Correction to Dr. Bill Hogg's email address

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Thank you to all of our members who joined us at the Departmental Assembly on October 24. We have received great feedback and hope to follow up on some of the initiatives in the coming months. Please see below for a summary of the day.

This is a reminder to save the date for our Departmental Annual Retreat, which will take place at the Fairmont Montebello from Friday, April 25, to Sunday, April 27, 2025. This will be an opportunity to come together, reflect on our discipline, and engage our members and broader communities. Look for Early Bird registration in January 2025. There is still time to submit a presentation or poster abstract.

Upcoming Opportunities

Are you interested in leading healthcare change in the community? The Ottawa Health Team—Équipe Santé Ottawa (OHT-ÉSO) is recruiting primary care leaders interested in evolving the Primary Care Network (PCN) and collaborating and guiding the strategic direction and planning that will help strengthen primary care's capacity to advance underserved and equity-deserving populations. The estimated monthly commitment is 2-3 hours. The deadline to complete the expression of interest is Wednesday, December 4. Read the full job description for more information.

Faculty members interested in applying for academic promotion to the rank of Associate and Full professor in the upcoming 2025-2026 cycle are asked to submit their letter of intent and updated CV to the attention of our Departmental Teaching Personnel Committee by Monday, December 2, 2024. Please submit to fadfm@uottawa.ca. For questions or guidance on updating your CV, please contact our Director of Faculty Affairs, Dr. Bill Hogg, at whogg@uottawa.ca.

Join us for the upcoming Family Medicine Grand Rounds on Thursday, November 28, 2024, featuring engaging discussions by two faculty members. Dr. Kheira Jolin-Dahel, Assistant Professor, will present her innovative approach to residency education through a VR-based escape room designed for family medicine residents. Dr. Alison Eyre, Associate Professor, will discuss her work on implementing a tailored primary care model specifically for marginalized urban populations. For more information or to sign up, please visit the November session poster. 

Departmental Assembly Highlights

From left to right, our AI panelists - Jeff Puncher, Dr. Jason Trickovic, Dr. Chandi Chandrasena, and Dr. Sharon Johnston.

Dr. Mike Kirlew, Assistant Professor and our new EDI and Indigenous Health Director, and Dr. Alex Petiquan, a PGY3 Resident in Public Health and Preventative Medicine, closed the day with an update. Dr. Kirlew is directing his focus on building relationships with local communities and looking ahead to partnerships that will benefit our learners. Dr. Petiquan shared his work in creating an Indigenous Learning Association for medical students at the Faculty of Medicine with the goal of providing mentorship for Indigenous students. We are hoping to build on some of these initiatives at the retreat in April 2025 and have follow-up conversations. Thank you again to all those who participated and gave their time to lead these discussions. 

Hosted by the CFPC, the Family Medicine Forum (FMF) took place from November 6-9 in Vancouver, B.C. Each year, the FMF is an opportunity to showcase the innovative work of our department and the discipline of Family Medicine, and highlight our residency program. Many of our members participated in the conference, presenting their work and networking with other partners from across the country. Members of the Project Management Office (PMO) team showcased the DFM’s eLearning offerings available on the Innovation Portal and provided conference attendees the opportunity to explore our virtual reality learning experiences. 

We are proud to share faculty and resident award winners who were recognized by the Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine (FAFM) at the FMF for their impact on the discipline of Family Medicine.

Dr. Anna Wilkinson, Associate Professor, was invited to deliver a presentation on her research as an award recipient this year of the CFPC Outstanding Family Medicine Research Article Award for her article, “Impact of Breast Cancer Screening on 10-Year Net Survival in Canadian Women Age 40-49 Years - Journal of Clinical Oncology.” The Outstanding Family Medicine Research Article Award, funded by the Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine FAFM, recognizes the best research article published in a national or international journal during the preceding year based on original family medicine research carried out by a CFPC member.

Congratulations to Dr. Dana Pearl, PGY3, ESFP - Women's Health, who was the recipient of the CFPC Family Medicine Resident Award for Scholarly Achievement - University of Ottawa, for the project “Concordance of Breast Cancer Survivorship Care with Guidelines: Retrospective Chart Review”. A program of the FAFM, this award recognizes the best scholarly work of family medicine residents from across the country, celebrating those who have demonstrated an interest in or commitment to a career in family medicine during their undergraduate education.

Congratulations to Dr. Moaz Chohan, PGY3 Enhanced Skills resident in Sport & Exercise Medicine, who was the recipient of the CFPC’s 2024 Family Medicine Resident Scholarship for Western University for his leadership abilities while completing his core family medicine training prior to joining us at the University of Ottawa for enhanced skills training. A program of the FAFM, the Family Medicine Resident Scholarship recognizes the leadership abilities of outstanding senior family medicine residents from across the 17 Canadian Family Medicine Residency programs. Dr. Chohan has continued his leadership roles as the current Chief resident for the enhanced skills program representing all enhanced skills residents at the Department of Family Medicine. 

Thank you to the following faculty members who represented our department and showcased their work through their presentations at FMF this year:

Our department mourns the loss of Dr. Ronald Weiss, who passed away on October 29, 2024. Dr. Weiss, an Assistant Professor in our department, was a devoted educator who mentored generations of medical students and young physicians.

A pioneer in Canadian medicine, Dr. Weiss’ contributions transformed patient care and medical practice. He was instrumental in introducing the innovative, no-scalpel vasectomy technique in Canada, which benefited countless patients. Dr. Weiss’s legacy is one of innovation, kindness, and unwavering dedication to his patients and learners. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.

For more information, please consult this CTV News Article. Dr. Weiss’ obituary is available online for those who wish to pay their respects to his family. 

The Riverside Academic team is happy to highlight some exciting developments at our site in the last year! Since July 2024, we have welcomed three new physicians to our unit: Dr. Osmaan Sheikh, Lecturer, who comes to us from B.C. and has a special interest in Medical Assistance in Dying; Dr. Jason Struyk, Lecturer, (a graduate of our program), whose focus is palliative care and procedures; and Dr. Jennifer Mitchell, Lecturer, (also a uOttawa graduate), who specializes in women's health and has already established a clinic at our site offering various procedures such as endometrial and vulvar biopsies, as well as menopause counselling. 

Our Academic team has made advancements in gender-affirming care over the last year. Dr. Justine Callahan, Lecturer, alongside her Civic colleagues Dr. Leah Smith, Assistant Professor and Dr. Taunia Rifai, Assistant Professor, have launched a Gender Affirming Care Clinic. This clinic has been instrumental in providing hormonal therapy and surgical consultations to our patients as well as patients in the community. Our residents rotate through this clinic every two weeks, gaining valuable exposure and building their competencies.

Cancer screening initiatives over the last year have resulted in over 150 women being screened for their cervical exams through special "Papapalooza" clinics during evening clinics with residents and staff. This has resolved our cervical cancer screening delay post-pandemic! 

We remain committed to quality improvement and excellence in clinical education. We currently have three ongoing QI projects to improve the care of our patients with CHF, diabetes, and COPD. We continue to support our learners at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels with research, academic teaching and mentoring. Several colleagues have expanded their families in the last few years, and we look forward to further growth and unity as a team. 

Riverside Team Members

On October 24, 2024, Bruyère rebranded to Bruyère Health and Bruyère Health Research Institute. All recruitment materials (posters, social media, consent forms etc.,) should now use the updated name and logo, with templates available in the REB template section. Importantly, all current ethics approvals and consent forms remain valid. Studies that are still recruiting should incorporate the updated consent form templates moving forward.

New templated products for presentations, e-signatures, letterhead, and other materials will be available on InfoNet. Social media postings will continue under the handle @bruyerecare, and email addresses will remain in the format of @bruyere.org.

For more information on the name change, consult the Bruyère Health announcement on their website. If you have any questions, please contact briirb@bruyere.org. 

Office: Undergraduate Medical Education

Position: Rotation lead, Family Medicine – Anglophone stream. The Rotation Lead will provide leadership for their respective rotation. They report to the Vice-dean of UGME through the Assistant Dean, Student Evaluation & Curriculum Implementation via the Director of Clerkship (years 3 and 4) and to their respective departmental chair as appropriate.

Application Deadline: November 22, 2024

Position details and application instructions.

Office: Undergraduate Medical Education

Position: Lead Black Health and Anti-racism. The Curricular Lead for Black Health and Anti-racism in the MD program is responsible for designing, implementing, and evaluating Black Health and Anti-racism educational components across all four years of the program. This role reflects the Faculty’s commitment to social responsibility and addressing the health needs of the Black population in Canada.

Application Deadline: November 29, 2024

Position details and application instructions.

The Centre for Innovation in Medical Education (CiMED) is calling for proposals (abstracts for oral and poster presentations, innovations, and workshops) for dissemination at the 2025 Meridith Marks Medical Education Days, which will take place May 2-3, 2025. The deadline to submit a proposal is January 10, 2025. Submissions can be in English or French. Refer to the submission form for presentation categories. Questions? Contact Sue Humphrey-Murto at shumphrey@toh.ca.

Researchers in the Department of Innovation in Medical Education (DIME) are inviting trainees at Canadian medical schools or physicians practicing in Canada to participate in a research study examining introverts and extroverts within the realm of research and medicine. It is hoped that the insights gained from this study will inform future research that will benefit trainees and practicing physicians. Click on this survey and informed consent form link to participate. Note: this study is available in English only. Questions? Contact the Research Coordinator at lcowley@uottawa.ca or at 613-737-8899, x74011.