For content submission forms, deadlines, and the monthly vs. quarterly structure and schedule of the 2022 Family Matters Newsletter relaunch, click here.

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS & EVENTS

Upcoming FoMD Faculty Development Sessions

Clinical Teaching Workshop Series September 06, Tuesday, 2:00-4:00 pm - Workshop 1
September 07, Wednesday, 9:00-11:00 am - Workshop 1
September 14, Wednesday, 9:00-11:00 am - Workshop 2 September 15, Thursday, 2:00-4:00 pm - Workshop 2

Time Management Workshop Thursday, September 08, 2022, 1:00-4:00 pm
Tuesday, September 13, 2022, 1:00-4:00 pm

Clinical Reasoning Workshop Series September 27, Tuesday, 9:00 – 10:30 am Workshop 1 November 01, Tuesday, 9:00 – 10:30 am Workshop 2 December 06, Tuesday, 9:00 – 10:30 am Workshop 3

Survey Design September 28, Wednesday, 9:00-11:00 am

Curriculum Design Workshop October 06, Thursday, 9:00-11:00 am
November 16, Wednesday, 2:00-4:00 pm

11th Annual PEIP (Practical Evidence for Informed Practice) Conference

October 21-22, 2022 Hybrid event: Double Tree Edmonton and live webcast

The PEER team (that brings you Tools for Practice) is happy to announce our 11th Practical Evidence for Informed Practice (PEIP) conference. Our rapid-fire format (20 minute talks) summarizes the evidence on clinically relevant primary care topics in an entertaining fashion. This event and the speakers continue to be free from industry support. 2022 topics include:

Weighing in on weight – slimming down the evidence
Old tricks for new people – Evidence + Experience in Pediatrics
When Should a Drug Approval = Your Approval?
Anemia for the clinician
Myths of Medicines
What’s New, What’s True and What’s Poo – updates on the latest evidence in primary care … and much more!

We have a great line up of fantastic speakers: including a mix of your favourites (Mike Allan, James McCormack, Jessica Kirkwood, Tina Korownyk) and some great new PEIP presenters (Menaka Pai - Hematology, Hamilton Ontario; Adam Keough – Sport Medicine, Edmonton)

For more information or to sign up for the program mail out, click here.

Family Medicine Grand Rounds

Don't forget to register for the final Grand Rounds event of 2022! September 15th at 8:30am will see the DoFM host a panel featuring visiting fellows from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, along with Dr. Doug Klein and moderator Dr. Connie Lebrun.

FAMILY MEDICINE IN THE NEWS

Opinion: Why we need to invest more in primary health

For the Edmonton Journal: Dr. Allan Bailey summarizes challenges facing the future of family medicine and what's at risk with the decline of primary care. Click here to read.

NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Inner Critic Online Course

October 12th, 2022 - November 30th, 2022 7pm-8:30pm (90 minutes) recurring weekly for 8 sessions Cost: 75$

Facilitated by healthcare professionals, this home-grown program addresses the inner critic and impostor syndrome. Through an interactive process of mindful inquiry, group dialogue, and self-compassion that unfolds in 8 weekly sessions, this program is designed to help you befriend the inner critic and convert it into an ally, inner coach, and compassionate guide.

Co-facilitators: Dr. Ghazala Radwi, Hematologist, Mindfulness Practitioner and Trauma Informed Leadership trainer & Dr. Priscilla Koops, Nursing and Family Studies, Mindfulness Practitioner

Questions or need more information? Email Samantha McQueen at sjmcquee@ualberta.ca.

Register here.

FACULTY & STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Getting to Win-Win in the Workplace

Achieving win-win results in the workplace sounds simple, but often proves more difficult in practice. In simple terms: what do we want to achieve and how do we get there–together. In this session you will explore practical strategies for communicating across differences to get to win-win in your workplace. Click here to register.

Introduction to Covidence

This introductory session will give you the confidence to use Covidence to manage your systematic or scoping reviews. Covidence is an online knowledge synthesis production platform that improves the efficiency and experience of producing reviews. We will provide a demonstration of Covidence's features and an explanation of how to get started using the University of Alberta Library’s subscription. Click here to register.

Faculty & Staff Development Suggestion Box

Your professional development matters, your feedback matters. Let us know what you think, we love to hear it!

SPOTLIGHT

Doug Klein: Director of the CHANGE Program

Dr. Doug Klein has been with the Department of Family Medicine for 18 years, currently as the Director of the CHANGE Program in addition to being a Professor and Family Physician. The inspiring programming of the CHANGE Program began in 2016 when Dr. Klein registered CHANGE Health Alberta as a registered charity "to help build life skills for children and families."

The organization grew in its reach with the acquisition this past year of property located in Parkland County that is now the Change Centre, "a 130 acre innovation hub focused on a new model of health and education delivery, training, evaluation and research."

Research is a driving force of Dr. Klein's work, one that relies on the aspect that Dr. Klein cites as his favourite part of working with the Department of Family Medicine: the people he works with every day.

Research is a team sport. Although there is a principal investigator on any project, studies will not be successful without the help several people bring their skills and knowledge and helping do their part.

This year, the Change Centre hosted its inaugural summer camps and school field trips this year. Building on that momentum, the 7th Annual Healthy Steps for Change event will be hosted on October 1, 2022.

Dr. Klein makes sure to balance out his busy schedule—which includes spending one day a week "working in a high school to ensure that students have access to resources that promote and protect their health"—by indulging in his self-professed superpower: sleeping.

To learn more about the Change Centre, visit www.changecentre.ca. For registration details about the 7th Annual Healthy Steps for Change event on October 1, 2022, visit www.campchange.ca.

Spotlight Nomination

Nominate a faculty or staff member for future inclusion in a Family Matters spotlight! The spotlight process has been streamlined to make participating in both the nomination and the spotlight more convenient and efficient.

HEALTH CARE PROVIDER AND TEAM RESOURCES

Opportunity to Provide Feedback on the Surgical Referral Process in Alberta

Healthcare providers and patients are invited to share their experiences with the surgical referral process in Alberta. The aim is to provide feedback to help improve the system. The study is titled: 'Healthcare provider and Patients’ experiences with Alberta's surgery referral system.’ Participant responses are completely anonymous.

This study is conducted by researchers from the University of Alberta (UofA) with approval from the UofA ethics board (ID: Pro00114572).

Healthcare provider survey with detailed study information: qrco.de/myreferralexperience

Patient survey with detailed study information: qrco.de/myreferralexperience

Contact the Study Coordinator via LLL@ualberta.ca for further information.

MESSAGE FROM...

Summer is traditionally a quieter time around the department…but not this year! With so many
of us new to our roles (Chair, Program Director, Research Co-Directors, Co-Director in Red Deer,
etc.) we have been busy getting to know our jobs and figuring out the best ways to collaborate
and build on all the excellent work done before us.
It’s not a secret that the future of family medicine is in trouble and that attracting medical students to our discipline is a challenge. And so, for the foreseeable future, the Residency
Program in collaboration with our undergraduate team and incomparable administrative support
will be focusing on recruitment of med students and ensuring that their undergraduate clinical
experiences are the best they can be.
Times may be tough, but I am optimistic and always so very grateful for all the hard work
and contributions from the members of our department.

- Dr. Michelle Morros, Residency Program Director

Michelle is a family doctor practicing out of the Misericordia Family Medicine Centre. Prior to taking on the role of Residency Program Director in April 2022, she wore a variety of hats in the department including Assistant Program Director for Resident Support (2013-2020), Selection Director (2015-present) and Assessment Director. She is a proud graduate of the U of A Family Medicine Residency Program, and sometimes discloses that she did medical school in Calgary (where she is from, shhh).

NEXT IN FAMILY MATTERS...

Submit your:

Time-sensitive announcements and invitations
Spotlight nominations and "Family Medicine in the News" pieces
General updates and requests (process changes, deadlines, etc.)

via the September Monthly Newsletter Submission Form