Dr Jennifer Hall of Rothesay, NB, was welcomed as the 62nd President of the CFPC on November 13, 2015, during the annual Family Medicine Forum in Toronto, Ont.
Dr Hall was inspired to pursue a career in family medicine after being moved by the deep compassion and care shown by a Saint John, NB, family physician to his patients during difficult times. She set a goal for herself: to emulate that compassion with her patients and hold herself to the same high standard of care.
Dr Hall received her Masters of Science degree in toxicology from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1987 and her medical degree in 1992. She earned Certification in Family Medicine in 1994 and became a Fellow of the College in 2005.
Dr Hall’s passion for family medicine has translated into extensive academic work. After beginning her career at Memorial University, she moved to New Brunswick and soon took on the role of Residency Program Director at Dalhousie University in Saint John. Dr Hall continues her work there as Associate Dean, a position she has held since January 2015. She is also a preceptor to undergraduate medical students and residents at Dalhousie University and Memorial University.
Since 2002, Dr Hall has provided comprehensive family medicine—including palliative care—in the Saint John Area of the Horizon Health Network. In the 1990s she also practised in the Department of Family Medicine at Memorial University and worked as Clinical Chief of Palliative Medicine at the Health Care Corporation in St John’s, Nfld.
In 2004, Dr Hall began working with other educators to transform the family medicine rounds format at Saint John Regional Hospital. Her work led to the creation of a continuing professional development program that uses evidence-based exercises to answer questions that arise from everyday practice. This activity brought family medicine residents and community family physicians together to learn.
In 2010, she collaborated with family medicine program leaders and educators to support the development of the Dalhousie University Family Medicine Residency Site on Prince Edward Island. Dr Hall worked with local clinical educators on the development of the university’s first 3-year integrated family medicine–emergency medicine program based in Saint John.
Dr Hall served as the Saint John Site Director of the Dalhousie University family medicine program from 2004 to 2009. From 2000 to 2004, she participated as a board member of the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians. She continues to be actively involved as a member of several committees in the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University.
For the past 10 years, Dr Hall has held many leadership roles in the CFPC, which have enhanced her knowledge of and experience with College programs and services. She has participated in numerous CFPC committees, including the Accreditation Committee and the Red Book Accreditation Standards Revision Committee, and a number of residency program accreditation surveys. For 5 years she served on the board of the New Brunswick Chapter representing continuing professional development interests. Dr Hall became a member of the CFPC’s national Executive Committee in 2012 as Member-at-Large and subsequently served as Honorary Secretary-Treasurer. In 2014–2015, she served as Chair and President-Elect.
“It’s a tremendous honour to have the opportunity to serve as CFPC President during this exciting time of change,” says Dr Hall. “The proposed changes to the College’s governance as well as the major enhancements to programs and services will take the value of membership to a new level—a level that will provide an enhanced level of support for a stronger family medicine presence across the country.”
In 2010, Dr Hall was acknowledged by the CFPC as the Family Physician of the Year for New Brunswick with the Reg L. Perkin Award. She received the Gus Rowe Teaching Award from the Discipline of Family Medicine at Memorial University in 1998 and 2002, and a CFPC Award of Excellence in 2008.
Dr Hall grew up in Saint John and has one younger brother, Richard. In her spare time, she enjoys cycling, traveling, playing bridge (poorly), and hiking with her husband, David Methven—a fish ecologist to whom she has been married for 26 years—and their 2 dogs, River and Brook.
Footnotes
Cet article se trouve aussi en français à la page 1102.
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