Testimonials
"Aujourd’hui se terminait mon fellowship à TUTOR-PHC. Ce fut une année bien remplie, où j’ai découvert plus en profondeur le monde de la recherche. Après un an de travail soutenu, j’appris énormément de choses, sur moi, sur la recherche, sur la valeur du travail d’équipe et rencontré des collègues inspirants!
Chaque personne que j’ai rencontrée m’a permis de développer de nouvelles connaissances, de renforcer des compétences. Combiner mes savoirs de patiente-partenaire avec les savoirs de mes collègues chercheurs me permet d’avoir une vision bien plus complète de notre système de santé de première ligne et de celui de plusieurs pays.
Intégrer une patiente-partenaire dans ce programme demandait de l’adaptation à tous. Un grand merci à toute l’équipe de TUTOR-PHC et aux mentors qui, tout au long de l’année, se sont assurés que tout allait bien pour moi.
Merci aussi à l’Unité SSA Québec et à PASSERELLE qui ont cru en moi et ont favorisé ma participation à TUTOR-PHC.
Un dernier merci à tous mes confrères de cohorte, spécialement au Groupe B : Deepy Sur, Marie-Violaine Ponte, Sean Hanna, Rosina Cross, Asiana Elma, Nadia Rebecca Llanwarne, Nataly Espinoza Suarez et Ana Luiza Leite Ribeiro Freire.
Sans vous, cette année n’aurait pas été aussi fantastique!"
"Today marked the end of my fellowship at TUTOR-PHC. It was a very fulfilling year, during which I gained a deeper understanding of the world of research. After a year of dedicated work, I learned a tremendous amount—about myself, about research, about the value of teamwork—and met some truly inspiring colleagues!
Everyone I met helped me develop new knowledge and strengthen my skills. Combining my experience as a patient-partner with the expertise of my fellow researchers gives me a much more comprehensive view of our primary healthcare system and those of several other countries. Integrating a patient-partner into this program required adjustments from everyone involved. A huge thank you to the entire TUTOR-PHC team and to the mentors who, throughout the year, ensured that everything was going well for me. Thanks also to the SSA Québec Unit and PASSERELLE, who believed in me and facilitated my participation in TUTOR-PHC.
A final thank you to all my fellow cohort members, especially Group B: Deepy Sur, Marie-Violaine Ponte, Sean Hanna, Rosina Cross, Asiana Elma, Nadia Rebecca Llanwarne, Nataly Espinoza Suarez, and Ana Luiza Leite Ribeiro Freire.
Without you, this year wouldn't have been so fantastic!"
Marie-Dominique Poirier, Patient Partner TUTOR Fellow, 2025-2026
“Out of Silo: If I took one message from the four days, it is this. Primary care research cannot be done well in silos. Not interdisciplinary silos. Not in institutional silos. And not in national silos. The problems we are trying to solve, whether that is access to mental health care for ethnic minority communities, integration of services for older people, or the management of endometriosis in primary care, all sit at the intersections. The TUTOR-PHC room was a small working model of what crossing those intersections actually look like: a global village where family physicians, patient partners, social workers, nurses, pharmacists and decision makers sit as equals around the same problem, with mentors who have spent decades modelling how to do it well.
We all need to connect. Across our disciplines. Across the table from our patients and communities. And across countries, so that the work being done in Vancouver and Sherbrooke and Auckland and São Paulo and Groningen and Manchester can speak to each other rather than past each other."
Dr. Hassan Awan, TUTOR-PHC Fellow 2026-2027
"My TUTOR-PHC Fellowship year was incredibly rewarding, offering invaluable experiences that enhanced my skills in engaging patients and community partners in primary health care research. The skills and relationships I developed through this program will continue to shape my research and career, ensuring that patient and community engagement remains central to my work in health policy and that health system transformations truly benefit the people and communities they serve. The TUTOR-PHC program also fosters a supportive community where trainees, alumni, mentors, and patient-partners actively collaborate and uplift one another, creating lasting connections that will continue to strengthen my future work in primary health care research and policy."
Ashley Chisholm, PhD, TUTOR trainee 2023-2024
"I cannot overstate the impact of TUTOR-PHC on my career as a young researcher. It absolutely provided direct instruction, from PHC luminaries, I simply could not have received as a PhD student. More importantly, it has provided me with a model for both how to do interprofessional and international PHC research, and how those collaborations can feel. I've met collaborators that I'm certain I'll have for my entire career through TUTOR, and I look forward to being able to be that kind of collaborator for future trainees."
Peter Sheffield, PhD(c), RSW, TUTOR trainee 2022-2023
"I pursued TUTOR-PHC to strengthen my knowledge and skills as an emerging primary care researcher during my PhD. One of my doctoral training goals was to learn more about health systems and services, and TUTOR-PHC expanded my understanding of how primary care is organized, funded, and delivered across Canada. I gained transferrable skills in academic writing, patient engagement, and grant writing through structured sessions led by esteemed mentors and participated in collaborative learning activities. Perhaps most valuable, TUTOR-PHC connected me with a network of highly productive and passionate trainees and mentors from multiple disciplines and institutions across Canada, including my current postdoctoral supervisor. I applied for and pursued a TUTOR-PHC Patient Engagement Research Fellowship supporting a systematic review I am leading with three older adult patient partners and received guidance from a faculty mentor. TUTOR-PHC was highly influential in my professional development, and I look forward to collaborating with TUTOR-PHC alumni and mentors throughout my career."
Rebecca Correia, PhD, TUTOR Trainee 2022-2023
