No Images? Click here Family MattersYour updates from the University of Alberta Department of Family MedicineMarch 2019 Message From the ChairIt looks like it’s been a quiet month, from this edition of the newsletter. Don’t be fooled – like the proverbial duck, the DoFM has been quiet on the surface but paddling furiously underneath. A lot of heavy lifting has been happening at the MacEwan University Health Centre as they refine their Medical Home model and deliver on the promise of continuous improvement. The Misericordia team is very busy with Covenant, seeking a solution for the unexpected complications of the Misericordia site rebuilding, which will require the clinic to move on quite short notice. The AMHSP budgeting as well as planning for the next iteration of the agreements has had the administrative team working very hard. The UME team has been very busy indeed building on the opportunities they’ve created to increase our presence in the undergrad curriculum, and of course on the never-ending quest for more good community preceptors for student rotations. The research teams have been very successful in getting projects, and are well into the phase of doing the hard work. Yes, it looks quiet – a very busy and productive quiet! - Dr. Lee Green, Chair, Department of Family Medicine Feature Article Family Medicine Resident Q & A Dr. Dana Rich Finds Supportive Community and a Little Adventure During Rural Rotation The Department of Family Medicine benefits from the generosity of family physicians and medical staff in clinics across Alberta sharing their knowledge and expertise to help train family medicine residents in their rotations. However, the northernmost partner clinic offering resident rotations is actually in Whitehorse, Yukon, the largest city in the three Canadian territories. In this resident Q & A, second-year family medicine resident Dana Rich shares her experiences practicing in Whitehorse, and offers some advice for current and future residents. Dana Rich and fellow resident Allan Jone: ready for adventure. FREzER Recap Thank you to all who attended our annual FREzER Conference in Jasper on March 22 & 23, 2019. A special thank you to the faculty and residents session speakers. Thank you also to Dr. Green for once again hosting the very popular Chair's Reception. The conference was a great success with many people contributing in many ways to this event, making it a smoothly-run weekend with very interesting presentations and a great atmosphere for discussion and networking. A friendly reminder to submit your FREzER 2019 evaluations at the link below at your earliest convenience. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and utilized for future FREzER planning. Congratulations to Dr. Michael Yan, who won two free nights at a Fairmont Hotel for his contribution to the “Faculty Future FREzER Topic Contest”! Make sure you register for next year’s FREzER for your chance to win! Next FREzER: Save the Date for March 21 & 22, 2020! S Resident Vanessa DeMelo ready to help attendees get their brunch on. Donna Manca and Olga Szafran at the research program table. Notices Research Requests In recent weeks, department members have been approached by undergraduate medical students seeking research opportunities in the department. The research program has asked that students expressing interest in research opportunities in the department be referred to Olga Szafran. Please contact Olga or Kim Duerksen in the research program office if you would like more information. Resident Award Nominations Now Open Would you like to recognize a resident for their leadership, clinical skills, research, scholarship or passion for medicine? Nominate them for a Department of Family Medicine or CFPC Resident Award. Nominations are now open, and nomination forms can be downloaded from the Department of Family Medicine website. Save the Date Family Medicine Research Day is Friday, June 7, 2019 This year's Family Medicine Research Day is scheduled for June 7, 2019. Please visit the Research Day webpage on the department website for updates and read future newsletters for location, presentation details and the call for abstracts. Festival of Health 2019 The Festival of Health 2019 is on May 25, 2019 in the Edmonton Clinic Health Academy (ECHA). The department will be well-represented by a number of researchers and faculty: Dr. Lesley Charles will join colleagues from the Division of Geriatric Medicine to present Health & Aging - Dare to Age Well Dr. Ginetta Salvalaggio will be join colleagues from the Inner City Health and Wellness Program to present Caring for People Who Use Drugs Dr. Connie Lebrun will join colleagues from The Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute for the Concussions: the Hard-Hitting Truth presentation. The BedMed High Blood Pressure Study and the CHANGE Program will host information booths. This event is open to the public and free, so please share with friends, family, and patients who may be interested. Visit the Festival of Health 2019 website for the full schedule of events.Save the Date Family Medicine in the News Dr. Lee Green was a guest on CBC Radio's Alberta at Noon on Wednesday, March 27, discussing his research into the current fee-for-service primary care system. Click this link to hear the interview. Publications Moe G, Wang H, Kousonsavath S. Accreditation: A quality improvement strategy for the community-based family practice. Healthcare Quarterly 21(4) January 2019 : 13-20. Moe G, Bailey A, Wang H, McNicol K, Kousonsavath S. Achievement of Accreditation by Community-Based Family Practice – Workload and Cost Analysis. Healthcare Quarterly 21(4) January 2019 : 21-27. Davison SN, Tupala B, Wasylynuk BA, Siu V, Sinnarajah A, Triscott J. Recommendations for the Care of Patients Receiving Conservative Kidney Management: Focus on Management of Chronic Kidney Disease and Symptoms. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. 2019 Feb 28. pii: CJN.10510917. doi: 10.2215/CJN.10510917. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 30819670. Professional Development Opportunities Online Concussion Course Opens April 8 The Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary is offering a free, non-credit online course on concussions. Concussion: prevention, detection and management being on April 8, and will be of interest to health professionals, sport coaches and teachers, parents with children in sport, school administrators and sport leaders. Geriatric Medicine 2019: Demystifying the Complexity of Seniors Conference Geriatric Medicine 2019 will be held on Saturday, June 8, 2019 at the Lister Conference Centre in Edmonton, AB. Physicians, residents, nursing and other allied health professionals interested in geriatrics are all invited to attend. Topics this year range from cannabis to capacity assessment and more. Gastroenterology for General Practitioners (GI for GPs) 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 UpdatesRumour has it Spring has arrived in Edmonton. If you are starting to think about your garden and yard, don't forget that the University of Alberta Botanic Garden offers courses year-round, including some great spring sessions to inspire you. Check out their Adult Education Courses website to discover what they have to offer. |