The uOttawa Faculty of Medicine is proud to announce that Dr. Lyne Pitre has won this year’s Prix de l’ambassadeur du français en médecine Jacques Boulay.
Named after Dr. Jacques Boulay, a staunch defender of quality Francophone health care in Canada during the 1960-1980s, this award honours physicians who have made significant contributions to carry on his legacy.
Born in the Ottawa neighbourhood of Vanier, Dr. Pitre is a Franco-Ontarian who went on to graduate from the University of Ottawa’s medical school in 1986. Since then, she has forged a formidable career as a physician and educator, championing French in medicine.
As an active member of les Affaires Francophones at the uOttawa Faculty of Medicine and a physician at Hôpital Montfort, Dr. Lyne Pitre has made significant contributions to the Ontario health system. Dr. Pitre was one of the first preceptors of the University of Ottawa’s Family Medicine residency program at Hôpital Montfort, the only Francophone program of its kind in Ontario, and was the program director for 22 years.
Under her leadership, many Francophone medical residents in Ontario have better access to training in their preferred language, which means that more patients can receive care in French. As a teacher and mentor, Dr. Pitre has trained more than 200 francophone family physicians. She has also helped many physicians across Canada by offering them professional development courses in French within their communities.
A devoted family physician, Dr. Pitre continues to practice medicine, including office-based care, inpatient care and obstetrics, in parallel with her teaching activities. In 2011, she opened the first Family Health Team (FHT) clinic in Ontario to offer services in French, allowing Francophone patients in the Ottawa region who did not have a family doctor to access an academic FHT in their language.
"I want the next generation to include more Francophone doctors. I only had one hour of class in French when I was in medical school. Now, everything is in French, and it’s so wonderful to see that Francophone students can do it all. And for the patients, being able to speak your own language when you’re sick makes all the difference," said Dr. Pitre.
Dr. Pitre is also the recipient of the 2018 Regional Family Physician of the Year and the 2018 CFPC Scholarly Work in Family Medicine Education Grant.
