Read Full eNews This month, as we honor our award winners, I am reminded of the hard work and dedication of so many around the province in delivering care to our patients every day. Our awards recognize that family physicians, both experienced and newer in practice, have so much to contribute to enhancing primary care…
Read MoreMessage From the President—Building Community
Read the full summer eNews. Dear Members, Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela As we all settle in to our regular ‘back to school’ schedules, I’m reminded why I became involved with our College. I was early in my career, and relatively new to Alberta….
Read MoreMessage from the Executive Director—What’s Happening at ACFP?
Read the full summer eNews. The staff at the ACFP are working hard to prepare programs and services for you, our members. As always, we strive to ensure that the family physician voice is part of ongoing system improvements. I am most excited about three things currently on our minds and desks: PEIP—Get Together and…
Read MoreResponding to the Opioid Crisis in Your Practice
Read the full June eNews and President’s Message. Patients at risk of opioid dependency are in your practice. Let me repeat this. Patients at risk of opioid dependency are in your practice. The good news is that we can manage those risks through basic chronic disease management approaches. The reality is that we will…
Read MoreChallenging Work Pays Off
Read the full May eNews and President’s Message. Becoming a family physician is an incredible commitment and is not for the faint of heart, mind, or body. As you all know, the specialty of family medicine is about building long-term trusted relationships; it is about complexity, comprehensiveness, and problem solving. We are asked to…
Read MorePatient’s Medical Home and Future Practice in Canada
Read the full April eNews and President’s Message. The Patient’s Medical Home is the future of family practice in Canada. In this vision, every family practice across Canada offers the medical care that Canadians want: Seamless care that is centred on individual patients’ needs within their community, throughout every stage of life, and integrated with…
Read MoreLeadership Is About the “Little Things”
Read the full March eNews and President’s Message. “It takes team, grit, determination, and perseverance. If you trust in your people, and equally importantly, they trust you, amazing things can happen.” Darby Allen, Former Fire Chief, Fort McMurray, Alberta (Keynote, 63rd Annual Scientific Assembly) As in emergency response, leadership in family medicine is not…
Read MoreEducating the Heart and Mind
Read the full February eNews and President’s Message. “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” Aristotle Though medicine is based on facts and evidence, family medicine is all that and it draws on the heart, emotions, and social constructs of community, team, and family. We learn the technical aspects…
Read MorePrinciple Based Leadership
Read the full January eNews and President’s Message. Machiavelli said “Never waste the opportunity offered by a crisis” … but we ought to ensure we are consistent and fully in-line with our organizational principles! A crisis shakes us out of complacency and forces us to challenge conventional wisdom so that we can create transformative change….
Read MoreACFP’s Top Ten for 2017
Read the full December eNews & President’s Message. Looking back on 2017, we invested in advocacy, leadership, and education while supporting you and your teams in the delivery of care for your patients. Here are my thoughts on the ACFP’s Top 10 over the past year: We established a task force of 12 family physician…
Read MoreOctober – Message From the President
Read the full October eNews & President’s Message. Many of us have had our own brushes with the health care system, be it our own illness or through a family member. I have lived through such an experience recently through my father’s serious and very lengthy illness and hospital stay. Throughout his entire stay, the…
Read MoreAugust – Message From the President
Read the full August eNews & President’s Message. Advanced Care Planning – A Personal Perspective Having an advanced care plan easily available to any health care professional—be it home care nurses, paramedics with EMS or nurses on an active care unit in hospital—is very useful. In our own clinic, we discuss a personal directive with…
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