The CFPC welcomes its 2021-2022 President, Dr Brady Bouchard

doi:10.46747/cfp.6712949

Dr Brady Bouchard was installed as President of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) on November 11, 2021, at the Annual Meeting of Members during Family Medicine Forum.

Dr Bouchard was born and raised in Lloydminster, Sask, and fondly recalls being surrounded by the love of his parents and 3 younger siblings. Despite his parents having a stretched budget, Dr Bouchard remembers them providing as many opportunities as possible to him and his siblings. This included the family’s first computer when he was 8 years old, which had a black and white monitor and ran DOS. This was Dr Bouchard’s first experience with technology, and from there he was hooked.

Technology has weaved its way through many aspects of Dr Bouchard’s career, starting with Web development and programming in his high school and university years. This culminated in an engineering degree and the launch of a technology company, which he still co-owns, that helps organizations conduct elections.

Dr Bouchard’s enthusiasm for higher learning did not end with his engineering degree. “I think I had decided on family medicine even prior to finishing my engineering degree. I always felt like it was my true calling—the ability to directly help people as well as knowing that it was both a challenging and prestigious profession attracted me to medicine.”

Dr Bouchard’s dream of becoming a family physician took him to the University of Queensland in Australia, where he completed medical school in Brisbane. He started his internship in Adelaide, South Australia, but soon had a desire to return to Canada to finish his training. He was thrilled and humbled to be selected from among 700 other medical graduates for the initial residency cohort in North Battleford, Sask.

Working in a small community has come with its challenges. With a focus in emergency and addiction medicine, Dr Bouchard has seen first-hand the many negative impacts of the opioid crisis, and more broadly just how important it is to deal with existing social inequities on the path to achieving good health. “While clinical care may be what we do, social equality is also important. As family physicians we need to advocate for sustainable change for our patients.”

Despite the challenges, Dr Bouchard finds his work as a rural family physician very fulfilling. “The ability to regularly interact with the patients while being equipped with the expertise to help make a difference … I can’t think of a more rewarding career.”

In 2016 Dr Bouchard became involved in leadership roles with the CFPC. During his early years in practice, he represented new-in-practice family physicians on various committees including the CFPC’s National Committee on Continuing Professional Development and the First Five Years in Family Practice Committee. He fulfils various teaching roles at the University of Saskatchewan family medicine residency program and has served on the CFPC’s Board of Directors since 2017.

While the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic caused many disruptions in health care, Dr Bouchard is optimistic that we can learn from it and improve how we care for patients. “The pandemic has undeniably had significant negative impacts on our health care systems and our patients; I want to look to the positives going forward and solidify the wins. The pandemic has transformed the office visit with the adoption of digital tools for remote phone or video visits. While far from perfect, these tools will hopefully lead to increased access and significant systems savings for our country.”

Dr Bouchard met his wife, Robyn, in Brisbane, Australia, and they were married the day after his graduation from medical school. They are busy parents, with 2 daughters under the age of 5—Adelaide and Sophie— and a large dog named Rosie.

While there is still much to learn from the past year, Dr Bouchard is focused on looking ahead as the new President of the CFPC. He wants to enhance the College’s work as a vocal advocate for its members, especially as we move out of the crisis stage of the pandemic.