Month: February 2012

Ever worried about a patient collapsing in your office? At my last practice we had the adrenaline stuck on each door. The first day we did that a patient came in and collapsed. Now we regularly check the expiry date as well! At the practice I worked with in Oxford, UK, the practice nurse had put a steroid injection and the adrenaline in a plastic box with a small IV line, and when you opened the lid there was a little label inside the lid that listed which went in the muscle and which went in the vein and how fast each should be given. “Just in time” information is critical not only in ER, but where people with illnesses tend to come – like your clinic.

One of residents has addressed this problem of what you need in your clinic for emergencies in a video that is part of their R2 project. I thought that if any of you are reading this blog maybe you might help him out by watching the video at www.OfficeEmergencies.ca –  the resident is form Nanaimo and is running this project and I do urge you to go visit this site as the video is very short and very useful. You will learn, very quickly, what you might need in your office and be surprised that most of the equipment will cost only $101  I like the precise estimate – not $100 but $101! – soon to be the cost of a tank of gas in British Columbia the way prices are going.

Resident projects are a feature of this department that is encouraged as part of developing the academic role of the family doctor. The huge variation in ideas and the enthusiasm that residents demonstrate for answering their questions is really evident. Research rounds are held every other Wednesday morning at 8.00am to 9.00 am at the department in Vancouver, and virtually so you can log in. This is a perfect place for residents to present their ideas and have help developing their protocol. It is friendly, supportive and open to all faculty. The residents are starting to use this as a regular sounding board and mentorship setting – maybe you should listen in?

In the rest of the world of family medicine the deadline for the Family Medicine Forum applications was the 24th february but the site is still open if you have a last minute workshop idea.

Martin

An amazing week or two in family practice at UBC. Three TLEF grants that I know about have been granted to Gurdeep Parhar, Christie Newton and Diana Dawes.  Together they have gained nearly $200,000 of funding which is tremendous. At the same time there as been announcement from CIHR for nearly 31 million dollars of funding for primary care research over the next five years (The Transformative Community-based Primary Healthcare Initiative).

There are several groups now developing their letters of intent for this new funding. It is the largest offer of research funding in primary care in Canada and really marks a sea change in the approach of the Federal Government regarding research.

We are anticipating the CARMS match following all the interviews. We are also expecting a report in April about developing a strategic plan for expansion of the postgraduate program. We have been asked to increase both International Medical Graduates and Canadian graduates over the next four years and are approaching potential training sites across the province. The undergraduate curriculum is being renewed with family practice involvement in many of the sub committees.

The first annual Research Skills Workshop is being hosted by the Department of Family Practice Research Office and there are a few places left.

The two-day event will be held at the University Golf Club, 5185 University Boulevard, Vancouver on March 3 and 4, 2012. The event features keynote speakers, Dr. Dee Mangin (New Zealand) and Dr. David Kuhl (UBC, Family Practice) and an interactive primary care network panel discussion. It will be an excellent opportunity to attend research skills building workshops, meet potential collaboratorsand network with colleagues who share your scholarly interests. Immediately after the last workshop on Saturday, March 3^rd, there will be a cocktail and networking reception followed by dinner.

The workshop is free to all members of the UBC Department of Family Practice (faculty, research staff, Clinician Scholars, and residents).
Martin Dawes