Nurturing a Physician

wordcloud_environments_ubcDuring our Coffee Chats, I often ask our Residents to describe the type of environment that nurtures a physician. Over the past two years, they’ve identified that a supportive and intellectually challenging, learning-centred setting are important factors in a physician’s growth and success. Sense of safety and collegiality are also recognized as key in fostering a culture focused on health and wellness.

What are your thoughts? Please feel free to comment below.

For those interested in exploring the topic further, I’ve linked a few articles:

Address Burnout with a Caring, Nurturing Environment.
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24864421

Caring for Oneself to Care for Others: Physicians and their Self-Care
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3974630/

Core Principles & Values of Effective Team-Based Health Care
Link: https://www.nationalahec.org/pdfs/vsrt-team-based-care-principles-values.pdf

Exploring the Dynamics of Physician Engagement and Leadership for Health System Improvement: Prospects for Canadian Healthcare Systems
Link: http://www.cfhi-fcass.ca/sf-docs/default-source/reports/Exploring-Dynamics-Physician-Engagement-Denis-E.pdf?sfvrsn=0

Resident as Teacher: How to Nurture Strengths in Medical Students?
Link: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/unofficial-prognosis/resident-as-teacher-how-to-nurture-strengths-in-medical-students/

Cheers!

Jacqueline

Update: The Association Between a Sense of Calling and Physician Well-Being: A National Study of Primary Care Physicians and Psychiatrists.
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26809782
(Thank you Dr. Liu for the addition!)

UBC Sea to Sky Preceptor Retreat 2017 Update!

We’re thrilled to announce that Squamish Chief Ian Campbell will be opening our UBC Sea to Sky Preceptor Retreat in the Cheakamus Centre Bighouse on Saturday, September 30, 2017. Chief Campbell is one of 16 Hereditary Chiefs of the Squamish Nation. He is currently serving his second term as an elected Councillor for the Squamish Nation Chiefs and Council, appointed as a Political Spokesperson. Chief Campbell has been employed since 1999 as the Cultural Ambassador & Negotiator for the Intergovernmental Relations Department of the Squamish Nation.

Also joining us is Dr. Terri Aldred, Site Director of the UBC Family Practice Residency Program Indigenous Site. She will be leading a session on cultural sensitivity, safety, and competency from an Indigenous perspective.

 Dr. Terri Aldred is Carrier from the Tl’Azt’En Nation located 50km North of Fort St. James. She is a proud member of the Lysiloo (Frog) Clan who are traditionally known as the Voice of the People and those who can navigate transitions as they are able to live on both land and water. She completed her Bachelor of Medicine at the University of Alberta and went on to the Indigenous Family Medicine program in Victoria where she was the R1 representative and Chief Resident. Dr. Aldred has worked in Bella Bella providing full-scope family medicine and with Central Interior Native Health serving inner city clients in Prince George. Dr. Aldred currently works with rural remote First Nations communities in the Carrier Sekani territory and is the Site Director for the Indigenous Family Medicine Program. The primary care team she is a part of utilizes telehealth technology to provide 24/7 care to these historically isolated and marginalized communities. She is passionate about Indigenous health, cultural safety/competency, and physician health and well-being and has spoken a number of conferences related to these passions since completing her training.

The UBC Abbotsford-Mission, Coastal, and Indigenous Sites are planning an experience that will provide a space for physicians to reflect on their learning journey and to determine how one’s experience and narrative informs her/his teaching. We encourage you to join us! Learn more about the retreat, sessions offered, and Sea to Sky evening social.  Seating is limited, register soon!

Welcoming our New Residents!

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Our New Crew! (Left to Right: Dr. Joseph Westgeest, Dr. Jennafer Wilson, Dr. James Dueckman, Dr. Daniel Metcalf, Dr. Aarondeep Shokar, Dr. Ellie Parton, Dr. Nikate Singh, and Dr. Jennifer Liang. Front: Jacqueline Ashby (Coach) and Ann Douglas (Site Coordinator).

Hello All!
The Abbotsford-Mission Residency Program welcomes our new 2017 Residents! Captured above is our final day of Orientation, where our Site Coordinator Ann Douglas and Program Coach Jacqueline Ashby guided the Residents on a reflective walk. In silence, we hiked up to Mission’s Westminster Abbey. At the top, each Resident was handed a journal and then settled in the forest to write about their thoughts and experiences over the past few days. We then reconvened to talk and take photos. After a short break, we headed back down the mountain and shared a hearty meal together.

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Our Site Director Dr. Holden Chow and Coordinator Ann Douglas redesigned our Resident Orientation from a one-day event to a week-long experience to introduce our new physicians to the program, preceptors, and surrounding community. This revitalization also included the creation of our new Academic Expectations & Guidelines authored by Dr. Iris Liu. Research indicates that providing Residents a structured, comprehensive orientation contributes to their confidence; teaching skills; sense of inclusion; and program retention and success (English, 2013; Hiraoka, Kamikawa, McCartin, Kaneshiro, 2013). Included in this week were workshops on administration; assessment and evaluation; professionalism; and academic expectations. Team activities included a R1/R2 city-wide scavenger hunt and BBQ at Dr. Chow’s home!

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Pictured above is a tower building exercise that explores how educators, new learners, and evaluators work together to achieve a common goal.

We look forward to learning more about and from our new physicians as they integrate their ideas, passions, and innovations into our community!

References
English, D. 2013. Smoothing the Transition from Residents to Attending Physician Using Mentors. Physician Executive Journal.

Hiraoka, M, Kamikawa, G, McCartin, R, and Kaneshiro, B. 2013. A Pilot Structured Resident Orientation Curriculum Improves the Confidence of Incoming First-Year Obstetrics and Gynecology Residents.

Academic Expectations & Guidelines

The Abbotsford-Mission Faculty has developed an Academic Expectations & Guidelines handout for our Residents. The handout details the program’s expectations regarding Journal Club, Academic Half Day, and Scholar Projects. In addition, it also provides useful resources to assist you over the course of your residency. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Dr. Iris Liu, Abbotsford-Mission Site Faculty for Behavioural Medicine & Scholarship. Thank you!

Narrative Medicine

An Introduction to Narrative Medicine for Teachers and Learners in the VFMP in Four Fun Sessions

Medical schools are increasingly introducing Narrative Medicine programming. Narrative Medicine is the practice of discussing short health care related written works.  It is a fantastic tool for fostering wellness and healthy workplace and learning culture. Our offering allows faculty, residents, and students in the VFMP to come together and get introduced to Narrative Medicine.  In a series of four evening small group sessions, facilitators will lead Narrative Medicine exercised and discussions.

The sessions will focus on the following themes:

Introduction to Close Reading and Reflective Writing
Clinical Encounter
Communication & Collegiality
Professional Identity & Self-Care

Faculty, residents and medical students are encouraged to register for a series that fits their schedule:

Summer Program 2017 – Wednesdays 5:30pm-7:00pm Starting Soon!
Dates: June 28, July 5, July 12, July 19
Location: Room 2250, 2nd Floor, Diamond Health Care Centre, 2775 Laurel St, Vancouver, BC.
Register Here: https://survey.ubc.ca/s/narrative_medicine_summer2017/

Fall Program 2017 – Wednesdays 5:30pm-7:00pm
Dates: September 13, September 20, September 27, October 4
Location: Room 2230, 2nd Floor, Diamond Health Care Centre, 2775 Laurel St, Vancouver, BC.
Register Here: https://survey.ubc.ca/s/narrative_medicine_fall2017/

To learn more, visit here!

Thank you Dr. Rose Hsu for the heads up!

R1s Take Down the R2s in our 2017 Volleyball Tourney!

Wow! What an amazing day! The weather was fantastic and the Residents were ready to play! And so we did! The R1s were impressive with their offensive power and quick saves. The R2s definitely had moments of brilliance but were unable to match the R1s dominance. By the end of the afternoon, we lost track of the score and just enjoyed the game and the sunshine.

Our R1 winners received the coveted Henry Weinhard Award! Best darn root beer this side of Regina! And bragging rights of course! This evens out the score now as the R2s were victorious last year.

The R2s have to compose a limerick based on their field notes and have it submitted to me by Monday, June 26. The limericks will be reviewed by our R1s and a winner announced Thursday, June 29th! Let’s see if Dr. Rose Hsu can pull off another win!

Academic Half Day: Teaching Excellence Award

This year we’ve initiated an internal award for Academic Half Day Teaching Excellence. These are presentations that are consistently well-organized and thoughtfully articulated. They include collaborative exercises to reinforce the presenter’s objectives and engage learners. Facilitators of these sessions encourage participants to explore the material and more importantly play with the concepts. In play, these educators develop a safe place for inquiry and the residents have fun learning. We love that!

Congratulations to our primary preceptor, Dr. Richard Egolf, and our R2, Dr. Bruce Griffioen, on being the first recipients of the Taward!

Publications!

Congratulations to our graduate Dr. Rachel Oommen! During her final year of residency, she has had two publications that were accepted in the Canadian Family Physician. Fantastic!

Oommen, R. CFPC 99 priority topics podcasts for family medicine residents. Canadian Family Physician. Accepted November 2016.

Beckerleg W, Oommen, R. Osteoporosis management in residential care: How residents in internal and family medicine face the challenge of translating evidence into practice. Canadian Family Physician. Accepted November 2016.