Celebrating outstanding achievements

Francine Lemire

Dear Colleagues,

It is a real pleasure for the leadership of the College to recognize Honours and Awards recipients in person during Family Medicine Forum each year. I want to take the opportunity, through this column, to introduce some of the 2014 award recipients to you and to present some recent innovations in the CFPC’s Honours and Awards program.

Dr C. Ruth Wilson is the 2014 recipient of the Calvin L. Gutkin Family Medicine Ambassador Award. Created in the name of Dr Cal Gutkin, the CFPC’s Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer from 1996 to 2012, this award recognizes members who have advanced family medicine through their vision, innovative approaches, and, in particular, building strong intraorganizational and interorganizational relationships. Dr Wilson is Professor of Family Medicine at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont, where she was Chair of the Department of Family Medicine for 10 years. From 2001 to 2004, she served as Chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, a provincial government agency created to implement primary care reform. This laid the groundwork for widespread development of primary care models, including family health teams. Ruth has practised in Kingston for 25 years but has also made her mark in remote communities in Canada, as well as internationally; she helped to establish family medicine in the immediate postconflict situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and she is the North American Regional President of WONCA. She is Past President of the CFPC, cochair of the Rural Education and Advocacy Taskforce of the CFPC and the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada, and Vice President of Medical and Academic Programs for Providence Care in Kingston.

Dr Rob Wedel is the 2014 recipient of the Donald I. Rice Award, created in honour of Dr Donald Rice, Executive Director from 1965 to 1985. It recognizes outstanding family physician members of the College for contributions to teaching, their vision, and leadership in family medicine. Following family medicine residency at Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS, Dr Wedel moved to Taber, Alta, where he has practised for more than 30 years. He received Fellowship in Palliative Care from the University of Alberta in 1998. He is Past President of the CFPC and the Alberta College of Family Physicians, and Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta. He is also Medical Director of the Chinook Primary Care Network, a network of 27 family practice clinics that includes 127 family physicians. Dr Wedel received an award in 2010 for his engagement in improving the situation of rural physicians in Alberta. He is currently cochair of the Alberta AIM program, which assists physicians and primary care teams in providing better access to care and engaging in quality improvement.

The College leadership believed it was important to associate these awards with “giving back.” Recipients are prepared to meet with groups of members (eg, at Chapter annual scientific assemblies, family medicine department meetings) to share their experiences and lessons learned, and, when appropriate, to provide input. Further information can be found at www.cfpc.ca/awards.

Important milestones in 2014 included the introduction of 2 new grants. Emerging Canadian research is showing how the arts can positively affect those whose mental and physical well-being is affected by social determinants of health. Jointly supported by the Michaëlle Jean Foundation, the CFPC, and the Research and Education Foundation, the Power of the Arts Family Medicine Fellowship will provide an opportunity for researchers to test, demonstrate, and refine how arts-based interventions can benefit those in need. Associated Medical Services has also generously agreed to support 3 new annual grants awarded to health care providers or teams undertaking projects aimed at optimizing the pillars of caring and compassion central to the vision of the Patient’s Medical Home. The Patient’s Medical Home is a family practice defined by its patients as the place they feel most comfortable—most at home—to present and discuss their personal and family health and medical concerns. It is where patients are listened to and respected as active participants in both decision making and the provision of their ongoing care. Last year also saw the addition of an Indigenous Medical Student Scholarship to the 17 Medical Student Scholarships already in place, made possible by support from Scotiabank, as well as from staff, some enthusiastic members, and Chapters of the College.

More than 75 individuals received awards and 135 received grants over the past year. A key component of the evaluation of submissions is the manner in and extent to which candidates engage in meeting community needs. I encourage you to scan the list of 2014 recipients at www.cfpc.ca/Past_Recipients. Congratulations to them all.

The launch of the 2015 Honours and Awards program is under way. The robustness of our program is possible through donations to the CFPC’s Research and Education Foundation by friends of family medicine, including you, our members. For the third year in a row, contributions have topped $1 million. We are proud of this and thank all who contribute. As always, your comments and feedback are welcome. Please e-mail us at awards{at}cfpc.ca.