A useful AMA STEPS Forward resource for anyone thinking about clinical documentation and note bloat.
Physicians from the University of Wisconsin discuss how they redesigned clinical notes by asking a simple question: what actually needs to be here? Their work focused on reducing copied and unnecessary content, making clinical reasoning easier to find, and reconsidering whether the traditional SOAP format is always the most useful approach.
As AI scribes make it increasingly easy to generate more documentation, this is a good reminder that more text does not necessarily mean a better note.
Worth a listen. Write Shorter Notes: Implementing a Standardized Progress Note Template via AMA.
I know video reviews can be uncomfortable for a variety of reasons. I think some of this fear stems from how we’ve positioned the exercise. What I appreciate most about this article is that it addresses these concerns and offers a different way of thinking about video review. Rather than focusing primarily on whether a resident demonstrated the “right” observable behaviours, they position video review as a reflective exercise that helps residents build on their emotional intelligence, including noticing how they are showing up in the encounter (self-awareness), how they are responding internally (self-management), what they are noticing in the patient (social awareness), and how they adjust in response (relational management).
We’ll also explore how this approach can support more meaningful coaching conversations.
Session learning objectives:
Describe how video review can move beyond observation of clinical behaviours to support emotional intelligence and reflective practice.
Apply strengths-based questioning strategies that help residents develop self-awareness, social awareness, and relational skills during video review.
Identify practical approaches for creating a psychologically safe video review experience that strengthens patient-centred communication and connection.
I encourage you to read the article as it may broaden your ideas and approaches to the exercise and look forward to connecting with you in October!
~ Jacqueline
Dr. Jacqueline P. Ashby, M.Ed., M.Sc., Ed.D. Program Coach, UBC Family Medicine Abbotsford-Mission Residency Site Co-Lead, Assessment, UBC Family Medicine Residency Program jacqueline.ashby@ubc.ca
A Day in the Life of a Preceptor A Course for Family Physicians to Advance Teaching Skills
A novel program developed by family physicians, for family physicians Structured around teaching in a community-based office Collaborates with Divisions of Family Practice
5 Topics
Topic 1 – September Preparing for Teaching
Virtual Meeting or Video
Self-Paced E-Learning
Small Group Case-Based Learning
Topic 2 – November Learning Relationships
Video
Self-Paced E-Learning
Small Group Case-Based Learning
Topic 3 – January Teaching Skills (In Office)
Virtual Meeting or Video
Self-Paced E-Learning
Small Group Case-Based Learning
Topic 4 – March Teaching Skills (Virtual)
Video
Self-Paced E-Learning
Small Group Case-Based Learning
Topic 5 – May Feedback, Assessment, Observation
Virtual Meeting or Video
Self-Paced E-Learning
Small Group Case-Based Learning
Small Group Case-Based Learning meetings can be combined, e.g., Topics 1 & 2 and 3 & 4.
Earn up to 17.5 Mainpro+ credits!
What participants are saying
“I would say the coolest/most relevant piece of family medicine orientation I have seen.”
“Thanks so much. I feel inspired to pass the torch.”
“We were able to discuss previous experiences we’ve had trying to build the educational alliance.”
For more information, visit dayinthepreceptorlife.med.ubc.ca or email fac.dev@ubc.ca
Bright and early yesterday morning, I had the opportunity to facilitate an Academic Half Day (AHD) session with our UBC Family Practice Abbotsford-Mission residents on an increasingly important patient-safety issue: how to respond when ransomware or a major technology outage disrupts clinical care.
We began with a roundtable exercise exploring how residents would approach a ransomware attack: Who would they immediately contact? Which tasks would be essential? What tasks needed to transfer to paper, whiteboards, and face-to-face communication? And what were the greatest risks to patient care?
Then we dove into real-world examples, including the “WannaCry” ransomware attack and the CrowdStrike outage, and examined the impact that these two events had on healthcare systems, hospitals, clinicians, and patients. I also emphasized the important role our governments and healthcare systems play in tracking and reporting these incidents, conducting thorough debriefs, and disseminating findings and recommendations following these threat-to-life crimes.
To quote Black Widow in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, “This is big, big potatoes.”
If you just look at the Change Healthcare (UnitedHealth Group) ransomware attack in 2024: * Records affected: 192,700,000 * Data exposed: names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, government ID numbers, health insurance and policy numbers, etc. * Aftermath: UnitedHealth reported roughly USD 3.1 billion in cyberattack-related impacts for full-year 2024, the most expensive healthcare cyber incident ever recorded. (https://www.upguard.com/blog/biggest-data-breaches-in-healthcare)
A key message from the session that I wanted to drive home was that we all have a role in cyber preparedness. Clinicians should be alert to any phishing attempts and clear on local downtime procedures, including knowing where approved paper resources are located, protecting patient information, and working closely with clinical, privacy, and technical teams during a disruption. These events also quickly highlight the importance in understanding how to work together as a team.
This is the first time “ransomware” has been addressed with our residents in the history of our site and I want to thank our Co-Site Director, Dr. Holden Chow, for allowing me the opportunity to facilitate this exercise.
To the residents reading this post, I encourage you to consider focusing a quality improvement project on educating and preparing your clinic for a ransomware attack or major technology outage. The time invested in strengthening your clinic’s preparedness could ultimately help save someone’s life.
Dr. Michiko Maruyama is curating a Heart-Inspired Art Gallery at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2026, taking place in Ottawa from October 15–17, 2026.
Physician and medical student artists are invited to submit original artwork inspired by the heart—whether through anatomy, emotion, illness, healing, connection, or the lived experience of cardiovascular care.
Artists do not need to attend the conference to participate. There are also no costs associated with producing a giclée print, framing the artwork, or transporting it to the gallery.
The deadline for submissions is September 15, 2026.
Please share this opportunity with physicians, residents, medical students, and colleagues who may be interested in bringing together medicine, creativity, and the human experience of the heart.
Questions about the gallery or submission process may be directed to Dr. Michiko Maruyama.
Image and story via the Abbotsford Division of Family Practice. Text by Mari-Len De Guzman.
Dr. Caroline Cook, family doctor, medical director at Abbotsford Medical Centre, and Department of Family Practice Clinical Instructor, is helping pave the way for internationally trained medical doctors to find a home for their practice in Abbotsford as the physician lead for Abbotsford Division’s IMG recruitment program. Click here to read the full story from the Abbotsford Division of Family Practice.
Hello Residents! A new version of the Cardiology Primer is now available. Written by Dr. Nader Elmayergi and colleagues, the primer provides a practical overview of common cardiology topics.
Residents are encouraged to review the updated version and use it as a reference during their cardiology rotation.
Children are affected by decisions made across nearly every part of society, including health care, education, housing, transportation, food systems, technology, and climate policy. Yet their perspectives are rarely included when those decisions are made.
A recent Lancet Health Policy article argues that improving child health requires more than developing programs for children. It requires involving children and adolescents meaningfully in identifying problems, designing solutions, and evaluating whether policies are working.The authors describe the work of Children in All Policies 2030, an international collaboration seeking to place children’s health, rights, and future wellbeing at the centre of public policy. Their experience highlights several recurring lessons:
Children can contribute meaningfully when information and engagement methods are developmentally appropriate.
Consultation should not be tokenistic. Children need to know how their input influenced the final decision.
Child health cannot be addressed by health care alone. Effective action requires collaboration across education, housing, social services, environmental policy, and other sectors.
Policies often prioritize immediate costs and political pressures while undervaluing their long-term effects on children and future generations.
What does this mean for family practice?
Family physicians regularly see how decisions made outside the clinic shape children’s health. Housing instability, food insecurity, family income, school environments, online marketing, community safety, and climate-related events can all influence physical and mental wellbeing.
Children and adolescents may also understand their own experiences differently from their parents, teachers, or clinicians. Creating space for their voices can uncover concerns, priorities, and strengths that might otherwise be missed.
This does not mean placing children in situations beyond their developmental capacity. It means recognizing their evolving autonomy and inviting participation in ways that are safe, respectful, and appropriate.
Questions for Reflection
How do you ensure that a child or adolescent has an opportunity to speak during a clinical encounter?
What community or policy factors are contributing to the health concerns you see in young patients?
How could children and youth be included when your clinic designs services, resources, or patient education?
Meaningful participation begins with a simple shift: seeing children not only as recipients of care, but as people with knowledge, rights, and perspectives that can improve the care and systems created for them.
Read more on Children in all policies: lessons from a global collaboration to promote the health and wellbeing of children and future generations via The Lancet.
Family Medicine Residency Site: Abbotsford-Mission 