Department of Family Medicine - Western University

Lifestyle program geared at hockey fans helps improve men’s health - UBC Faculty of Medicine Ranked among the world’s top medical schools with the fifth-largest MD enrollment in North America, the UBC Faculty of Medicine is a leader in both the science and the practice of medicine. Across British Columbia, more than 12,000 faculty and staff are training the next generation of doctors and ...

The Department of Family Medicine in the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University is pleased to announce that our Postgraduate Training Program in Family Medicine has filled to capacity.

This is wonderful news and a testament to the exceptional training offered in our program. Often referred to as the "Birthplace of Family Medicine in Canada,” Western's Postgraduate Family Medicine program has been training residents for close to 60 years both in London and in the surrounding communities of Southwestern Ontario.

Our dedicated and experienced faculty along with our commitment to community-based practice will continue to allow our residents to experience a myriad of opportunities ranging from small rural practices and hospitals to large academic tertiary care centres. Our graduates continue to be a major part of the solution to the primary care shortages in our region as many choose to practice where they have trained.

Congratulations again to all our successful applicants. We look forward to working with you and helping you develop your skills in becoming exceptional patient-centered family physicians.

That's a wrap on our 2023 Graduation celebration! We hope that you enjoyed the evening. It was wonderful to feel the excitement amongst residents, family, friends and faculty.

We wish our residents the very best as they venture out into practice or into additional enhanced skills training programs. It has been a pleasure training you over the past couple of years.

Congratulations to the graduates!

Photos from the evening can be viewed here:
https://ashbuckphotography.pic-time.com/-newgallery11/gallery

New study recommends prioritizing diabetes care for global post-pandemic recovery.

A new global study, co-authored by Dr. Stewart B. Harris, professor of family medicine at studied the impact of COVID-19 on diabetes care by drawing parallels to the impact of natural disasters on chronic diseases and populations at risk.

The study recommends targeted interventions for vulnerable groups, expansion of universal health coverage, and consideration to legislate the regulation of harmful foods, such as energy-dense foods and sugar-sweetened beverages, to reduce and manage the double impact of COVID-19 and diabetes.

“At the individual level or the community level, acute infections, such as COVID-19, and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, are inexorably related. The response to them needs to be coordinated similarly,” the study recommends.

Based on this work, one of the key recommendations of the study is to stratify the population based on socioeconomic and other risk factors and then prioritize those with the greatest need.

“People with diabetes were among the hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher rates of hospitalization, intensive care admissions, and mortality were seen in this group,” said Harris, emphasizing the need for compassion and understanding of social determinants of health. “Inequity in diabetes care already pre-existed and the pandemic made it worse. Many people with chronic diseases delayed seeking medical attention or were not able to get it.”

Join us for Family Medicine Grand Rounds on Wednesday, December 7, to be held via Microsoft TEAMS from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Adam Rocker MD, CCFP (Addiction Medicine) will present, "Contemporary approaches to the initiation of buprenorphine-naloxone and depot buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder."
https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/familymedicine/about_us/events/2022/family_medicine_grand_rounds__contemporary_approaches_to_the_initiation_of_buprenorphinenaloxone_and_depot_buprenorphine_for_the_treatment_of_opioid_use_disorder.html

Vaccine policy update, masking remains in place Before we enter the busy exam season, we want to thank you for taking care of yourselves, each other, and our community.

Family doctors are seeing a surge in children experiencing respiratory illness so we created this tip sheet for parents and caregivers.

Learn more about:

📱When to call a family doctor
🏥When to go to the emergency department
🤒How to manage a child's illness at home

🔗https://www.ontariofamilyphysicians.ca/actions-parents-can-take-caring-for-a-child-with-respiratory-illness