For many Department members, the most significant event this month was the agreement reached between the F茅d茅ration des M茅decins Omnipracticiens du Qu茅bec and the provincial government to put a halt to Law 2. At the time of writing, the result of the FMOQ members鈥� vote on the agreement is not available, but it appears likely that it will be approved. If that happens, the Department of Family Medicine will start the work of repairing the damage that occurred in the 7 weeks of Law 2 (retirements, departures, etc.) to further our vision of education, research, and patient care. We will also embark on the even larger issue of trying to help heal the psychological trauma from Law 2 sustained by our community.
Since my last message, there have been several important departmental activities, including:
- Outcomes of Training Project (OTP) Meeting in Drummondville (November 26): Leaders from all four Quebec Departments of Family Medicine came together for a full-day meeting to further the OTP, which will see pilot projects in extensions of residency training rolled out in each department over the next few years. At 海角社区, we will be launching R2Plus, a voluntary 6-month extension of residency training, in 2027, if all goes well!
- 海角社区 Annual Refresher Course for Family Physicians (December 1-3): Was a huge success again this year, setting a record for attendance! Thank you to the organizing committee: Vanessa Pasztor and Myl猫ne Arsenault (co-chairs), Derek da Costa, David Dannenbaum, Stuart R. Glaser (emeritus member), Kelly Hennegan, Tia Karass-Rohan, Daniel Lalla, Liu Liu, Lavanya Narasiah, Sanaa Oumamass, Ivan Rohan (honorary co-chair), Oliver Schneider,听Sonali Srivastava and听An茂a Tissakht.
- Department Holiday Party (December 4): we gathered for our annual Holiday Party, with a Frost and Fire theme that the Wellness Team wonderfully put together. From the d茅cor to the food, they really went above and beyond. Thank you to Andrew Marcheschi, Maxime Pirenne, Ania Johnstone and Michelle Jang!
I would also like to highlight these individuals for kudos:
- Alexandra Massicotte, medical director of the GMF-U Vaudreuil-Soulanges, is named finalist for the Emerging Practitioner Award from the Coll猫ge des M茅decins du Qu茅bec, a prize which recognizes early-career physicians. Bravo Dr. Massicotte! Read more here.
- Laurie Musgrave, UGME Director in the Department, presented with a group from the 4 Quebec departments of family medicine, at the Congr猫s du Coll猫ge National des G茅n茅ralistes Enseignants (CNGE) in Toulouse, France. She shared valuable insights on medical education at 海角社区 and helped showcase our strengths on an international stage. Bravo, Dr. Musgrave!
- As a delegate for the Canadian Science Policy Centre鈥檚 Science Meets Parliament program, Kate Rice, Associate Professor at the Department, attended a Standing Committee on Health meeting on integrating immigrants into the healthcare system and met with Hon. Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. Bravo Prof. Rice!
In closing, I personally invite each of you to attend a new activity we are launching in 2026: Department of Family Medicine Grand Rounds! The Department will be intermittently hosting talks that are pertinent to our academic discipline for our heterogeneous faculty members, and I鈥檓 thrilled to let you know that our first speaker will be Dr. Cara Bezzina, Academic General Practitioner,听on January 22: The Real World Isn鈥檛 a Case Study: Rethinking How We Teach Complexity in Medicine. This event is organized by the Department's Faculty Development team and has been certified for up 1 Mainpro+庐 credits as part of their annual series. Register here.
Wishing you all joyful holidays with well-earned time for rest and relaxation with loved ones.
Marion
