February 2024 Newsletter

    • Chair's Message
      In this month’s message, I am making a New Year’s resolution to take some small steps to try and influence the narrative around Family Medicine. Although we are in a “primary care crisis,” great things are happening and we can use principles of appreciative inquiry to influence the narrative our residents, students, patients, colleagues, and the public hear everyday.

    • Undergraduate Report
      Meds2025: Almost halfway through their Clerkship year. This class will be the first to have the Summative OSCE in third year, delivered on two separate dates (February and July) with stations covering the rotations completed.  UME is Still looking for interested faculty: Faculty Undergraduate Accreditation Lead (FUAL).

    • Postgraduate Report
      Happy New Year.  I hope that each of you had a wonderful break over the holiday season and an opportunity for some much-deserved R&R.  This is my first newsletter as the Postgraduate Director and I’m excited to be here.  I look forward to working with each of you and for the opportunity to refine and make Western’s Family Medicine Residency Program even better.

    • Graduate Report
      We hope the Holiday Season afforded you an opportunity to spend time with loved ones and get a bit of well-deserved rest while keeping healthy. Our warmest wishes for a Happy New Year. A reminder that our Graduate Program (MClSc/PhD) applications opened January 1. We would appreciate if you would keep our programs in mind when speaking with residents with a strong interest in teaching/research or colleagues in the community.

    • Research Report
      Dr. Mathews continues to lead a Patient Partner Program for the Department of Family Medicine.  As part of this program, there is a “Brown Bag Lunch Seminar Series” held monthly for the Department to join.  The Brown Bag Series presentations have been scheduled for February 21, March 20 and April 17. Contact Leslie (leslie.meredith@schulich.uwo.ca) for a Zoom invitation if you are interested in attending.

    • Faculty Corner
      Announcing an exciting opportunity with the UME Longitudinal Coaching Program. While the concept of coaching has been enthusiastically adopted in medical education (in line with the transition to CBME), the operationalization of the concept within our context has been a slower learning curve. Over the years, we have been learning more about how to develop the role of longitudinal coaching (coaching over time) to benefit our learners the way we intend. With this in mind, we have been rebuilding and restructuring our undergraduate medical education coaching program to create an experience that we envision will be rewarding for both parties (coach and coachee). Learn More...

    • Department Spotlight: Kayla Walter-Connoy 
      The Department of Family Medicine would like to introduce Kayla Walter-Connoy in the role of Postgrad Finance & Evaluation Program Coordinator. Kayla joined the Department and the PG Team in January. 

    • 2024 FMRW Retreat
      The Family Medicine Residents of Western held their annual retreat February 2-4 at Oakwood Resort in Grand Bend. The event was coordinated by Melissa Chopcian, Gabby Schoettle and Kate Gray. Together, they were able to invite over 40 sponsors, which included physician recruiters from Ontario, Manitoba, and New Brunswick, as well as lawyers, mortgage agents, and accountants. Learn More...

    • Unnur Brown Leadership Award in Health Policy
      We are pleased to announce Geoffrey Ching is the recipient of the 2023-2024 Unnur Brown Leadership Award in Health Policy. Geoffrey is a PGY2 Family Medicine resident and CCFP-EM candidate with an interest in high-impact changes that can be made to improve quantity and quality of healthcare as it is delivered to Canadians. In following with this rationale, he pursues research and projects in preventive care, palliative care, and emergency medicine. Learn More...