First Chair's Message
It is my pleasure and honour to write my first message to you as the new Chair of the Department of Family Medicine. I am filled with pride and enthusiasm taking on this role and thinking about the future accomplishments and success the Department will have.
As a graduate of both Medical School and Residency from Western, it is not lost on me the tradition of Family Medicine that we share. As the birthplace of the academic discipline of Family Medicine in Canada and the pioneers in developing, teaching and practicing the Patient-Centred Clinical Method, we have such strong history to uphold. In addition, as we look forward, the future is bright for ongoing improvement delivering high-quality clinical service, excellence in education, and impactful research. Our Department is filled with skilled researchers, educators, staff and clinicians. The varied perspectives and experience of our core and distributed members are such important factors that will help us identify both opportunities and threats as we work to move Primary Care and Family Medicine forward.
As I reflect on my first few weeks as Chair, one of the items that has struck me is the breadth of the educational opportunities the Department of Family Medicine provides for learners of all levels. I have been fortunate to attend the trifecta of education meetings within the first 10 days of my role – Undergraduate, Post-Graduate, and Graduate. It is an exciting time for all these portfolios.
Within Undergraduate education, there is planning to (finally) officially launch the Longitudinal Clinical Experience (LCE). This flagship experience for pre-clinical medical students is a cornerstone of the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry shift towards creating a more generalist focused education experience in the curriculum. Along with the pending launch of Schulich’s “Academy of Educators” – a vision of Dr. Shannon Venance the Vice Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education – I feel this is an exciting time for Family Physicians to be involved in curriculum renewal and teaching a generalist, patient-centred approach to health care.
At the Post-Graduate level, the Department is about to embark on the annual CaRMS interview process to select the best and brightest medical students to complete their residency training here at Western. The raw enthusiasm the medical students show in their interviews and the passion for pursuing training in comprehensive, patient-centred care is always an invigorating process to be a part of.
Finally, our graduate programs, renowned world-wide, continue to flourish and develop the academic and research-oriented physicians of the future. Both our Master of Clinical Science in Family Medicine (MClSc) and our PhD in Family Medicine programs are currently accepting applications from those Family Physicians who are interested in elevating their careers to another level.
I encourage you to learn more about our programs on our web site, https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/familymedicine.
As we hope for the pandemic to continue to wane, thanks for everything you do. I look forward to engaging with you and building our Department even stronger as we move beyond COVID-19. Never hesitate to reach out to me with your questions, ideas, or concerns. You can find me at smckay28@uwo.ca or on Twitter @FMChairChief.
