Awards and Recognition

The Cedar Awards

This month, the Department is excited to recognize Ada Okonkwo-Dappa for the Cedar Award. Thank you to Erza Mjekiqi for submitting the nomination.

Ada plays a vital role as the lead coordinator for the ISU CapEs project, demonstrating exceptional dedication in recruiting participants and running multiple Delphi study runs. Ada's contributions have significantly advanced the project and provided valuable insights for the design of the capacity estimator.

2024 AFMC Award Winners

Vincent Wong AFMC John Ruedy Award for Excellence In Graduate Health Professions Education Scholarship

Meet the individuals that have been recognized for their leadership, excellence and achievements in academic medicine, including department member Dr. Vincent Wong. Read here.

Congratulations, Vincent!

Events and Courses

MEME Vancouver Conference

May 24 and 25 | In-person and Webcast
Early bird rates now available. Learn fact from fiction with short snapper updates from our highly entertaining presenters on weight management, alcohol use disorder, misleading lab results, osteoporosis, migraine, opioid use disorder, diabetes, women’s health, infectious disease, deprescribing, practice changing studies, artificial intelligence and more! Our presentations are evidence-based with no sponsorship.

Visit https://hectalks.com/vancouver to register.

Save the Date: Okanagan Orchards 2024

We’re excited to announce that Okanagan Orchards is back, live and in-person on Saturday, June 1 at the Eldorado Resort in Kelowna! This is the annual Family Practice Postgraduate faculty development and appreciation event.

We will have a morning of workshops, followed by some options for outdoor activities in the afternoon and will wrap up with an appreciation dinner in the evening. It’s a great opportunity for some networking and support, and we have a lot of fun too!

A travel reimbursement will be available to eligible out-of-town preceptors (more details to come when registration opens this spring). There is no registration fee for this event.

There are a limited number of guest rooms held at the Eldorado Resort in Kelowna, so booking early is recommended. Book guest rooms directly with this link.

This event is open to all preceptors and clinical faculty from across our beautiful province.

Stay tuned for further details, including an agenda and registration link.

The Restorative Imperative in Healthcare: Broadening the Definition of Healing

UBC Midwifery is hosting a free keynote lecture on restorative justice, and we are extending this invitation to all our partners and colleagues. Please save the date of April 19 from 10am-12pm.

All are welcome, but capacity is limited. Learn more and register here.

BC Rural Health Conference 2024 in Whistler, May 24–26

There’s something special about the BC Rural Health Conference. It’s not just the knowledge you gain, but also the friendships you form. Embrace the excitement, the learning, and the camaraderie that makes this event so exceptional!

Join rural medicine peers on May 24-26 in Whistler, BC for an amazing line-up of speakers and topics. This year’s program is packed with opportunities to network and interact with individuals who can share and learn the unique benefits of rural practice. Highlights include:

Social and networking events to connect with rural peers, including locums
Interactive breakout sessions and hands-on skills workshops to discover current and emerging trends in rural medicine
Pre-conference courses include: The CARE Course Goes WILDE and the Rural POCUS Congress
Presentation of the BC Rural Health Awards on Friday afternoon
Wellness opportunities, including stretching and yoga sessions, complimentary chair massages, guided hikes and other excursions
Free (and fun) childcare during conference hours

CPD Events

Spring Dermatology Review Virtual Series 2024
April 3, 10, 17, 24 (Wednesdays) | 5:30–7 p.m. PST | Virtual Conference Series
Audience: family physicians, dermatologists, nurse practitioners, residents and students.
Overview: Join our engaging lecture series for practical pearls on managing common skin concerns. These convenient 90-minute Wednesday evening sessions designed to deliver high-yield knowledge.

Up to 6.0 Mainpro+/MOC Section 1 credits full series or 1.5 credits per session

BC Cancer’s FPON Annual Education Day for Primary Care – Human Papilloma Virus and Related Cancers

Info-packed half-day session

April 6 (Sat) | 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | Virtual Conference

Audience: family physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, residents and students.
Overview: Tailored for primary care providers, the BC Cancer Family Practice Oncology Network invites you to learn about the complexities of HPV prevention, vaccination, and its impact on various cancer types.

Up to 3.5 Mainpro+ credits

Peer-2-Peer Resident Coaching Portal
eLearning | Any Time
Audience: residents and students.
Overview: Peer-to-peer coaching is a proven model for improving the clinical skills and mental health of physician residents. Join the portal and get access to resources and a discussion forum to connect with other program leads and site directors.

BC Cancer’s FPON Annual Education Day

April 6 (Sat) | 8:30 a.m – 12:30 p.m. PDT | Virtual Conference
Audience: family physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, residents and students.
Up to 3.5 Mainpro+ credits

Overview: Join us for this half-day virtual update on topics relevant to primary care! We will be covering the incidence and scope of cancers caused by HPV, summarizing prevention and early detection strategies of HPV related cancers, and reviewing a psychosexual perspective on an HPV related cancer diagnosis. Each interactive session will include 30-45 minutes of brief, practical knowledge followed by 15 minutes of Q&A.

Learn more and register.

Treating People with Spinal Cord Injury: What You Need to Know

Research in the area of spinal cord injusry confirms a knowledge gap; some studies suggest that approximately 72% of people with SCI have unmet needs from their primary care providers, and that the unmet needs are often greatest among those with the poorest health and lowest incomes. The SCIRE team, along with SCI-BC and the Department of Family Practice, is hoping to close this knowledge gap.

SCIRE is running a series of continuing medical education events entitled Primary Care and SCI: What Do I Need to Know?. Top GF Strong physiatrists will be offering their expertise so that family doctors can learn about SCI and its key complexities that will ultimately help them to treat their patients with SCI more effectively.

The four sessions will all be virtual, and take place from 8am – 9am so that doctors may attend before opening up their clinics for the day.

The dates for the sessions are:

Cardiovascular Health and SCI – Dr. Andrea Townson - April 18
Blood Pressure and SCI – Dr. Andrei Krassioukov - May 1
Bladder Health and SCI – Dr. Viet Vu - May 7
Skin Health and SCI – Dr. Rhonda Willms - May 15

To register, email matthew.queree@ubc.ca.

Live Session: HealtheSteps Lifestyle Counselling for the Prevention of Chronic Disease

The Lifestyle Research Team is excited to announce the return of the Continuing Professional Development activity called HealtheSteps® Lifestyle Counselling for the Prevention of Chronic Disease for physicians and primary care providers. By completing the CPD activities you will earn 12 Mainpro+ credits.

Currently, HealtheSteps® is a virtual or in-person 6-month healthy lifestyle program, providing adults (18+) with a specific plan of action to improve physical activity levels and reduce sedentary behaviour; increase exercise levels; improve eating habits; and improve mental wellbeing. The program has been delivered in a wide variety of primary care or organizational wellness settings across Canada.

The HealtheSteps® Continuing Professional Development Activity is completely virtual and consists of both self-paced and a live session.

Access to eLearning modules, handbooks, and HealtheSteps® Foundational Research Papers (self-paced)
Presentation on HealtheSteps® lifestyle prescription principles that can be integrated with practice workflow (live; virtual)
Practice program delivery (live; virtual)
Keynote Presentation by Dr. Robert Petrella, HealtheSteps® creator and Project Lead (live; virtual)
Guest Speaker presentation (TBD) (live;virtual)
Complete and pass an assessment to receive your HealtheSteps® coach certificate (self-paced; virtual).

Our next live session via Zoom runs on March 28 from 3pm – 7pm PDT. To learn more and sign-up visit: https://healthesteps.ca/cpd-registration/

Note: The cost to complete the HealtheSteps® CPD is $130 (incl. tax). Medical Residents receive a discounted rate at $65 (incl. tax). Please direct any questions to health.e.steps@ubc.ca.

Internal Medicine Review Course for Primary Care Providers

Internal Medicine Review for Family Physicians 2024 is organized by the Providence Health Care Department of Medicine and will be held from May 6th to May 9th, 2024 at St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This is an accredited activity for up to 20 Mainpro+® credits.

Clinical Options

Addiction Medicine, Dermatology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, General Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, Hematology, Infectious Diseases, Nephrology, Neurology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Palliative Care Medicine, Respirology and Rheumatology.

Learn more, read the agenda and register here.

General Updates and Resources

New Director of Administration

We are delighted to welcome Vicky Yau as the new director of administration. Vicky previously served as director, administration in the UBC Department of Psychiatry.

In her more than 20 years of experience at UBC, Vicky has been involved in several key faculty and university initiatives while fostering a positive work environment with department members and staff, as well as colleagues and counterparts from external units.

Please join us in warmly welcoming Vicky!

Dr. Christie Newton appointed Associate Vice-President, Health

From the Faculty of Medicine

[We are] pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Christie Newton as Associate Vice-President, Health, effective February 1, 2024.

Dr. Newton is an associate professor in the Department of Family Practice in the Faculty of Medicine. She continues to practice and teach at the UBC Health Clinic, where she has been Medical Director and a preceptor to family practice residents for over 20 years.

Read the full statement here.

Reminder to Update Department URL

If you have the Department website included on your business card, in your email signature or anywhere else, please be sure to update it familypractice.ubc.ca.

The old URL will still work in the short term, but will eventually no longer redirect to the new website.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our communications coordinator at katie.sweeney@ubc.ca.

Midwifery Program

IWD Recognition Zoë Hodgson to Lead Midwifery Work for the Ministry
Zoë Hodgson, an alumni, a preceptor, an adjunct UBC Midwifery Professor, and most recently Clinical Director for the Midwives Association of BC (MABC), has joined the NP and Midwives team in the Nursing Policy Secretariat as the Clinical and Policy Lead for Midwives and will lead Midwifery work for the Ministry.

Sport and Exercise Medicine

Welcome, Dr. Mike Wilkinson!

The SEM clinic welcomes back Dr. Mike Wilkinson. Mike is the National CMO and head of health and wellness for the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian High Performance sport and is an assistant clinical professor in sports medicine.

ISU

Nurse Compass

With the recent launch of the Nurse in Practice (NinP) Program, the ISU and HQBC have been working on a building a new tool that helps clinics and primary care providers explore the scopes of practice for nurses in BC! Our hope is that the tool will help to illustrate some of the differences in scope between LPNs and RNs, including various certified practice training (1st Call, Remote, Contraception Management, STI, OUD) through a sample 20-30 skills that are commonly needed by patients in primary care. We expect that the tool will launch in April and once it is live we will share it here!

Patient Communication of TBC

We are thrilled to be working with ISU Scholar, Kent Loftsgard, on a follow-up piece of work from our Patient Communication of TBC learning cycle last Fall. Kent will be producing 2-3 mini podcast episodes featuring patient stories of excellent TBC experiences. If you know of any patients who would be interested in sharing their positive TBC experience through an interview, please reach out to tlell.elviss@ubc.ca.

Team Up! Podcast Season 6 has launched!

The first five episodes of our new season are now available! Season 6 is a deep dive into the new Team-Base Care Pathway which was just launched on the teambasedcarebc.ca website! The pathway includes resources, tools and activities related to various stages of team development – from pre-planning, to team building, team performance and quality improvement, and evaluation.

Research

UBC and BC Rural Health Network Address the Gap Between Community Voices and Policy and Decision Making

A recent gap analysis has been published by the UBC Centre for Rural Health Research and the BC Rural Health Network.

The Gap Analysis project was funded by the Social Planning and Research Council of BC to understand and address the gap between rural community voices and their inclusion in policy and decision making. The project came from the desire to understand the disconnect between the perception of engagement offered by the decision and policy makers and the experience of community leaders.

Publications

Development of a co-created online self-management program for people with lower limb loss: self-management for amputee rehabilitation using technology (SMART).

Perinatal anxiety disorders screening study: a study protocol.

Through a Tainted Lens: A Qualitatve Study of Medical Learners' Thinking About Patient 'Deservingness' of Health Advocacy.

The Urgent Need to Re-establish a Health Coalition Focused on Hypertension Prevention and Control in Canada.

An emergency-department-initiated outreach program for patients with opioid use disorder is associated with an increase in agonist therapy and engagement in addictions care: a one-year cohort study.

Use of point-of-care ultrasound in rural British Columbia: Scale, training, and barriers.

Wellbeing Convene during COVID-19: A pilot intervention for improving wellbeing and social connectedness for staff, students, residents, and faculty.

Adverse drug reactions attributed to generic substitution of antiretroviral medications among HIV treatment and pre-exposure prophylaxis clients in British Columbia, Canada.

"Technology has allowed us to do a lot more but it's not necessarily the panacea for everybody": Family physician perspectives on virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

A qualitative study of clinicians' and individuals' with lower limb loss perspectives on the development of a novel online self-management program.

Functional knee brace use for 21 h leads to a longer duration to achieve peak vertical ground reaction forces and the removal of the brace after 17.5 h results in faster loading of the knee joint.

Work outcomes in public safety personnel after potentially traumatic events: A systematic review.

The human health effects of unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD): A scoping review of epidemiologic studies.

"Family doctors are also people": a qualitative analysis of how family physicians managed competing personal and professional responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Perceived Health Status and Capability after Hip Fracture: Secondary Outcomes from an Randomized Controlled Trial.

Grants and Funding Opportunities

Rural Physician Research Grant Program and Rural Global Health Partnership Initiative

The Rural Coordination Centre of BC is once again accepting applications for our next round of Rural Physician Research Grant Program and Rural Global Health Partnership Initiative grants. The next deadline is April 30, 2024. Note that rural physicians partnering with First Nations communities on projects (either research or non-research projects) are also able to apply for the global health partnership initiative. Projects that address the health impacts of climate change are also eligible.

Below are summaries of the opportunities, and more information and the application forms are available on our website. Please distribute to any physicians you think would be interested in applying for either of these funding opportunities.

Rural Physician Research Program Grants

The RCCbc Rural Physician Research Grant program aims to empower rural physician researchers – or new aspiring researchers – to pursue innovative rural research and knowledge translation projects contributing to advancing rural health in BC. Through this project, rural physician researchers will be able to apply for research grants of up to $10,000 to support research activities. To be eligible, applicants must be a BC physician practicing rural medicine and with demonstrable connections to rural communities. The research must be pertaining to health in rural BC.

To apply for this opportunity, please download the application forms from the website and submit it to grants@rccbc.ca.

The deadline for the next round of submissions is April 30, 2024.

Rural Global Health Partnership Initiative

The Rural Global Health Partnership Initiative (RGHPI) is a program which provides funding to support partnerships between rural BC physicians or medical trainees committed to rural service, and underserved rural communities in BC, Canada, and internationally. The goals of this initiative are to enhance capacity for generalism in rural BC; to foster reciprocal learning in diverse health systems and community contexts; and to demonstrate how global health (local and international) community partnerships can heighten awareness, create innovative solutions to address healthcare challenges, and lead to improved health outcomes, especially for underserved, marginalized, and Indigenous populations.

Through this initiative, rural BC physicians and medical trainees (residents and medical students) committed to rural medicine and global health can apply for funding up to $10,000 to support global health partnership projects. To apply for this opportunity, please download the application forms and submit them to grants@rccbc.ca.

The application deadline is April 30, 2024.

Relaunch! BCCHR Open Call for IGAP Clinician Scientists: Now accepting applications from Departments/Schools

On behalf of Dr. Quynh Doan, Senior Executive Director, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute

BCCHR is now accepting applications through the Open Call for two (2) salary awards through the BCCHR Investigator Grant Award Program (IGAP) at the Clinician Scientist level. The IGAP Clinician Scientist is valued at a maximum of $134,000 per annum for five (5) years, renewable upon successful review. The Clinician Scientist must be committed to minimum 70% of research activities with a commitment to protected research time from the Department/School.

This competition is only open to candidates who currently have an existing appointment at BC Children’s Hospital in a clinical capacity. BCCHR wants to recognize the number of clinicians who are actively involved in research but do not currently have the protected time to build a sustainable research program.

Applications must be coordinated by the Department/School and may only be submitted by the Department/School Head (individuals may not apply directly). Each Department/School is limited to a maximum of three (3) applications each.

Internal submission deadline: May 3, 2024

Please send application to: dept.head@familymed.ubc.ca

For questions and submission details, please email resinfo@bcchr.ca.

In the News

More doctors alone can't fix B.C.'s health-care system: report

Read the CBC article—featuring Postgraduate Program Director, Dr. Josh Greggain—here.

HR Corner

T4/T4A Tax Slips for Staff and Faculty Are Available

UBC issues tax slips online as PDFs that are identical to the printed form and are accepted by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) when filing your taxes.

UBC staff and faculty can now access their payroll-related 2023 T4 and T4A tax slips for personal income tax returns through Workday.

Current employees with active CWL can refer to the Find My T4 Guide in the Workday Knowledge Base
Former employees can access their tax slips through Workday using their existing CWL within 18 months of leaving UBC.

For more details, please visit HERE.

Payroll Timesheets Submission Deadline

Monthly and Hourly Employees: March 23, 2024 @11:59pm

Managers and Leaders: March 25, 2024 @11:59pm

Learn more about UBC’s Faculty and Staff Email Migration to the Cloud

With data security a priority at UBC, the university is taking action by preparing to migrate all faculty and staff email services (FASmail) from being hosted on-premises to the cloud platform Microsoft Exchange Online. The migration will take place over the course of the next 12-18 months on a departmental basis. Two information sessions will be held for faculty and staff to learn about the project. To learn more about the information sessions, please visit HERE.

Join the EDI Joint Interest Group

The EDI Joint Interest Group is a network for equity leads, EDI champions or any staff or faculty responsible for advancing or leading EDI initiatives in their unit, department, school or program. We meet monthly to discuss topics of interest and connect via MS Teams.

Join the EDI Joint Interest Group Mailing List

Upcoming Monthly Topics:

De-escalating Intergroup Conflicts

March 11, 2024, 1:00-2:00 pm Zoom

Employment Equity Advisor Pilot Program

This pilot program is an opportunity for all faculty members, as well as staff members involved in faculty hiring, to develop their expertise in accessible and equitable hiring processes. The Employment Equity Advisor pilot program is open to faculty and staff members who work closely to support faculty hiring processes. Program participants should have a track record of contributions to equity, diversity, and inclusion. Register to join the next full-day training on March 18th.

If you have questions about whether the program is a good fit for you, please contact one of the program leads (Hélène Frohard-Dourlent, PhD) (Inas Ettayebi). For more details, please visit HERE.

Save the Date! Faculty and Staff Sports Day on May 3

Teams will compete in a variety of physical and intellectual challenges, activities and fun! Registration is open until April 24.

Click HERE to sign up for the alert.

Careers

Site Faculty for Academic Curriculum — Indigenous Site

Site Director (or Co-Site Directors) — Nanaimo

Program Coordinator — Chilliwack Site

To include your pet in the next newsletter, please email dfp.comms@ubc.ca.

Department of Family Practice
3rd Floor David Strangway Building
5950 University Boulevard
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3

familymed.ubc.ca

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