Family Medicine Residency Site: Abbotsford-Mission

New CIHR Funding Opportunity: Strengthening the Health Workforce for System Transformation

In partnership with CIHR’s Institute of Aging (IA), Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health (IHDCYH), Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH), the Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies (CRPPHE), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Michael Smith Health Research BC, this funding opportunity aims to address the current health workforce crisis, a key priority area identified within the IHSPR strategic plan, and advance the Quadruple Aim (improved population health outcomes, better patient and provider experience, and increased value) and health equity.

We encourage you to engage in this exciting new funding opportunity and appreciate your support in spreading the word. Please don’t hesitate to reach out should you have any questions.

Strengthening the Health Workforce for System Transformation Implementation Science Team Grants

Aim: To inform the implementation, evaluation and/or spread/scale (share) of an evidence-informed workforce solution(s) that addresses system level challenges (e.g., system organization, governance, accountability, remuneration, capacity building) that align with one or more of the themes identified in the CAHS Assessment on Health Human Resources to advance the Quadruple Aim and health equity.

Research area(s): In addition to aligning with one or more CAHS Themes, projects must align with one or more of the following research areas: general health workforce, Indigenous health workforce, pediatric workforce, public health workforce, rural and remote health workforce, cancer health workforce, aging workforce, workforce that cares for an aging population and equitable, diverse and inclusive health workforce.

Additional details:

• 14 Implementation Science Team grants are available.
• Each grant = $250,000 per year for 3 years ($750,000 total). 
• Supplemental funding of $375,000 will support the highest overall ranked fundable application to lead the Evidence Support and Knowledge Mobilization Hub for timely dissemination, exchange, and uptake of evidence into policy and practice.
• An information webinar is scheduled for June 27, 2023 at 1 pm EDT| Register here.
• The registration deadline is October 5, 2023
• The application deadline is November 9, 2023.

For more information, please refer to the full funding opportunity on ResearchNet.

“On May 23, Indigenous elders and community members, alongside family members, friends, faculty and staff, gathered at UBC’s First Nations Longhouse to honour and celebrate the incredible achievements of this year’s Indigenous medical school graduates.

This year’s graduates are joining a strong community of more than 130 UBC Indigenous medical alumni who have also graduated from the Faculty of Medicine’s Indigenous MD Admissions pathway and are now providing culturally safe and accessible health care for families and communities across British Columbia (B.C.) and beyond.

The pathway, which began in 2002, serves a pivotal role in encouraging and creating new opportunities for more Indigenous students to study medicine while supporting them on their journey to becoming doctors.”

Learn more about this exciting week via UBC Faculty of Medicine.

“The SYMPLIFY study is the first large-scale evaluation of a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test in individuals who presented to their GP for diagnostic follow-up for suspected cancer.

The study enrolled 6,238 patients, aged 18 and older, in England and Wales who were referred for urgent imaging, endoscopy or other diagnostic modalities to investigate symptoms suspicious for possible gynaecological, lung, lower GI or upper GI cancer, or who had presented with non-specific symptoms. Participants provided a blood sample, from which DNA was isolated and tested. The most commonly reported symptoms leading to referral were unexpected weight loss (24.1%), change in bowel habit (22.0%), post-menopausal bleeding (16.0%), rectal bleeding (15.7%), abdominal pain (14.5%), pain (10.6%), difficulty swallowing (8.8%) and anaemia (7.1%).”

Learn more on Multi-Cancer Blood Test Shows Real Promise in NHS trial via University of Oxford News.

“The list of physicians speaking out about a resourcing crisis at hospitals in B.C.’s Lower Mainland grew Monday to include dozens of doctors working within the obstetrician and gynecology units at Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH).

More than two-thirds of women’s health providers at the hospital have signed a letter saying critically inadequate resources are compromising patient safety, resulting in an untold number of close calls and the death of a newborn in 2021.

‘It’s scary. I’ve had many colleagues come to me and say, ‘Every day I’m afraid. I’m afraid of what’s going to happen to our patients. I’m afraid of litigation. I’m afraid for our nursing colleagues,’ said Dr. Claudine Storness-Bliss, an obstetrician and gynecologist who is co-lead at the department.

‘It’s a storm.'”

Read more on Resource crisis has led to 1 newborn’s death and ‘countless’ close calls at Surrey Memorial, OBGYNs say via CBC News.

“In time for GoByBike Week, the Province is offering rebates on the purchase of eligible new e-bikes for people who want to add some power to their pedal and start commuting by bike.

‘E-bikes are becoming commonplace in B.C. as a convenient alternative to motor-vehicle trips, but their price can put them out of reach for people,’ said Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. ‘By making rebates available and basing the rebate amount on income, we can make e-bikes and clean transportation more affordable and accessible for everyone.’

Beginning June 1, 2023, rebates on the purchase of an approved e-bike will be available to B.C. residents older than 19 and will be based on a person’s income. Rebates will range from $350 to a maximum of $1,400. Unlike previous programs, there is no need to scrap a car to access the rebate. The Province is investing more than $6 million in rebates, which will allow as many as 9,000 people to lower the cost of their e-bike purchase. The rebate program will be administered by the Scrap-It Society.”

Read more on Rebates make new e-bike purchases more affordable via BC Gov News.

Acinetobacter baumannii is a nosocomial Gram-negative pathogen that often displays multidrug resistance. Discovering new antibiotics against A. baumannii has proven challenging through conventional screening approaches.

Fortunately, machine learning methods allow for the rapid exploration of chemical space, increasing the probability of discovering new antibacterial molecules. Here we screened ~7,500 molecules for those that inhibited the growth of A. baumannii in vitro.

We trained a neural network with this growth inhibition dataset and performed in silico predictions for structurally new molecules with activity against A. baumannii. Through this approach, we discovered abaucin, an antibacterial compound with narrow-spectrum activity against A. baumannii.

Further investigations revealed that abaucin perturbs lipoprotein trafficking through a mechanism involving LolE. Moreover, abaucin could control an A. baumannii infection in a mouse wound model. This work highlights the utility of machine learning in antibiotic discovery and describes a promising lead with targeted activity against a challenging Gram-negative pathogen.

Read more on Deep learning-guided discovery of an antibiotic targeting Acinetobacter baumannii via Nature Chemical Biology.

Dr. Bob Bluman of UBC’s CPD and Toby Achtman, Executive Director of BCCFP, have created a series of helpful videos on diagnosing patients virtually. Please see below to learn more:

Clinical Area
1. Headache: view here.
2. Shoulder injury: view here.
3. Neck Pain: view here.
4. Back pain: view here.

They can all also be found by signing in to UBC CPD’s system for credit.

“Radiation has been a staple of cancer treatment for decades, with approximately 50 per cent of cancer patients receiving radiation therapy at some point in their journey.

While effective, traditional radiation therapies rely on intense beams of energy shot from outside the body. These beams can kill cancer cells, but their use is limited to select locations, making them less suited for difficult-to-treat metastatic cancers that have spread to multiple sites.

Now, a UBC-led team of Canadian researchers has received $23.7 million in federal funding to develop a new generation of radiation therapy, known as radiopharmaceutical therapy, that delivers highly targeted doses of radiation from within.”

Learn more on “Nuclear medicine can cure cancer, and Canadian researchers are stepping up the fight” via UBC’s Faculty of Medicine.

Another round of the picture quiz! 🙂

“What is…?”

Cue the beat.

Click here to answer.

~ Jacqueline

On behalf of the UBC FP Residency Program, we would like to congratulate our residents on receiving several 2023 BCCFP awards as announced by the BC College of Family Physicians yesterday!

Rachel Cook: R2 Resident Award
Robin Craven: R2 Resident Award
Cassia Tremblay: R2 Resident Award
Arielle Roberts: Dr. Manoo and Jean Gurjar Award
Nique Seper: Dr. Manoo and Jean Gurjar Award

Please join us in celebrating our residents’ achievements!  You can read more on these (and other, such as BC Physician of the Year) awards here.

Jana Ogdenova
Senior Co-Manager, Faculty of Medicine
Department of Family Practice, Postgraduate Program