Message from the Department Head

A wet and cold weekend after two weeks of sunshine. I hope your Victoria weekend has not been too dampened.

Congratulations: We are celebrating  Dr. Andrew McLaren from the Island Medical Program, Family Practice who received The UBC Faculty of Medicine Clinical Faculty Award for Excellence in Community Practice Teaching . Andrew has been instrumental in the development of the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital Human Factors Lab and Simulation Program.

Postgraduate Expansion: We have had two meetings about expansion of the postgraduate program. Already we have increased the program in response to federal and provincial requests for more international medical graduates and more distributed training. Now we are working on the strategy for expansion and will be hiring a director and project manager over the next few weeks.

Palliative Care: As some of you may be aware, Dr. Patricia Boston, long-time member of our Department and Director of the Department of Family Practice Palliative Care program will be stepping down as Director of the Palliative Care program as of June 30, 2012.

Dr. Patricia Boston has been a tireless leader in Palliative Care over the years and has grown the Division with her wisdom, insights and passion.  Thankfully , this is not a good-bye as we are happy to report that Dr. Boston will be remaining in the Department as a Clinical faculty member to pursue her passions and interest in research.  We thank Dr. Boston for her many years of leadership and look forward to working with her in her new capacity.

To replace Dr. Patricia Boston, the Department of Family Practice is delighted to share that Dr. Peter Kirk has been offered and has accepted the position of Interim Director of the Department of Family Practice Palliative Care Program.  This is a six month position that commences in May 2012 to provide overlap with the current Director, Dr. Pat Boston.  Dr. Kirk is charged with providing leadership to the Palliative Care Program and for developing a strategic plan for Palliative Care for the Faculty of Medicine.

We are delighted to be welcoming Dr. Peter Kirk back to UBC and to the Department of Family Practice.  We expect him to continue the legacy of strong and effective shown by out-going Director, Dr. Pat Boston.

Martin Dawes