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Welcome to your department newsletter, here to keep you up-to-date with news, events, awards and research in the Department of Family Practice.
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With the holidays around the corner and 2021 soon coming to a close, I want to take the time to thank each and every one of you for your dedication to the Department, our learners, patients and peers. I am deeply grateful for YOU - the clinical faculty member who has been working tirelessly to meet our community’s needs while still maintaining enough energy to provide hands-on mentoring. Or the academic faculty member striving to dig deeper with important research and education innovations paving the way for the next generation of healthcare professionals. As well as the staff member ensuring all the back-end operations run efficiently and with purpose to make what we do have impact. I am deeply grateful for you and appreciate your hard work and resilience to ensuring a successful year.
The past year has been nothing short of a rollercoaster, so please take the time to check in with your mental and physical wellbeing during this busy time of year. Here are some readings we’ve compiled to support you in:
- Embarking on the ongoing journey of supporting your mental health
- Reconnecting with yourself through mindfulness and gratitude for clarity into what is truly important
- Enjoying our wonderful places and spaces in British Columbia through a variety of activities, and
- A few tips for adding more physical activity to your life
Please join me in celebrating our amazing accomplishments of the year, while we highlight some great work done in the community while faced with adversity, and provide more wellness tips for you to try out while you get together with loved ones this season as we reconnect and recharge for the year ahead.
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Upcoming Awards
Check out some upcoming award and recognitions for department members to consider nominating your colleagues!
Congratulations - Awards, Promotions & Recognitions 
2021 Health Professional-Investigator Award
Congratulations Dr. Maria Hubinette, Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Practice and Family Medicine Undergraduate Program Director. Dr. Hubinette was recognized for her research exploring the experiences of racialized learners to understand and dismantle racist structures in our healthcare system with the Health Professional-Investigator Award.
Want to be featured to help celebrate your accomplishments in your field? Let us know! We want to highlight the amazing people behind our department's great work!
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Community Opportunities
- Help improve the Vaccine Hesitancy Guide
 Dr. Morgan Price has been working closely with Dr. Myles Leslie and his team (University of Calgary, School of Public Policy) on the vaccine hesitancy guide. The Guide provides practical scripts and suggestions to improve conversations between primary care clinicians and patients who are hesitant about the COVID-19 vaccines. If you’ve heard about, looked through, or used the Guide, we want to hear from you! This is your chance to provide input that will improve the Guide for its 16,000+ users.
- The evaluation survey is anonymous and takes 10-15 minutes to complete. You can find more information on the Guide and the evaluation here.
- Call for participants (pregnant people) - Perinatal Wellbeing Research
 Team led by Dr. Bayrampour is conducting a pilot prospective cohort study to examine prenatal cannabis exposure and early developmental outcomes (PreCeeDo Study). The specific objectives of this study are to examine the feasibility and acceptability of conducting a large prospective cohort study and to explore the clinical utility of testing umbilical cord tissue to detect and quantify in-utero cannabis exposure. The team is particularly interested in recruiting the exposure group (pregnant cannabis users). Please share this call with your network.
- Real-Time Virtual Support (RTVS) pathways enhance health equity in rural, remote, and First Nations communities across British Columbia by connecting rural healthcare providers and patients to RTVS Virtual Physicians via Zoom or telephone. There are two types of pathways—those for healthcare providers, and those for patients.
Learn more!
- Call for participants - Physician Examiners to participate in Objective Structured Clinical Exams
 (OSCE’s) for this academic year. As a physician examiner, you will observe students and candidates interacting with a Standardized Patient in a clinical encounter and record their performance according to specific rating guidelines. Training will be provided before each exam.
- Centre for Health Education Scholarship (CHES) | Deadline December 17, 2021
- Master of Health Professions Education (MHPE) Canada: MHPE-Canada is a two-year, part-time, internationally recognized course, giving graduates a research-based master’s degree from Maastricht University. The MHPE-Canada focuses on the acquisition of knowledge and skills relevant for innovative medical and health professions education in Canada. For more information on the program, eligibility, and the application process, please head to the CHES MHPE-Canada website.
- Clinical Educator Fellowship Program: CHES is offering opportunities for senior residents (R3-R5), residents in enhanced skills programs (PGY3 Family Medicine), or established clinicians interested in health education scholarship to be a part of the CHES Fellowship program, which has graduated 34 Fellows since its inception. This Fellowship is designed for those interested in developing an academic career as a clinician educator. Click here for more information.
- See the collection of testimonials from former and active CHES alumni
- Lead change with the UBC Graduate Certificate in Primary Health Care The part-time Graduate Certificate in Primary Health Care was developed to support working health care professionals for the transformation to patient-centred, team-based care. Navigate the complexities of interprofessional teams, integrate and apply your skills in context, and lead change in your organization.
Grants and Funding
Canada First Research Excellence Fund
Precision Health Catalyst Grants
More funding opportunities
Congratulations
The Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine (FAFM) and the CMA Foundation have announced their support the 12 initiatives of the COVID-19 Pandemic Response and Impact Grant (Co-RIG) Program – Phase II. One of these initiative is led by our very own - Dr. Stefan Grzybowski, Professor in the Department of Family Practice - "Enhancing Rural Community Resiliency to Climate Change and Ecosystem Disruption: Building on the lessons learned from the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen rural community health and health services".
The Co-RIG Program Phase II focuses on innovations and initiatives that prepare family physicians and their interprofessional teams to cope with challenges related to the pandemic and its longer-term impact. Projects involve scaling up existing innovations and propelling new initiatives that respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
See full announcement!
Postgrad Program
UBC's Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Practice, in partnership with the British Columbia Ministry of Health, is engaged in a project to establish Team-based Primary Care Learning Centres (collectively “TPCLCs”) across the Province. TPCLCs will represent a network of collaborative, inter-professional primary care sites that create high-quality learning opportunities that accelerate team-based care in the community. This is a three-year project. If you represent a primary care clinic or clinic group that is interested in participating in this three-year project, please complete this Expression of Interest (EoI) form.
Are you interested in presenting in the the Department of Family Practice's Research Rounds? Please complete an expression of interest here.
Undergrad Program
Innovation Support Unit (ISU)
In early 2022, a major focus will be on capacity building and sustainability for Primary Care Transformation Implementation Supports: providing additional training and supporting facilitators through our Community of Practice.
The ISU is currently developing a facilitation training plan for 2022, including training in the following:
- Team Mapping (for clinical teams)
- PACC Mapping (for Primary and Community Care collaborative service planning)
- PACC Supports Mapping (for non-clinical teams supporting PMH and/or PCNs)
- Immunization PACC Mapping
Interested? Fill out this registration link for information about upcoming sessions.
The ISU continues to support the spread and scale of immunization PACC mapping to help communities co-create solutions that remove structural barriers and increase confidence in COVID-19 immunization.
Listen to one of the two ISU-led podcasts!
 
Click here to listen to the podcasts!
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- New Frontiers: Sport & Exercise Medicine Speaker Series
- When: Wednesdays in February 2022
- What: This four-week virtual speaker series will provide up-to-date, relevant education and research in the field of sport and exercise medicine as well as opportunities for interactive engagements. Our panel of experts will bring together a variety of health care providers and community stakeholders to bring an innovative platform for education, interactive discussions, and a glimpse of the future of sport and exercise medicine at UBC.
- Learn More & Register
- 57th Annual Family Practice Review
- When: Thursday March 3 - Saturday March 5, 2022
- What: This comprehensive review course offers an update of knowledge central to the practice of family medicine in both rural and urban settings. Committed to addressing everyday practical issues, speakers present equally on current and special areas of concern to the primary health care professionals.
- Learn More & Register
Check out other professional development opportunities and events!
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BC's Fraser Canyon Hospital ends 'Code Orange' as Hero Doctor Reveals Close Call During Flooding
Dr. Aseem Grover, Family Physician in Hope, BC and recent graduate from the Department of Family Practices Postgraduate program, stepped up and became a hero for the community in the face of adversity. Dr. Grover helped out during intense flooding in a the nearby hamlet of Boston Bar, where four patients urgently needed help in a location only a Canadian Forces helicopter could handle the conditions to get the rural physician specialist there.
Without a medical facility in the community, Grover knew he’d have to aim for the bowling alley, which functions as a pharmacy for the community.Its crew successfully deposited him for a lightning-quick visit, during which he cared for all the patients within a half hour, but the way back south through the narrow and steep-sided Fraser canyon would prove treacherous.
Read the full story here!
New Primary Care Health Centre Opens in Cranbrook
A new health care facility is opening in Cranbrook aimed at providing care for urgent but non life-threatening conditions, and connecting local residents to a regular primary care provider.
Dr. Shaun van Zyl, board chair of the East Kootenay Division of Family Practice, touted the co-location of health care services at the centre. “This Urgent and Primary Care Centre brings us closer to our goal of access to culturally safe and appropriate primary care for everyone who needs and wants it in the Cranbrook and Kimberley area,” Dr. van Zyl said.
See the full article!
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Welcome to the Team!
Welcome Tlell Elviss (she/her) (MA), a new Evaluation and Engagement Analyst with the Innovation Support Unit in the Department of Family Practice. She lives and works from the unceded traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation, the traditional keepers of this land. She has 15 years experience in higher education and student affairs, working collaboratively across both academic and student affairs to design and develop policies, programs, and practices which facilitate student learning. She has a background in project management, evaluation design, and stakeholder engagement and is interested in healthcare as a learning system and creating greater justice, equity and inclusion within healthcare.
Welcome Winnii Kewa (MS), a new Evaluation and Engagement Analyst with the Innovation Support Unit in the Department of Family Practice at UBC. Winnii is of African descent and grateful to live, work and play on the unceded and traditional territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil Waututh) and sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) peoples. Winnii has experience in Health Systems Strengthening, Institutional Capacity Building and Monitoring and Evaluation. Winnii’s interests focus on finding ways to optimize health systems to improve health outcomes especially among vulnerable and marginalized populations.
Welcome Jordan Christmas, who joined the team in November as the Administrative Coordinator for the department of Family Practice at UBC. Jordan is a settler of English descent, moving over to Canada 3 years ago. She is grateful to live, work and play on the traditional territories of the Coast Salish Peoples. She is working closely with Dr. Robert Petrella and Marni Fraser, supporting faculty, committee administration, finance and operations. Jordan has experience in rural healthcare from her previous role at the Rural Coordination Centre of BC. She brings experience in administration, finance and event coordination.
Cybersecurity Reminders
As we are approaching the holiday season, we are seeing an increase in gift card and CEO scams where cybercriminals are targeting our community. Usually, these emails are impersonating someone you know, asking for the request to be done with some urgency, saying they will pay you right back, and that they can’t talk right now. While we are asking everyone to be extremely vigilant and report all incidents to security@ubc.ca, we  understand that purchasing and offering gift cards may be accepted practice in the research field. If you receive an email from anyone asking to purchase a gift card, we ask that you follow these following steps to ensure the email is legitimate:
- Don't reply to the email
- Contact that person separately in a new email to their official email address or a phone call or message to their known cellphone to verify if the request is legitimate
- It is important that you also forward these emails as an attachment to security@ubc.ca immediately and notify your colleagues that there is a fraudulent email circulating. By doing this, you can protect yourself and UBC.
To learn more about how to recognize and protect yourself from gift card scams, click here.
Save Energy with the Seasonal Shutdown Checklist
This holiday season, help save energy as part of UBC’s Seasonal Shutdown, which lowers the temperature in buildings over the winter break to reduce energy use and emissions on campus.
Every action counts! Simple actions like shutting windows, switching off and unplugging electronic equipment and turning off lights save thousands of dollars each year and reduce UBC’s energy footprint.
Before you leave for the holidays…
- Switch off electronics
- Turn off the lights
- Unplug small appliances
- Close windows and blinds
- Report any air or water leaks
- Shut fume hood sashes and shut down non-essential lab equipment
Learn more
Winter Weather at UBC
To support those faculty and staff who are working on our campuses, we would like to remind you of the information available in the event of extreme winter weather.
View the full message on the UBC Today website
Snow policy
Emergency Information and Messaging
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HR Corner
Year End Reminders
As we near the end of the calendar year, please review the helpful reminders for managers and administrators shared in the full article on the UBC HR News page.
As a summary:
- Vacation carryover and sick time: Managers, please check 2021 vacation balances and carryover for your teams. Enter vacation, sick time, and other absence entries (including corrections) for 2021 no later than Friday, January 7, 2022. Managers must approve by Monday, January 10, 2022.
- Early payroll deadline: The payroll deadline to enter and submit time (both absences and hours worked) for December 12 to 25, 2021, is Tuesday, December 21, 2021. Managers must approve the time submitted by Wednesday, December 22, 2021.
- Christmas leave: The leave available depends on your employee group. Visit the Christmas leave page for more information, and read the UBC Bulletin about Paid leave for staff between Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
- Delegations: If you are going on vacation or will be absent for a period of time, please delegate any important tasks before you leave.
- Resources:
- Paid Sick Leave Now Available in Workday: Leaves of absence using Paid Sick Leave are now available for M&P staff (including AAPS, XMP and SUDs) and Faculty members (including Administrative, Librarian, Part time/Without Review, Tenure Stream and Term). This is an update, as we were previously manually tracking these absences.
- Benefits budgeting resources for new hires/positions: Central HR has updated their "Creating a position" page to include some additional resources to help you budget the benefits for new hires/positions. The page now contains links to:
- The Benefits Cost Calculator, which you can use to input specific information for your new hire/position and find out how much you will need to budget for payroll and benefits
- A helpful Benefit Rates document, showing the percentage amount you will need to budget on top of the salary for each employee group.
- Working alone while working remotely (at home): Find out what you need in place as a supervisor if your team is working remotely. Learn more.
- New Hires, Job Changes, and Security Roles: If you have new hires, or employees who have changed positions, and they require additional security roles, please ensure you submit a security role request to ensure they have the correct access in their new roles. Security roles are assigned on the positions, so if you are hiring someone into a position that already has security roles assigned, the new hire will automatically have that same access and no further action is required. If you are creating a new position, and the new position requires Workday Security Roles, please submit a request as soon as possible.
- Student Appointments: As student appointments automatically terminate on their term end date, you will need to process any extensions before their current term end date. This will ensure they don’t lose access and prevent delays in their January pay.
Resources
Check out the HR Remote website for leaders
UBC HR currently runs workshops such as:
- Effective Practices for Leading Hybrid Teams
- A Coach-Approach to Learning and Development Conversations
- Build Your Hybrid Team Charter
There is also a curated list of Linked Learning modules that might be helpful as well under On-demand Learning
Some topics include:
1. Communicating in Times of Change
2. Managing Virtual Teams
3. Time Management: Working from Home
4. Leading at a Distance
5. Building Resilience .. and many others
COVID-19 and UBC: Stay Informed
Stay up-to-date with the latest information and updates on COVID-19 and UBC’s response. Visit UBC's COVID-19 website for helpful FAQs and resources.
Winter Wellness Resources
Thrive 5
There are many different and relevant ways to foster and maintain good mental health. As we navigate these difficult times and changing COVID-19 protocols, you may be feeling stressed, worried, or isolated. Research consistently points to five ways that can help promote a healthy mind. We call these the Thrive 5, and they are simple, easy-to-implement ways to help support your mental health: Moving more, sleeping soundly, eating well, giving back and saying hi.
Learn more!
Sweet Slumber
A good night's sleep is just as important as eating healthy and exercising. Check out these tips to improve your sleep habits.
Healthy Holiday Hacks
Stay on track with your healthy eating goals this holiday season. The Food Network has plenty of recipes to keep the holidays healthy.
Make your holiday treats a little bit healthier this season! Delish has plenty of recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Prioritize Movement
Crunched for time? Try to squeeze in "fitness snacks" throughout your day. Small bits of movement can boost your energy while helping you reach your movement goals! Learn more here
Mental Health Moment
Take some time to check in and assess your mental health this month. How are you feeling? What is your energy like? Participaction has some great tips & resources to support your mental health.
Did you know that spending time in nature boosts memory, creativity, & work satisfaction? Learn more about the benefits of nature and the impact it can have on your health.
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