New video from Family Medicine highlights necessity of investing in primary care

The first step in growing Canada’s number family physicians? Attracting them to residency seats in the first place.

Excitement is growing within the specialty of family medicine (FM) at the uOttawa Faculty of Medicine, with the Department of Family Medicine (DFM) stepping up its ongoing efforts to spark a passion in prospective FM residents.

Sharing promo video nationally

This month, DFM proudly launched a first-of-its kind video highlighting why family medicine is essential in the Canadian health care landscape. The video will be shared across Canada with all departments of family medicine, as well as with numerous medical organizations.

The video, titled “A Tribute to Family Medicine,” pitches family medicine as the foundation of communities, with family physicians as pillars of support and guardians of community health and well-being.

Trainees who choose family medicine are attracted by the life-long relationships—or “cradle to grave” care—they develop with patients. They may also be attracted by the range of medical care they can administer, spanning the gamut of mental to physical conditions.

“The development of this video is part of our larger response to addressing the primary care crisis,” says Asiya Rolston, DFM’s manager of communications. “It highlights the impact and significance of family medicine and elevating the discipline—and our program—to show it in a positive light.”

Rolston says the Department is hoping the message will resonate with medical students who are considering specializing in family medicine.

“We wanted to provide an alternative message for family medicine and highlight the necessity of investing in the future of primary care,” she says.

Fully matched status at uOttawa

The Faculty of Medicine’s initiatives to draw medical students to their available spots have been successful, filling all of its family medicine residency positions for 2024.

“Family medicine at uOttawa is fully matched, and we are proud of that,” says Dr. Clare Liddy, chair of the department. “Seventy-five new doctors will come out of our program to meet the needs of the communities we serve.”

Dr. Liddy says the Department’s efforts to innovate within the educational curriculum are also appealing to medical students and attracting them to family medicine.

“We’re delighted that our rate of students from the undergraduate program choosing to specialize in family medicine has increased to 39 per cent, up four percent from last year, so the speciality is gaining traction in attracting new residents from our MD program,” she says.

“As well, 45% of our incoming family medicine residents in Ottawa completed their undergraduate medical education here in Ottawa—the highest proportion of learners in an Ontario medical school who have chosen to remain at their home institution to pursue a residency program.”

DFM is also working hard on new clinical opportunities to attract and retain family medicine residents, such as supporting clinics to expand in communities to serve those populations. The Faculty’s abundance of opportunities to train in rural or northern communities also exposes trainees to a variety of patients and populations, providing them the chance to practise comprehensive care.

Canada’s growing need for recruitment

Despite uOttawa’s fully matched status, some spots remain unfilled elsewhere in the country. Kim Rozon, family medicine education manager within DFM, says the challenge of attracting students to family medicine is not local, but rather Canada wide.

“A current full match doesn’t fix the problem long term for family medicine, she says. “As the country offers more residency spots in upcoming years in response to the crisis in primary care, medical schools need to attract even more people to the specialty.”

The Department hopes that sharing their new video widely will build on efforts to attract medical school graduates for hands-on training and fill every training seat. They have also launched a portal with training resources that can be freely accessed by students, faculty and the public across the country.

“In sharing our resources and successes, we’re demonstrating our commitment to working collaboratively to solve the primary care crisis together, as a nation,” says Dr. Liddy.

Watch the new video from the University of Ottawa Department of Family Medicine, titled “A Tribute to Family Medicine.”