Family Medicine Residency Site: Abbotsford-Mission

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language.
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
~ T.S. Eliot

Gratitude. Recognition. Perseverance.
Words that come to mind right now.

Our Abbotsford-Mission site would like to thank our primary preceptors and rotation, elective, and faculty leads for their commitment to teaching over this past year. We are incredibly fortunate to have a group of educators dedicated to the growth and development of our future physicians. The pandemic has created several challenges (and opportunities) and we appreciate your flexibility and creativity that you’ve implemented in our residents’ learning journey. We also acknowledge the energy and heart that you and your team invest each and every day in our program and community.

Faculty, Primary Preceptors, Rotation & Elective Leads 2020-2021
Drs. Caroline Cook, Holden Chow, Clifford Moodley, Sarah Culkin, Dan Husband, Harj Dau, Jeff Kornelsen, Jody Ching, Justin Boporai, Kamal Rahal, Leslie Meloche, Manjit Gosal, Odayoth Bhargavan, Parin Patel, Richard Egolf, Hardeep Aujla, Presley Moodley, Deep Sidhu, Trent Loewen, Kaver Purewal, Carol Pomeroy, Jean-Marc Smith, Abid Khattak, Akash Sinha, Anthony Cohen, David Wickham, Brian Driedger, Shah Khan, Kathryn Morrison, Thanh Luu, Mandeep Dulai, Dustin Mattie, Nader Elmayergi, Terry Leung, Jennafer Wilson, Steve Mitchinson, Iris Liu, Mohan Gill, David Melnychuk, Willem De Klerk, Kirti Aneja, Ashley Fontaine, Peter Chang, Shaoyee Yao, Ashkan Golshan, Randy Walker, Aaron Brown, Sunny Gill, Trevor Hartl, Ryan Punambolam, Elizabeth Watt, Alasdair Nazerali-Maitland, and Kara Aiton.

We thank our superhero site directors and staff, Dr. Holden Chow, Dr. Thanh Luu, Ann Douglas and Susan Hart, who have successfully captained this ship through uncharted waters. We are a stronger and wiser crew because of their ability to listen, lead, and innovate. Honestly, it’s like having team Mandalorian at the helm :).

Our residents have excelled during this period and I’m proud of you all for continuing to work through this experience. Thank you to our Resident Leads, Drs. Monika Wojtera and Andrea Wong, and R1 Reps Drs. Casey Hicks and Clare Chiu. I promise you that we’ll find ways to bridge the disconnect and bring our team closer in 2021. On that note! Congratulations to Drs. Sandhu and Zhao for slam-dunking my medical trivia questions. Both responded back with the correct answers in under 5 minutes. I’m impressed and inspired to design something even more difficult. Just wait :).

Wrapping up 2020, here are a few things that caught my eye this week:

Finding connectedness via BCMJ.
Indigenous perspectives on wellness via BMC.
Girls leading the way via UNWomen.
Banning conversion therapy via CBCKidsNews.
We need more peace, love, and Cookie Monster via CBC.
Need a creative, musical distraction? Here’s my latest piece via Blob Opera.

Wishing you and your families a safe, festive, and physically-distanced holiday.
Know before you go via Accuweather & #WearAMask
Catch you in 2021.

Onward & Upward,
Jacqueline

“The American Public Health Association recognizes police violence as a public health crisis. This crisis has received national attention in light of recent events, and concerns of systemic racism among law enforcement have been reignited.

Firearms are the second leading cause of pediatric death in the United States, with noted racial and ethnic disparities. We sought to measure racial and ethnic differences in adolescent mortality rates related to firearm injury from law enforcement over a 16-year period.”

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Final abstract due to Program Office: December 15 – Please send your final abstracts to residency@familymed.ubc.ca by the deadline indicated.

• Final manuscript due to Program Office: February 28
• Remediation work, if necessary: March 2 – May 31
• Deadline to apply for Lloyd Jones Collins Award: March 31
• Presentations due to Program Office: June 12, 2020
• Central Lloyd Jones Collins Scholarship Day: June 19, 2020

I’m replacing the Jeopardy theme song with Johann Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major.

“What is….”

Click here to answer.

#TheLancet #PictureQuiz

In addition to this data, please see Fraser Health’s list of COVID-19 exposures at Abbotsford schools here. Sixteen schools have had exposures since December 1, 2020. An “exposure event” is defined as “a single person with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection who attended school during their infectious period.” (via Fraser Health)

“Several helplines for women experiencing violence at home are reporting dramatic increases in calls since public health measures aimed at fighting the spread of COVID-19 came into effect last spring. The urgency and severity of many callers’ situations have also intensified, said Angela MacDougall, the executive director of Battered Women’s Support Services based in Vancouver. ‘What women are saying is that it’s like a pressure cooker in the house and there isn’t a valve,’ she said in an interview. The United Nations has called violence against women and girls a ‘shadow pandemic’ as the COVID-19 crisis fuels social isolation and tensions caused by concerns over health, safety and financial security.”
— via Calls to Canadian domestic violence helplines jump during pandemic (CTVNews).

Family Practice Residents may want to learn more about their local services providing assistance for women and children. SARA (Support, Acceptance, Resources, Action) is a feminist non-profit society providing safe refuge and community-based resources for women in Mission and Abbotsford. This includes counselling, outreach programs, The Warm Zone, and transition and long-term housing. They promote and support women’s efforts to achieve domestic, political, and social equality.

Visit SARA.

Taq Kaur Bhandal is a Ph.D. candidate at UBC, and works with theories & practices of intersectionality and anti-racism. She is part of the Mahwari Research Institute team, an independent think tank studying pleasurable living, pelvic health, and periods.

She’ll be speaking on:
Topic: Anti-racism Praxis in Canadian Health Education: Reflections and Directions
Date: Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Time: 12:00pm to 1:30pm
Zoom ID: For connection details, please email ches.communications@ubc.ca.

During this presentation participants will:

• Learn the definition of ‘race’ through the lens of social justice, so we can have a reference point for where to start unraveling threads.
• Take away 3 tips that can be used to braid anti-racism practice into health education classrooms and research.
• Practice one of the tips together through a group meditation to support stress release during the anti-racism paradigm shift.