Message from the Department Head

Five thousand family doctors is a pretty amazing number. This is a real tribute to the CEO of the college Cal Gutkin who will be stepping down this year. He has been acknowledged in many events but it is worth repeating how important he has been to the practice of academic family medicine. He has […]

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It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of a friend and colleague, Peter Granger. Many tributes have been coming to me from all parts of the province and from further afield, about his mentorship, and about how he set a wonderful example. Many will miss him and we extend our sincere condolences […]

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I am occasionally asked why we promote clinical research so much within  the discipline of family practice. My answer is that without clinical research we have no evidence of whether we are doing harm or good. A classic example of the need for clinical research is the relationship between smoking and cancer. Until Richard Doll […]

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The department has been incredibly active over the last few months. Issues have ranged from the postgraduate expansion program, undergraduate curriculum renewal updates, and research. Willa Henry and Diana Chang (the recently appointed postgraduate expansion director) have been extraordinarily busy working on how we can meet government targets for expansion. At the latest post graduate […]

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Welcome back those who have been away and I hope you have had enjoyable holidays. I was going to write that the summer was ending but as it is  29 degrees that is not really true! It is difficult not to make associations between the heat and the rapidly decreasing Arctic ice . That blue line is quite […]

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You know summer has come when  the cyclists turn up at UBC. As part of the BC Superweek UBC hosts a GrandPrix race of a 1Km lap. You won’t be surprised to hear that Jack Taunton is behind this promotion of fitness and activity, and that the event includes not only extraordinary athletes from all over […]

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Starting with the David Snadden. Dave as you may remember was appointed Executive Associate Dean, Education, in the Faculty of Medicine in November last year. In his new position he is providing strategic leadership for all education programs within the Faculty of Medicine. It is good news for family practice to have a family physician in this position. […]

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A quite amazing couple of days last week. At the research day held on UBC campus we heard presentations covering very variable aspects of community based comprehensive care research. The presenters were a mixture of professionals including academic faculty, CIHR funded researchers, clinical scholars and unfunded family doctors. Then on Friday we heard the presentations […]

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A weekend for celebration and an excuse for some flag waving. I am of course talking both about the Ambleside centennial celebrations just down the street from my home, as well as recognizing many who may also be celebrating the Queen’s jubilee. Both of these events remind us of our history but also the importance […]

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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 […]

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