The Cedar Awards

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Marlowe Haskins on receiving the December Cedar Award. Marlowe is a long-standing family doctor, and is the rural director for the Postgraduate Program. He was nominated by Larissa McLean.

Marlowe is a dedicated and enthusiastic preceptor in his community. He provides excellent guidance to all family practice residents when it comes to their rural training and career goals.

Read the full recognition here. 

Congratulations, Marlowe!

From the Faculty of Medicine: Tuum Est! Fall Graduation 2023

This fall, students graduate from a wide range of Faculty of Medicine programs, celebrate their achievements and look ahead to the next stage of their careers as physical therapists, speech-language pathologists and more. Read more.

Opportunity: 2024 Honours and Awards Program

The Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine (FAFM) is pleased to announce the launch of the 2024 Honours and Awards Program. This program supports family physicians at all stages of their career through grants and celebrates their remarkable achievements with the highest nationally recognized honours in family medicine.

In 2024 the program will confer honours and awards to approximately 150 individuals who have demonstrated excellence in their field, with a total dedicated funding allocation of up to $500,000.

We invite applications and nominations for the 2024 cycle with the following deadlines:

•    February 1: Deadline to apply for various grants to foster innovation, research and educational initiatives.
•    March 1: Nominate exceptional individuals whose work and dedication have significantly impacted family medicine, for various awards in our program.
•    April 14: Students are encouraged to apply for scholarships to further their education and contribute to the future of family medicine. 
•    June 17: Universities can nominate outstanding Resident and Student award recipients, recognizing their commitment to the field of family medicine.

The available grants provide opportunities for researchers, educators, and practitioners to explore a broad range of initiatives to advance developments in family medicine, including continuing professional development opportunities and research which elevate the standards of care in our communities. For more information, explore our available grants.

On this special anniversary year, we invite all those interested in family medicine to engage with us in celebrating and advancing this field. Participate by applying, nominating, or encouraging scholarship applications. Together, we'll continue shaping the future of family medicine in Canada.

Should you have any questions, please contact awards@cfpc.ca.

Events

Mark Your Calendar for the 2024 BC Rural Health Conference

RCCbc’s annual BC Rural Health Conference (RHC) is more than just continuing medical education—it’s about connecting rurally based colleagues and fostering community and collaboration. This highly anticipated event is a favourite for rural doctors across British Columbia.

Mark your calendar and save the date for next year, as we head back to Whistler for RCCbc’s 2024 BC Rural Health Conference on May 24–26, at the Whistler Conference Centre. Keep an eye out for upcoming registration details.

Stay tuned for updates on future events by following @RCCbc on Twitter with the hashtag #BCRHC.

Read more here.

Education and Funding Opportunities

Nomination Call Out: Universal Design for Learning Fellows Program – 2024 Cohort

As part of the 2024 Small TLEF funding round, the Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic has earmarked funding to support a second cohort for the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Fellows Program that was launched in the spring of 2023 with its first cohort. The UDL Fellows Program will run across four months, with the second intake occurring in May 2024. Project teams who participate in the Program will implement UDL in courses during the 2024/25 academic year.

The UDL Fellows Program will support faculty and staff to develop expertise in UDL through a cohort-based professional development program comprising a series of facilitated workshops, online modules, and project-driven activities. These components are tailored to assist participants in effectively implementing UDL principles in their daily practices, teaching methods and course redesign efforts, ensuring greater accessibility for all.

The goals of the UDL Fellows Program are to:

• Identify and address systemic barriers to equitable learning opportunities, to create and sustain equitable and inclusive campuses by enhancing the accessibility of physical and virtual spaces for students, staff, and faculty (supporting UBC Strategic Plan Strategy 4: Inclusive Excellence; and the UBC Inclusion Action Plan).
• Improve access and inclusion in on-campus, online and hybrid teaching and learning environments with a focus on reducing barriers for all learners.
• Cultivate a network of practitioners skilled in applying UDL approaches to teaching and learning contexts across various academic disciplines. These UDL advocates will also help to raise awareness of UDL among faculty and staff across the university community.
• Develop a range of strategies and resources that will expand support for accessibility within university practices and courses, promoting a more inclusive learning environment for all.

Project Team Structure/Commitment

All project teams who participate in the UDL Fellows Program will commit to participating in a series of UDL Fellows Program workshops (hybrid and in-person) between May and August 2024. During this period, the teams will collaborate to develop and put into action UDL strategies in their in their course design and teaching and learning practices, with a focus on courses and projects that will be offered during the 2024/25 academic year (i.e., Winter Session 1 starting September 2024 or Winter Session 2 starting January 2025).

Eligibility

Ideally, each faculty project team should consist of an instructor, who may be either a tenure-stream or contract faculty, responsible for teaching a course that forms the centerpiece of the project. In addition, if possible, the team should include a support staff member from a Faculty Instructional support unit or departmental support unit who will work alongside of the instructor on the redesign of the course. If the Faculty is unable to nominate a staff support person, CTLT can provide support to the project.

Departments will be eligible to receive $10,000 in funding to cover a three-credit course release for faculty who participate in the UDL Fellows Program. Faculties will be asked to commit in-kind support of a staff member where possible to participate fully in the program as a UDL Fellow and to work closely with faculty on a course level UDL redesign project.

For the Faculty of Medicine one project team will be nominated to participate in the 2024 UDL Fellows Program.

Faculty of Medicine Internal Nomination Process and Timeline

1. Interested FoM project teams should review the 2024 UDL Program overview in detail (outlined above).
2. Interested FoM project teams must complete and submit the “2024 UDL Fellows Nomination Form” via email to laura.gillis@ubc.ca on or before January 3rd , 2024.
3. The FoM adjudication of 2024 UDL Fellows Nominations will be completed by January 24th, 2024. All unsuccessful nominations will be notified via email by January 25th, 2024.
4. The adjudicated 2024 UDL Program nominee will be put forth to UBC Central TLEF for review on January 25th, 2024.

The TLEF team will adjudicate nominations from all Faculties across UBC and reach out to those who have been selected to participate in the 2024 UDL Program in March 2024.

Upcoming Team Coaching Opportunities for Rural Teams

The Rural Coordination Centre of BC is now  accepting expressions of interest from rural health care teams interested in participating in the Quality Team Coaching for Rural BC Program starting in spring 2024. We will also once again be running the two hour long Finding Your Way in Teamwork: Team Coaching Principles workshop again in January. Please share the information below widely with any rural teams who might be interested, and add to your newsletter if it fits:

Quality Team Coaching for Rural BC

Quality Team Coaching for Rural BC (QTC4RBC) is a coaching program that empowers teams to regroup and reconnect with their purpose and take steps toward building their desired team culture and advancing their chosen goals. When healthcare teams are able to rekindle joy and meaning in their work, they are more able to create a positive work environment, optimize their team’s performance, and increase the quality and safety of care for patients. Teams enrolled in the program will participate in:

1. A one day in-person coaching workshop in your community with a certified professional coach to lay the foundation for coaching towards highly effective teams. Coaches currently working with QTC4RBC are Dr. Rahul Gupta, Dr. Cecile Andreas, and Dr. Tom Wright.
2. Four 1.5 hour virtual team coaching sessions in the months following the workshop
3. Three leadership coaching sessions for the team leads to support their essential role in leading the team and fostering and sustaining change
4. Certified for 31.5 Mainpro+ credits/10.5 MOC Section 3 hours

QTC4RBC is currently accepting Expressions of Interest from teams wishing to participate in the program in starting in Spring 2024. Please visit the website for more information about eligibility, how to apply, and to download the Expression of Interest form. You can also watch a video or read an article about the Duncan ER team’s experience in the program. The deadline to submit an Expression of Interest is February 2, 2024.

Register here to receive the details to join the information webinar:

• January 11, 12:00-12:45 PST

Please reach out if you have any questions.

Finding Your Way in Teamwork: Team Coaching Principles Workshop

The Finding Your Way in Teamwork: Team Coaching Principles workshop is a two-hour long virtual education session on the eight elements of high-functioning teams. When teams are able to cultivate these elements they are more able to create a positive work environment, rekindle joy in their work, optimize their team’s performance, and increase the quality and safety of care for patients.

In the workshop, participants will learn the attributes, skills and tools of high-functioning interprofessional teams and the critical role of developing psychological safety as the fundamental foundation of healthy teams. Participants will then be supported to design an action plan for strengthening psychological safety within the team they work with on a day-to-day basis. Resources for further learning will also be shared. The workshop will be co-facilitated by Dr. Rahul Gupta and Dr. Cecile Andreas, both physicians and Professional Certified Coaches with extensive experience in individual and team coaching.

This workshop will be delivered virtually on January 17, 2024 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm PST in real-time through Zoom. More information about the workshop and instructions to register are available on the Finding Your Way in Teamwork webpage.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about the program or workshop.

Applications Open for Rural Scholars

The Department of Family Practice invites applications for a part-time (0.2 FTE) position of Rural Scholar. In partnership with the Rural Coordination Centre of British Columbia, we are accepting applications for established clinicians in British Columbia to develop experience and skills in Rural Scholarship through the Rural Scholars Program. There are up to 2 positions available and it is anticipated that these will be distributed over the rural areas of British Columbia.

Learn more and apply here.

CFPC CIHR Health System Impact Fellowship Opportunity

The CFPC is pleased to announce that, with the generous support of the Foundation for the Advancement of Family Medicine (FAFM), they are once again collaborating with CIHR as a host partner for their Health System Impact Fellowship (HSIF) opportunity.

The HSIF program provides highly qualified PhD trainees, postdoctoral researchers, and early career researchers in health services and policy research/related fields with the opportunity to develop embedded research projects/programs that address health system challenges, offering evidence to inform decision-making.

The CFPC wants to work with PhD and Postdoctoral Fellows, bringing the strengths of research collaboration to the challenges Canada is facing in family medicine and primary care. The fellowship will offer a one or two-year embedded research experiential learning opportunity, hosted by the CFPC and working with research leaders throughout the family medicine research community. Potential Fellows will also find our host partner description on the  online partner linkage tool.   

Anyone who is interested can contact Steve Slade at sslade@cfpc.ca

Midwifery

New Voices in Faculty Work Groups

Laura Mercer has been promoted to Clinical Assistant Professor (MIDW) to represent Midwifery in the Department of Family Practice Clinical Faculty Appointment and Promotions Committee. 

UBC Midwifery 20th Anniversary, Victoria Edition

Seventy-five people were in attendance for presentations such as Trauma-Informed Pedagogy and panel discussion on supporting physiologic birth and water birth in hospital settings, and best business practices for midwives. There was a preceptor and alumni recognition dinner and reception. People were warm and engaged, good for preceptor morale and education.

Publications

Dr. Luba Butska co-authored, Systematic Screening for Perinatal Anxiety and why it Matters, along with Kathrin Stoll and Nichole Fairbrother both whom are part of Family Practice but tied to Midwifery.

Dr. Kaveri Mayra (Birth Place Lab) co-authored an article in a new Lancet series on maternal and perinatal health: Towards a better tomorrow: addressing intersectional gender power relations to eradicate inequities in maternal health

Postgraduate

Team-Based Primary Care at St. Luke Family Practice

When Drs. Leo and Flora Wong opened the doors to their practice, they informed patients of their team approach to care. They didn’t struggle to find patients who were comfortable seeing two physicians. Operating as a dyad from the beginning made them no strangers to working as a team. Since then, the St. Luke Family Practice clinic has grown with an increased number of care providers, and has become an established education environment for undergraduate and postgraduate learners. The St. Luke team provides full-scope family practice care, in-hospital care, palliative and hospice care, home visits, obstetrics and psychiatric community rehabilitation.

Read the full profile here.

Josh Greggain Appointed Director of Family Practice Residency Program

The Department is pleased to announce Dr. Josh Greggain as the new director of the Family Practice Residency Program. This appointment comes following the tenure of Dr. Mark MacKenzie. Dr. Greggain will officially start on January 1, 2024, with a transition period throughout December.

Read more about Dr. Greggain here.

Career Opportunity: International Medical Graduate Transition Support Lead

The UBC Family Practice Residency Program invites applications from Family Physicians for the position of Transition Support Lead for International Medical Graduates.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) funds a designated number of residency training positions for international medical graduates (IMGs). After residency, the new graduates provide health services in designated areas of critical need in B.C. This ‘Return of Service’ (ROS) is a mandated two-year requirement for family medicine graduates.

The ROS program and contracts are governed by the MoH, not UBC. However, the Family Practice Residency Program provides support for its trainees through the ROS placement process during residency by having a faculty appointed in the role of IMG Transition Support Lead.

Interested individuals should submit their an email with “IMG Transition Support Lead” in the subject line and an attached letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and the names and contact information of three referees to:

Dr. Alfredo Tura
alfredo.tura@familymed.ubc.ca
Interim Director of Postgraduate Programs, Department of Family Practice
AND
Ricky Sham
Ricky.sham@ubc.ca
Administrative Coordinator, Family Practice Postgrad, Department of Family Practice

Application deadline: January 2, 2024

Read the full posting and job description here.

Planetary Health

UN COP28

Dr. Videsh Kapoor, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Family Practice, recently attended UN COP28 as part of the UBC delegate.

UBC Sustainability has shared with us the following video on Instagram and Twitter.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C0h-ncUPVPw/

Twitter: https://x.com/sustainUBC/status/1732551615260061938?s=20

ISU

Upcoming Team Mapping Training

We are excited to be offering another round of Team Mapping Facilitator Training (two-part session) on January 17 and 18, from 10:00 am-12:30 pm! We have limited spots in the upcoming training and we are offering free registration on a first-come-first-served basis. If you are interested you can REGISTER HERE. Please feel free to share this with anyone else who is working to support primary care teams, who might be interested in Team Mapping Facilitator Training.

The ISU’s Team Mapping method is a facilitated workshop that helps groups explore how they can work together to support patient primary care needs as a team. Team Mapping uses local evidence to ensure relevance and co-creation techniques to engage providers and other stakeholders in exploring how a team can be structured and how teams can work together to support patient needs. We anticipate that facilitators who participate in this training will use the Team Mapping method more often at the clinic or team-within-a-clinic level to support forming and existing teams.

Research

Call for Research Rounds

Have you or a member of your research team presented a study at a conference or released findings for a new publication? Would you like an opportunity to engage, inspire and connect with your fellow family practice researchers? The Research Rounds provide a platform for us to come together as a department, share our latest findings and foster collaboration. If you or a team member are interested in doing a virtual presentation for the Research Rounds, reach out to Hiresh Gindwani, DFP Research Coordinator at hiresh.g@ubc.ca.

Call for Applications to the UBC Clinician Scholar Program for the 2024-26 Cohort

The application deadline has been extended to January 15! Please help distribute this information by forwarding this to any colleagues who might be interested in and/or considering research in their field of practice.

Do you have an idea for how to improve practice, health care delivery or any aspect of community-based primary health care? Then the UBC Clinician Scholar Program (CSP) may be for you! We are accepting applications until January 15 for program start date of July 1, 2024, so please help us spread the word.

The CSP will help you to develop your ideas into scholarship. Our program supports:

• Developing and conducting research

• Community engagement

• Contributions to education and to the family medicine knowledge base

• Knowledge translation

The Clinician Scholar Program offers two-year, half-time positions in family medicine research. These enhanced skills residency positions are open to practicing BC family physicians as part of the Postgraduate Program of the UBC Faculty of Medicine. The CSP is an accredited program with the College of Family Physicians in Canada.

For more information, please see our CSP Brochure attached, write to brian.ng@ubc.ca and evelyn.cornelissen@ubc.ca or visit our website:

http://research.familymed.ubc.ca/clinician-scholar-program-2/.

Please consider forwarding this information to any colleagues who might be interested in and/or considering research in their field of practice.

Publications

Cost-effectiveness of pharmacogenomic-guided treatment for major depression.

First 5 years of practice, first 5 years of parenthood.

The effects of eating frequency on changes in body composition and cardiometabolic health in adults: a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized trials.

HIV reservoirs are dominated by genetically younger and clonally enriched proviruses.

Feasibility of a Virtual Health-Promoting Intervention (Choose to Move) for Older Adults: A Rapid Adaptation in Response to COVID-19.

The Medical Abortion Prescriber Checklist and Resource Guide: Tools for Prescribers

Access to episodic primary care: a cross-sectional comparison of walk-in clinics and urgent primary care centers in British Columbia

Pharmacogenetics of Biochemically Verified Abstinence in an Opioid Agonist Therapy Randomized Clinical Trial of Methadone and Buprenorphine/Naloxone.

Evaluation of audit and feedback to family physicians on prescribing of opioid analgesics to opioid-naïve patients: A pragmatic randomized delay trial.

Response to Letter to the Editor on "Adherence to Exercise Programs in Community-dwelling Older Adults Post-discharge for Hip Fracture: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis".

Characteristics of potential concussive events in elite hurling: a video-analysis study.

Exercise prescription for persons with spinal cord injury: a review of physiological considerations and evidence-based guidelines.

What We Should Expect from an Innovative Intra-Articular Hyaluronic Acid Product: Expert Opinion Based on a Comprehensive Review of the Literature.

In the News

Malala Yousafzai, Internet Queen

This article published in The Juggernaut includes quotes from department member Dr. Farah Shroff. 

Read the article here.

HR Corner

Payroll Timesheets Submission Deadline

Monthly and hourly employees: Dec 20, 2023 @ 11:59 pm

Managers and leaders: Dec 20, 2023 @ 11:59pm

Winter Paid Leave

Am I eligible for paid leave between Boxing Day and New Year’s Day? The length of time you are allowed to take depends on your employee group. Please refer here to review the policy regarding the permitted duration of the winter leave for each employee group.

Please note that certain UBC staff are eligible for paid leave during the university’s seasonal closure, which falls on December 27, 28 and 29, 2023. For more details, please click here.

Fresh Feature on Our DFP Website: General Application Submission

DFP HR Careers page introduces you to the General Application Submission form!

Don’t see a role today that matches your experiences and skillsets? You can send us your resume, including a description of your area of expertise and area of interest in our department. If there is a fit and future role that may be your interest, we will get in touch with you if anything comes up.

The Department posts all available openings on UBC Staff Careers or Faculty Careers page.

2024 Vacation Now Available in Workday

Eligible staff in salaried positions can now access their 2024 vacation balances in Workday, and vacation requests can now be entered for 2024. The vacation entitlement is based on the employee group you belong to. Please visit here for additional detailed information on vacation. For any questions, please reach out to Adrian Whitehead, HR Assistant (adrian.whitehead@ubc.ca)

Introducing New Benefits in 2024

For those who are eligible for UBC Benefits, below are some new changes that we are excited to introduce in 2024! Let’s look forward and see what we can expect in 2024.

• Extended Health Benefit Changes
• Introducing Personal Spending Account (PSA)
• Health Spending Account Increases

For more details, please visit here.

End-of-Year Benefit Reminders for 2023

Extended Health Claims Deadline

If you have any outstanding extended health claims between Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2022, you must claim this reimbursement with SunLife no later than December 31, 2023.

Dental Claims Deadline

To be considered for reimbursement, dental claims must be received by SunLife no later than one year from the date of service.

Health Spending Account Claims Deadline

If you have unpaid extended health and or dental care claims dated between January 1 to December 31^, 2023, that you would like reimbursed from your Health Spending Account, they must be received by SunLife no later than March 31, 2024.

Please visit here for more details.

Careers

Director, Rural Scholars Program

The Director, Rural Scholars Program will provide leadership in the field of rural primary care research for the Rural Scholars Program. The Rural Scholars Program has been created to provide an opportunity for rural clinicians to develop skills in scholarship and leadership. The program takes a broad approach to scholarship and can encompass any category of scholarship: discovery, integration, application/engagement and education. The Rural Scholars Program is funded through the distributed support funds of the Rural Doctors’ UBC Chair in Rural Health provided by the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues in partnership with the Department of Family Practice at UBC and the Rural Coordination Centre of British Columbia. The program will provide some travel and scholarship training support.

Learn more and apply here.