November 2020 Newsletter
Transition of Leadership
The Department of Family Medicine and the Postgraduate Program would like to announce a transition of leadership in the Postgraduate Director role from Dr. Jamie Wickett to Dr. Julie Copeland (Program Director) and Dr. Daniel Grushka (Associate Program Director) effective this coming January. Dr. Daniel Grushka’s term as Family Medicine Enhanced Skills Program Director started in 2009. He has led the development and growth of the Enhanced Skills Program Canada-wide as the National Chair of Enhanced Skills and cares deeply about it’s success. We thank Dr. Grushka for his outstanding leadership and wish him well in his upcoming role as Postgraduate Associate Program Director.
Chair's Message – COVID and Mental Health Continuum
Things are not looking good in Ontario and in Canada overall in the last couple of weeks with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this second wave it appears that the virus is spreading easily in the community. How are you personally feeling about his? It would be natural for us to feel more anxiety as things appear to be getting worse lately. Fortunately there are ways to monitor this and know when help may be needed.
Graduate Program Report
We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the tremendous resilience of our students who continue to fight COVID-19 on the front lines whether in their own clinics, assessment centres, contact tracing or in long term care facilities. Despite their tremendous clinical roles, they remain committed to pursuing their academic goals in the MClSc and PhD Programs.
Postgraduate Program Report
With December holidays approaching, we wanted to take a moment to remind our preceptors and residents to complete their One45 to-do items. If you’ve forgotten your One45 password, click “Need help logging in?” on log-in page and enter your UWO email address. Check your UWO email for password reset instructions.
Undergraduate Program Report
In the midst of rising COVID cases, clinical rotations for clerkship and electives are continuing. Thank you to the preceptors who are dedicated to excellence in training our physicians of tomorrow. As the holiday season approaches, I hope that you are able to find some down-time to recharge.
Celebrating our Achievements
Congratulations to Leslie Meredith, Program Manager, who was awarded the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) Outstanding Research Coordinator Award. This award goes to an individual responsible for managing the everyday operations of a research project, or a group of projects or a program.
Commentary: What Canada learned (and didn’t learn) from the SARS pandemic
As the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic takes hold across the country, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry experts say while Canadian officials implemented improvements to public health organization and in-hospital infection prevention and control after the SARS pandemic in 2003, vulnerabilities remained in the long-term care sector and the supply-chain for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Meet the Administrative Staff – Mr. Don Cvetkovic
2020 has been all about virtual. As such, we will be virtually profiling our administrative staff as they continue to work from home and keep our Department on track and meeting its strategic goals. Mr. Don Cvetkovic is celebrating four years in the Department of Family Medicine this November.
Drive-thru Flu shot clinic
Middlesex Center Family Medicine Clinic in Ilderton conducted their first annual drive-thru Flu shot clinic which was a fantastic success. Over seven mornings nearly 1000 patients were immunized and the team received universally positive feedback. The initiative was led by Thames Valley FHT RN Paula Day and involved residents and medical students.
Obstetrical Skills Day
The Department of Family Medicine’s 7th annual Obstetrical Skills Day looked a bit different this year. Typically, this is an in-person, hands-on, half-day teaching session where Family Medicine residents come together to learn skills for delivering low-risk intrapartum care. In order to follow public health guidelines and reduced capacity, we’re offering three sessions this year. We successfully hosted our first event on November 11 with 25 resident attendees.
Pandemic Planning for Primary Care
Researchers from the Centre for Studies in Family Medicine are interviewing family physicians from the Ontario Health West region to learn from their experiences to inform future pandemic planning. Interviews are currently underway. The research team in Ontario is particularly looking for fee for service doctors and doctors in urban areas. To share your experiences during COVID19 or learn more about the project, please contact Dr. Maria Mathews or Leslie Meredith.
HealtheSteps™ Program Update
We are happy to report the recruitment of medical students and residents at Western University has been a success! We have over 30 Western medical students/residents interested in being trained to deliver the HealtheSteps program. This adds to our network of 16 medical and kinesiology students delivering the program at UBC to 30 HealtheSteps participants.
Seeking Participant Referrals
Participants in the UBC HealtheSteps program were referred to the program through their family physician. We are looking to replicate this at Western University with matching referred patients to a Western medical student trained to deliver the program. We are currently recruiting participants for the HealtheSteps program.
TUTOR-PHC Virtual Networking Event
The TUTOR-PHC Networking event took place on November 24th virtually during the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) Annual Meeting 2020. Nearly 50 alumni, trainees and mentors of the program attended the event including the following Western Family Medicine-connected representatives: Co-Primary Investigators Judith Belle Brown and Amanda Terry, former PI Moira Stewart, as well as Bridget Ryan, Kathryn Nicholson, and Jaky Kueper.
Trillium Primary Health Care Research Day
Trillium Primary Health Care Research Day is a one day event for researchers, policy makers, patients and clinicians interested in primary health care research. This year the event was held virtually on October 23. Faculty, graduate students and staff members from the Department of Family Medicine and the Centre for Studies in Family Medicine contributed to six oral and 15 poster presentations.
Family Medicine Forum FMF
This year's Family Medicine Forum was held as a virtual meeting November 4 – 7. Family Medicine staff, faculty, residents and graduate students were well represented in oral and poster presentations. Congratulations to the Award winners: CFPC Resident Research Award, Dr. Forson Chan; CFPC Family Medicine Resident Scholarship, Dr. Lawrence Yau; and the Family Medicine Resident Awards for Scholarly Achievement; Drs. Ahmed Mahdi and Matthew Renaud.
North American Primary Care Research Group - NAPCRG Annual Meeting 2020
NAPCRG 48th Annual Meeting was a virtual event held November 20 – 24. Members of the Centre for Studies in Family Medicine and the Department of Family Medicine attended the virtual event with oral and poster presentations.
Department Spotlight: Dr. Jennifer Johnson
As an alumna of the MClSc in Family Medicine program, Dr. Jennifer Johnson learned the patient-centred clinical method and applyed it to her patients of 20 years, observing how positively they responded to being more deely known and understood. "There is definitely more trust, mutual respect and enjoyment of my relationships with my patients now," said Dr. Johnson.
November 2020 Research and Publications
The Department of Family Medicine is at the forefront of research in primary health care. Among the areas of focus for research are patient-centered care, clinical practice guidelines, health promotion, population health, care of the elderly, health services and information technology.
Events
Join us via Zoom for Family Medicine Grand Rounds – Management of Eating Disorders Update on Wednesday, December 2 at 8:30 a.m. Save the date for Geriatric Interdisciplinary Grand Rounds – Use of Medical Marijuana and CBD on December 3 at 8:00 a.m.
Top stories from our October newsletter
Missed reading our October newsletter. Take a moment to read the top stories: Transition of Leadership, Meet the Administrative Staff – Ms. Kelsey Klages, and Resident Spotlight: Dr. Diana Cuckovic.
