Family Matters

What isn’t changing? What can we count on, what will we stick to no matter what? We’re pretty fortunate in that regard, if we stop to think about it. What we do, what we believe in, is crucial to society. We train the future generation of the most important kind of doctor there is, and we do the research that improves the kind of medicine that matters most. We’re a team, a constructive culture that sticks together and keeps that training and research going, and going well.

Our world is changing, in many ways, and we will have to adapt to those changes. What we can count on, what we will stick to no matter what, are the two most important things: our mission, and each other.

- Dr. Lee Green, Chair, Department of Family Medicine

Congratulations

Undergraduate Medical Student Recognition

Congratulations to the following undergraduate medical students who were recognized for their achievements in the 2019-2020 academic year:

• Victoria Elliot received the Dr. Susan Rajee Koilpillai Memorial Prize in Family Medicine.
• Kara Koskowich received the Alberta College of Family Physicians Scholarship.
• Kerry Howell received the College of Family Physicians of Canada Medical Student Scholarship.

Welcome

Welcome Fiona Hanlon-Dearman

Welcome to Dr. Fiona Hanlon-Dearman, who has joined the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic as of July 14, 2020.  Dr. Hanlon has completed her enhanced skills training in sports medicine at the Sather Clinic, and has also been trained in guided joint injections.

Hanlon-Dearman’s sports interests include youth injuries, dance medicine and wilderness medicine. She also teaches common MSK injuries and physical exam skills to medical students and residents in clinic.

Her own sporting activities include running, rock climbing and cross country skiing, among others.

Notable News

Preceptor Orientation

Attention ALL our rural and urban community preceptors: We will be holding a virtual undergraduate preceptor orientation via ZOOM on Thursday, September 17, 2020 from 5:30 - 7:30 PM. We will be providing an overview and reviewing the changes to our programs in LCE (longitudinal clinical experience), family medicine electives and Year 3 clerkship. There will also be a faculty development session presented by Dr. Sudha Koppula on how to optimize our teaching environments while holding virtual clinics. This event has been accredited for 2 Mainpro credits.

Registrations will be accepted until 8:00 am on Wednesday, September 16 via  https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIkd-qoqjotGtL8l5gpsfggwgMwBQEN8TGQ 

If you have questions, or wish to register after September 9, please email Bora Kim at bora.kim@ualberta.ca. 

Northern Alberta Academic Family Physicians (NAAFP) Request for Proposals

The Northern Alberta Academic Family Medicine Physician (NAAFP) Fund Management Committee is pleased to announce the 15th Request for Proposals for the Northern Alberta Academic Family Medicine Fund (NAAFMF). 

In 2012 the Northern Alberta Academic Family Medicine Fund, an endowment held by the University of Alberta and managed by employees of the Department of Family Medicine, was established. The interest generated from this endowment is intended to support initiatives promoting the advancement of family medicine.

A fund management committee was established to review Requests for Proposals from Family Medicine staff, residents, students and trainees. Now on our fifteenth RFP, we are very pleased with the response to this initiative. To date, the committee has funded almost 100 proposals.

Click here to download an application form, which includes criteria and use of funds. Please direct questions to danica.erickson@ualberta.ca.

Application deadline is midnight on Friday, September 25, 2020.

Professional Development Opportunities

September 17, 2020 Grand Rounds 

The next Family Medicine Grand Rounds will be held September 17, 2020 via Zoom webinar.

The topic will be Polypharmacy.  Join us and you will learn about polypharmacy, what it is, how it happens, and the potential harms it can cause. You will hear about approaches that can be used to avoid adverse drug effects, and you will learn about resources that can assist with polypharmacy and witness how they can be applied to a patient.

Presenters
Dr. Donna Manca, MD, CCFP, MCISc
Dr. Scott Garrison, MD, CCFP, PhD
Mark Makowsky, BSP, PharmD

Time: 8:30 am- 9:30 am followed by a 30 min Q & A

Click here to register for this session. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to: 

• Describe some of the harms related to polypharmacy and potentially harmful
• medications
• Describe some of the research activity in the department on this topic
• Identify resources and approaches to address polypharmacy and reduce potentially harmful medication prescriptions
• Explain factors that may contribute to inappropriate prescribing and polypharmacy

Certification statement -  "This Group Learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Alberta Chapter for up to 3 Mainpro+ credits.

Faculty Professional Development Seminar

SAVE-THE-DATE: Virtual MSK exams

September 24, 2020
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Instructor: Dr. Terry De Freitas

Keep an eye on your inbox - further details and a link to register will be emailed to faculty as soon as they are available.

PEIP 2020

9th Annual Practical Evidence for Informed Practice (PEIP) Conference! 
The show will go on!  October 23-24, 2020 

Registration is now open!  For more information about PEIP 2020, visit the PEIP website. 

Resources for Health Care Providers and Teams

PEER Tools for Practice

#271. Lindblad A, Kolber M. Be still my quivering heart: Alcohol and atrial fibrillation. August 10, 2020. https://gomainpro.ca/wp-content/uploads/tools-for-practice/1596211765_tfpalcoholfinalfv.pdf

Sather Clinic Youth Acute Injury Clinic Now Available

We are pleased to share the news that the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic has opened a Youth Acute Sport Injury Clinic (YIC). The YIC is intended for school aged/youth patients (ages 5-17) who have suffered an acute injury within the previous 72 hours playing sports/engaging in physical activity.

The clinic runs on Friday mornings from 7:00 am – 9:00 am out of the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic at 2C/D in the Kaye Edmonton Clinic at 11400 University Avenue, Edmonton.

The GSSMC will continue to accept referrals for other injury types/patients Monday through Friday from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm.

Please download the information sheet at this link for details, or call the clinic at 780-407-5160 if you have additional questions. 

Resources for Staff

Human Resources Information

University of Alberta Human resources has developed material and compiled resources about psychological health and safety in the workplace.  Resources for managers are available as well.

Family Medicine in the News

The Yellowknife residency program learning site’s first two family medicine residents Thomsen D’Hont and Kajsa Heyes, were interviewed by Cabin Radio.

Mike Allan was interviewed by the SaltWire News Network about the effectiveness of masks to protect against COVID-19.

Denise Campbell-Scherer spoke about the new Canadian clinical guidelines for obesity in Welland Tribune and the need for training and skill building for care providers.

The Rocky Mountain Outlook reported on the Canmore town council meeting during which Amy Tan spoke about COVID-19 from a medical perspective and answered questions. 

Tina Korownyk was quoted in a global news article about delaying certain medical and dental procedures because of COVID-19. 

Recent Publications

Dugré N, Ton J, Perry D, Garrison S, Falk J, McCormack J, Moe S, Korownyk CS, Lindblad AJ, Kolber MR, Thomas B, Train A, Allan GM. Masks for prevention of viral respiratory infections among health care workers and the public. PEER umbrella systematic review. Canadian Family Physician. July 2020; 66(7):509-517.

Hamza DM, Ross S, Oandasan I. Process and outcome evaluation of a CBME intervention guided by program theory. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice. 2020 Aug;26(4):1096-1104. doi: 10.1111/jep.13344. 

Leslie M, Fadaak R, Davies J, Blaak J, Forest PG, Green L, Conly J. Integrating the social sciences into the COVID-19 response in Alberta, Canada.  BMJ Global Health. 2020 Jul;5(7):e002672. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-002672.  

Ma K, Ali J, Deutscher J, Silverman JA, Novak C, Dong S, Chmelicek J, Dance E, Goez H. Preparing residents to deal with human trafficking. Clinical Teacher. 2020 Jul 27. doi: 10.1111/tct.13187. 

Moe S, Dugre G, Allan M, Korownyk C, Kolber M, Lindblad A, Garrison S, Falk J, Ton J, Perry D, Thomas B, Train A, McCormack J. PEER simplified tool: Mask use by the general public and by health care workers. Canadian Family Physician. July 2020; 66(7): 505-507.

Schipper S. Reclaiming your office practice. Canadian Family Physician. July 2020;66(7):537.

Marklas K, Barber T, Campbell-Scherer D, Green L, Li L, Marlett N, Miller J, Shewchuk B, Teare S, Wasylak T, Marshall D. Co-design in the development of a mobile health app for the management of knee osteoarthritis by patients and physicians: Qualitative study. JMIR mHealth and uHealth. 2020 July 10; 8(7):e17893. doi: 10.2196/17893

Wharton S, Lau DCW, Vallis M, Sharma AM, Biertho L, Campbell-Scherer D, Adamo K, Alberga A, Bell R, Boulé N, Boyling E, Brown J, Calam B, Clarke C, Crowshoe L, Divalentino D, Forhan M, Freedhoff Y, Gagner M, Glazer S, Grand C, Green M, Hahn M, Hawa R, Henderson R, Hong D, Hung P, Janssen I, Jacklin K, Johnson-Stoklossa C, Kemp A, Kirk S, Kuk J, Langlois MF, Lear S, McInnes A, Macklin D, Naji L, Manjoo P, Morin MP, Nerenberg K, Patton I, Pedersen S, Pereira L, Piccinini-Vallis H, Poddar M, Poirier P, Prud'homme D, Salas XR, Rueda-Clausen C, Russell-Mayhew S, Shiau J, Sherifali D, Sievenpiper J, Sockalingam S, Taylor V, Toth E, Twells L, Tytus R, Walji S, Walker L, Wicklum S.  Obesity in adults: a clinical practice guideline.  Canadian Medical Association Journal. 2020 Aug 4;192(31):E875-E891.

Technology Updates

Professional Pages

Professional pages (formerly called Professor Pages) are now managed through MyFoMD.  They have a new look and feel, and all faculty are encouraged to access the MyFoMD User Guide for directions, and to review and update your own Professor Page.

Reminder: We have received reports that the personal phone numbers of some faculty have appeared on the University website. This can be prevented by ensuring that your personal phone number is not selected at the preferred number in your university profile. The directions to make necessary changes can be found at this link in the MedIT website.  Scroll down to the Name and Office location section for details on how to do this.

If you cannot remember your ccid and password to log into the site, please contact Lindsay Mercer: lindsay.mercer@ualberta.ca.

U of A Libraries Digital Scholarship Centre

The University of Alberta Libraries now offers the Digital Scholarship Centre (DSC), a research and teaching facility for faculty, students and staff at the U of A.  The centre is ideal for those who want to use digital technology in their research, teaching and communications.

The DCS offers data access and management, repository services, GIS and mapping, journal hosting and publishing, metadata services, and digital preservation.

DCS, located in on the second floor the Cameron Science and Technology Library on the North Campus, is currently physically closed due to COVID-19. However staff are still available remotely to assist with a number of activities, including research project planning, support for digital literacy and pedagogy and remote access to high-performance computers and software.  Click here to find out more or to contact DCS.

Zoom Updates

Over the summer, Zoom has continued to announce updates and improvements to the platform.

To stay up-to-date on changes and improvements, please visit the Zoom Release Notes webpage.  

For more information and “How-To” videos on new features in Zoom, visit their Blog  and view the videos available on the Zoom Youtube Channel  

University Updates

Alumni Week Expert Panel

Pandemic Perspectives - What we’ve learned from COVID-19

Date: Wednesday, September 23
Time: 7 p.m.
Registration URL: https://bit.ly/34yNaSm  

From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic the University of Alberta’s world-class researchers and scholars have been actively engaged in efforts to limit the spread of the virus, help local and global communities and find a cure.

Join a panel of U of A experts from the faculties of Medicine & Dentistry, Nursing and Public Health as they discuss the lessons we’ve learned from COVID-19, why UAlberta is uniquely equipped to respond to the pandemic,  and how our knowledge is helping reimagine systems, structures and policies for a better future.

Panelists:

• Dr. Carole Estabrooks, CM. Faculty of Nursing. '87 MNurs, '97 PhD
• Dr. Dean Eurich, School of Public Health. '03 MSc, '07 PhD
• Dr. Lynora Saxinger, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
• Dr. Lorne Tyrrell, OC, AOE. Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. '64 BSc, '68 MD

Moderator: Dr. Lawrence Richer, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. '92 BSc(Hons), '96 MD, '09 MSc