLINE TO SUBMIT – MAY 1, 2020 Welcome Welcome to Melissa Gutland Welcome to Melissa Gutland who joins the department as administrative assistant providing support to the executive assistant and Faculty and Staff Development Program. Melissa graduated with a diploma in Biological Sciences Technology – Renewable Resources from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. She brings with her a wide range of clinical, research and administration experience from previous positions in the Department of Pediatrics, Integrative Health Institute, and Facilities & Operations at the University of Alberta. Melissa is originally from Yellowknife and enjoys travelling, fishing and is obsessed with all things dog. Melissa with her dog George. Notable News CaRMS Announcement On March 3, 2020 the Department of Family Medicine found out it has fully matched in the Edmonton and Red Deer sites, with only two spots unmatched in Grande Prairie. Faculty and staff are looking forward to welcoming all of our incoming resident doctors beginning July 1, 2020. Lesley Charles and Charlie Tang Terry De Freitas and Ayesha Nazarali U of A COVID-19 Updates A Letter to Learners from Dean Hemmelgarn has been posted on the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry’s website. You can read the letter here. The University of Alberta continues to provide updates regarding the COVID-19 crisis on the university home page, and the U of A’s Public Health Response Team also continues to provide updates. Faculty & Staff Development FREzER 2020 Regrettably, this year’s event had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic circumstances. We would like to acknowledge the resident planning committee, speakers, and staff at Jasper Park Lodge for all of their support and preparations to date. We look forward to seeing how their work will enhance FREzER 2021. We hope to see you then! Professional Development Team Building Exercise A faculty and staff development team building session took place on February 22, 2020 as part of the Department of Family Medicine Strategic Planning Wrap-Up Event. The activity was facilitated by the Mural Mosaic team who engaged participants in a series of collaborative processes. All participants networked and reflected on their roles, and the roles of their colleagues, to develop an appreciation for each other’s work and contributions to diverse, lifelong care to patients and their families in all communities. Participants then painted individual tiles with images representing their association to the “big picture” of family medicine practice. Tiles were assembled to create a mural depicting an array of people in various stages of their lives walking through places of light and darkness, in a “Forest of Unknown Adventures”, in the presence of family medicine images and messages. This legacy item, created by faculty and staff, will be displayed to tell the story of the Department of Family Medicine’s programs, contributions, mission, values and vision. ARO Reporting Faculty with peer-reviewed publications accepted to conferences cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic should continue to report them on their ARO. Family Medicine in the News Drs Mike Donoff and Jasneet Parmar share their memories of Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw from her time as a resident with family medicine and care of the elderly. Dr. Terry McDonald was a guest on CBC Calgary’s Eyeopener on February 25, 2020, to discuss changes to Alberta doctors pay and how those change will impact care, based on the research he has done with Dr. Lee Green. The Warfarin study being led by Dr. Scott Garrison was covered in the February 10 edition of Healio. CBC North interviewed the first two Department of Family Medicine residents in the Yellowknife learning site, which officially begins as residency learning site on July 1, 2020. On March 4, Dr. Mike Kolber visited CBC Radio’s The Dose with Dr. Brain Goldman to discuss Should I take a daily Aspirin to ward off heart attacks and strokes? Westview Physician Collaborative’s Allan Bailey co-wrote the article Let’s apply economic ‘supply and demand’ to Alberta’s medicare which has also appeared in the London Free Press and The Province. Professional Development Opportunities Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, professional development opportunities across Alberta have been cancelled or postponed including Gi for GPs, and PLP Summit and the Family Physicians & CancerControl: Strengthening Linkages Workshop. Please continue to read this newsletter for updates about new dates and additional events to be held in future. Recent Publications Please visit the Recent Research Publications page on the Department of Family Medicine website for a comprehensive list of research publications. |