Author: UBC Abbotsford-Mission Family Practice Residency Program

Exciting News! 🚀📢 Thrilled to share that Dr. Meera Anand and I have published our latest work, “APP that Map! Curriculum Mapping in Family Medicine”, in Medical Education!

What’s the challenge? Curriculum mapping is critical for ensuring equity, consistency, and accreditation across distributed medical training programs. In our case, UBC Family Medicine spans over 20 training sites—each with unique learning experiences due to regional differences. However, our previous Excel-based mapping method was cumbersome, time-consuming, and engagement was low.

What did we do?
✅ Redesigned the mapping process—streamlining 478 learning objectives into 42 core learning outcomes.
✅ Developed a custom app in Oracle Apex—allowing faculty to easily input and visualize data.
✅ Increased engagement—within 7 months of launch, all sites completed the process (compared to <50% using spreadsheets!).
✅ Enabled data-driven decision-making—helping us track curriculum trends and improve resource allocation.

Lessons Learned:
💡 Technology can enhance, but not replace, faculty engagement—ongoing training is key.
💡 Balancing simplicity and robust data collection is a continuous challenge.
💡 Visualizing trends improves decision-making for accreditation & program improvements.

This work demonstrates how thoughtful integration of technology can streamline curriculum mapping and enhance medical education.

📄 Read the full paper here.

Background

WHO, as requested by its member states, launched the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in 1974 to make life-saving vaccines available to all globally. To mark the 50-year anniversary of EPI, we sought to quantify the public health impact of vaccination globally since the programme’s inception.

Methods

In this modelling study, we used a suite of mathematical and statistical models to estimate the global and regional public health impact of 50 years of vaccination against 14 pathogens in EPI. For the modelled pathogens, we considered coverage of all routine and supplementary vaccines delivered since 1974 and estimated the mortality and morbidity averted for each age cohort relative to a hypothetical scenario of no historical vaccination. We then used these modelled outcomes to estimate the contribution of vaccination to globally declining infant and child mortality rates over this period.

Findings

Since 1974, vaccination has averted 154 million deaths, including 146 million among children younger than 5 years of whom 101 million were infants younger than 1 year. For every death averted, 66 years of full health were gained on average, translating to 10·2 billion years of full health gained. We estimate that vaccination has accounted for 40% of the observed decline in global infant mortality, 52% in the African region. In 2024, a child younger than 10 years is 40% more likely to survive to their next birthday relative to a hypothetical scenario of no historical vaccination. Increased survival probability is observed even well into late adulthood.

Interpretation

Since 1974 substantial gains in childhood survival have occurred in every global region. We estimate that EPI has provided the single greatest contribution to improved infant survival over the past 50 years. In the context of strengthening primary health care, our results show that equitable universal access to immunisation remains crucial to sustain health gains and continue to save future lives from preventable infectious mortality.

Read more on Contribution of vaccination to improved survival and health: modelling 50 years of the Expanded Programme on Immunization via The Lancet.

Good afternoon.

We’re excited to announce that Okanagan Orchards is confirmed for Saturday, May 31^st at the Eldorado Resort in Kelowna! This is the annual Family Practice Postgraduate Program’s faculty development and appreciation event.

After listening to feedback from past attendees, we are revising the format to allow more time for learning and networking. This year, Okanagan Orchards will be directly after the annual in-person PGEC meeting which will also be held in Kelowna on Friday, May 30^th. More details to come regarding PGEC for those who are on the committee.

A travel reimbursement will be available to eligible out-of-town preceptors (more details to come when registration opens this spring). There is no registration fee for this event.

There are a limited number of guest rooms held at the Eldorado Resort as well as Manteo Resort (right next door) so booking early is recommended. Our event rate is $286/night plus taxes and fees. Please use the following links or call the hotel directly:

• Eldorado: https://reservations.travelclick.com/109843?groupID=4469379
• Manteo: https://reservations.travelclick.com/12771?groupID=4469377
• Reservations Department: 250-860-1031 ext.1103 or email reservations@eldoradoresort.ca To ensure you receive the special rate quoted above, you must identify yourself as a participant attending the UBC Department of Family Practice event.

This event is open to all preceptors and clinical faculty from across our beautiful province. Feel free to share this event with colleagues at your site. Stay tuned for further details, including an agenda and registration link. Please let me know if you have any questions.

We look forward to seeing you in May!

Larissa McLean, MHA  
Manager, Rural Education & Initiatives
Faculty of Medicine | Department of Family Practice, Postgraduate Program 
The University of British Columbia  

Join our panel of experts to enhance your knowledge and skills in addressing the critical issue of managing and supporting children & youth affected by sexual exploitation

• Police reports of online sexual exploitation of children nearly tripled since 2014, reaching 160 incidents per 100,000 Canadian children and youth in 2022.
• Sextortion reports increased by 150% since June 2022.
• Online sexual luring reports have increased 815% over the last five years, along with a rise in child deaths by suicide linked to sextortion. Read more via Children First Canada Top 10 Threats.

Don’t miss this opportunity to better recognize signs of sexual exploitation in children and youth. Learn to implement effective management strategies in your clinical practice for cases of child sexual exploitation, and connect affected individuals with community and regional resources. The webinar features a panel of expert presenters, and attendees will have the chance to ask questions in real-time.

Date & Time: April 2 | 12:00-1:30pm | 1.5 hr
1.5 Mainpro+/MOC Section 1

Skills Gained:

• Recognize indications of sexual exploitation in children and youth.
• Utilize effective strategies for managing cases of child sexual exploitation in clinical practice.
• Identify community and regional resources to support children and youth who have experienced sexual exploitation.

CONNECTION DETAILS

When you register, you will receive an email from UBC CPD with connection details. If you do not receive this email, please check your spam folders. You should add “@ubc.ca” to your safe sender list. If you do not see the connection email, please contact us.

Presenters:

Panelist: Natalie Davis | Staff Sergeant, RCMP Integrated Child Exploitation Unit (BC ICE)
Panelist: Dr. Michelle Clarke | Emergency Pediatrician and member of the Child Protection team at BC Children’s Hospital
Panelist: Meghan Donevan | Research Manager, Talita & PhD student, Child and Youth Psychiatry, Umeå University
Panelist: Megan Lowe | Registered Nurse, Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) Nurse and Forensic Nurse Examiner
Panelist: Emily Lindsey | Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) Nurse
Panelist: Tracy Scott | Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) Nurse

Moderator: Dr. Shirley Sze | BMSc, MD, CCFP, FCFP, Family Physician; Steering Committee Member, Child and Youth Mental Health Substance Use Community of Practice

To register or learn more about the event, please click here.

Watch the AI summit 2025 LIVE: Speeches by world leaders in Paris:

“The people behind a year-old medical school dedicated solely to turning out family doctors say the small program based in Oshawa, Ont., is disrupting traditional medical education in a way that could help solve Canada’s shortage of family physicians.

‘The big idea here is to preselect a group of students who not only want to become doctors, but they want to become family doctors, and right from the outset to surround them with all the wonders of family medicine,’ said Dr. Jane Philpott, dean of Queen’s University’s Faculty of Health Sciences and a former federal health minister.

The first 20 students in the Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program began their studies in September 2023. The school is a partnership between Queen’s University, which also operates a traditional medical school at its main location in Kingston, Ont., and Lakeridge Health hospital in Durham Region, just east of Toronto. The satellite campus is located right in the hospital.”

Read more on New med school for family doctors aims to help solve the shortage. Can it do so with doctors alone? via CBC Radio.

For many people, “Dry January” is a time to take a break or cut back on alcohol. But what are the health benefits of drinking less? What if you knew how many minutes of life you could potentially regain by skipping that last drink, or how your weekly alcohol intake measures up compared to smoking cigarettes?

That’s the aim of a new website, KnowAlcohol.ca, launched by researchers with the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s Island Medical Program and the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR). The website features a tool and calculator designed to generate personalized estimates of the potential health risks related to an individual’s alcohol use—and the benefits of cutting back.

Using the science behind Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health, the Know Alcohol calculator shares individualized risks of alcohol-related disease, including several types of cancers, measures like cigarette equivalency, and minutes of life lost per drink, as well as information about costs and calories related to alcohol—all tailored to individuals based on their age, sex and the amount they drink per week.

Learn more on New website helps you calculate the benefits of drinking less via UBC Faculty of Medicine.

Background: Cannabis use severely affects the outcome of people with psychotic disorders, yet there is a lack of treatments. To address this, in 2019 the National Health Service (NHS) Cannabis Clinic for Psychosis (CCP) was developed to support adults suffering from psychosis to reduce and/or stop their cannabis use.

Aims: Examine outcome data from the first 46 individuals to complete the CCP’s intervention.

Method: The sample (N = 46) consisted of adults (aged ≥ 18) with psychosis under the care of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, referred to the CCP between January 2020 and February 2023, who completed their intervention by September 2023. Clinical and functional measures were collected before (T0) and after (T1) the CCP intervention (one-to-one sessions and peer group attendance). Primary outcomes were changes in the Cannabis Use Disorders Identification Test-Revised (CUDIT-R) score and pattern of cannabis use. Secondary outcomes included T0–T1 changes in measures of delusions, paranoia, depression, anxiety and functioning.

Results: A reduction in the mean CUDIT-R score was observed between T0 (mean difference = 17.10, 95% CI = 15.54–18.67) and T1, with 73.91% of participants achieving abstinence and 26.09% reducing the frequency and potency of their use. Significant improvements in all clinical and functional outcomes were observed, with 90.70% being in work or education at T1 compared with 8.70% at T0. The variance in CUDIT-R scores explained between 34 and 64% of the variance in our secondary measures.

Conclusions: ‘Now, with the clinic I am looking at life in a whole different way, my brain is starting to work again, I am doing an apprenticeship. It has changed my life.’ – Intervention participant

The CCP intervention is a feasible strategy to support cannabis use cessation/reduction and improve clinical and functional outcomes of people with psychotic disorders. Our data evidence the reversibility of cannabis’s negative impact on psychosis prognosis if use changes. Moreover, our findings strongly suggest that young adults suffering from psychotic disorders who stop or significantly reduce their pattern of cannabis use are more likely to become socially active. Therefore, at a time when changes in the legal status of cannabis might increase accessibility to cannabis and its potent types, it is important to develop services like the CCP that provide young adults with psychosis with the knowledge and support needed to prevent and/or reverse the negative impact that cannabis use can have on their illness course and their family, as well as mental health services.

Read more on A proof-of-concept analysis of data from the first NHS clinic for young adults with comorbid cannabis use and psychotic disorders via Cambridge University Press.

We are thrilled to announce our upcoming Faculty Development Retreat in 2025, featuring two remarkable guest speakers: Dr. Shahana Alibhai and Dr. Nader Elmayergi. This retreat promises to inspire, inform, and invigorate our faculty as we explore themes of emotional literacy, mentorship, and the art of effective communication in medicine.

Dr. Shahana Alibhai: Emotional Literacy and the Power of Connection

“I know how much courage it takes for us to ask for help—but it is this courage that creates connection between a doctor and a patient, a teacher and their student, a parent and their child, that we as humans crave.” —Dr. Shahana Alibhai

Dr. Alibhai, a former Abbotsford-Mission family medicine resident and a practicing physician at Foundry Youth Health Centre, brings a wealth of experience and insight to this year’s retreat. She recently published her first book, Feeling Better: How Understanding Your Emotional Palette Can Keep You from Getting Swept Away, which delves into the critical role of emotional literacy in fostering mental health and meaningful relationships.

With over a decade of experience in mental health and a TEDx talk under her belt, Dr. Alibhai will guide participants through practical exercises and engaging discussions. Attendees will learn to:

• Understand the science behind emotional literacy.
• Apply emotional awareness to improve communication and decision-making.
• Cultivate stronger connections in both professional and personal relationships.

Dr. Alibhai’s session promises to leave participants equipped with new tools to enhance their interactions and foster resilience.

To learn more about her book and journey, visit drshahana.com. You can also hear her on the Chatter that Matters podcast here.

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Dr. Nader Elmayergi: Mentor Moments and Shaping the Future

Dr. Nader Elmayergi will also take the stage with his session, “Mentor Moments: Turning Rookies into Remarkable Physicians.”

Brief Biography

Dr. Elmayergi’s impressive medical journey began at Cairo University, where he graduated in 1998. He completed his Internal Medicine training at the University of Alberta and pursued a Cardiology Fellowship at the University of Manitoba, followed by a two-year Echocardiography Fellowship at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Currently, Dr. Elmayergi is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, and Medical Director of the Echocardiography Laboratory at Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre. In addition to his cardiology work, he is cross-appointed to the Department of Family Medicine, where he serves as the faculty lead for Subspecialty Rotations.

Dr. Elmayergi’s session will focus on the transformative power of mentorship in shaping the next generation of physicians. Drawing on his extensive experience, he will share strategies for:

• Building meaningful mentor-mentee relationships.
• Providing constructive feedback that fosters growth.
• Inspiring confidence and competence in new physicians.

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Join Us

This year’s Faculty Development Retreat will be a unique opportunity to reflect, connect, and grow as educators and healthcare providers. By combining the insights of Dr. Alibhai and Dr. Elmayergi, we aim to explore the powerful intersection of emotional literacy and mentorship in shaping remarkable physicians. We look forward to seeing you there!

Objective: To systematically assess literature examining the impact of being a gamer or participating in video-game-based training on surgical skills acquisition amongst medical students.

Background: Video games and surgical procedures share similar skills such as visuospatial abilities and hand-eye coordination; therefore, video games can be a valuable tool for surgical training amongst medical students. However, comprehensive, up-to-date systematic reviews are necessary to confirm.

Methods: A systematic literature search of PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE was performed in April 2020 with no limits set on the date of publication. Observational and randomized controlled studies were included. Quality and bias were assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for nonrandomized studies and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system for randomized studies.

Results: A total of 575 participants from 16 studies were included. The most common surgical skills tested were laparoscopy (n = 283, from 8 studies) and robotic surgery (n = 199, from 5 studies). A history of gaming and video-game-based training were associated with improved metrics in robotic surgery and laparoscopy, respectively. Neither was beneficial in arthroscopy or bronchoscopy. Studies using the Wii U and Underground reported significant improvement in overall laparoscopic performance.

Conclusion: Video games demonstrate potential as adjunctive training in surgical skill education, with a history of gaming and video-game-based training being beneficial in robotic surgery and laparoscopy, respectively. Methodological heterogeneity amongst included studies limit the ability to make conclusive decisions; thus, future studies with long-term follow-up, larger sample sizes, outcomes stratified by video-game characteristics, and up-to-date technology are necessary.

Read more on Can video games enhance surgical skills acquisition for medical students? A systematic review via Surgery.