Chair’s message: Happy holidays

Dear colleagues,

As we approach the end of the year, we are looking forward to the external review of DFCM, which will occur on our regularly scheduled five-year cycle in early January. In preparation for that important process, many of you participated in pulling together our departmental Self-Study, a massive document we have shared with our external reviewers that summarizes the work we have undertaken in our Department over the last five years. While pulling together such a Self-Study involves a lot of work, inevitably, it is a process that has allowed us to take stock of our growth, our challenges, and our shared vision for the future. In that sense, it reminded me a bit of the process of applying for senior promotion – many, many hours of work that can feel overwhelming in the moment, but at the end of the journey, one is able to look at the product and feel really proud of the document and, more importantly, of the journey it chronicles.

When I became Chair nearly five years ago, we were in the midst of a global pandemic. Family physicians were retiring in record numbers, and many were feeling burnt out and demoralized. Family medicine was in a state of crisis. Today, while there is still much work ahead, I firmly believe that thanks to the collective efforts of our faculty, staff, learners, and many critical partners, our Department – and I believe our discipline – has moved from crisis to hope. Hope for a stronger health system, for better access to high-quality primary care, and for the future of family medicine.

Our Self-Study highlights DFCM’s contributions to this shift.

Included in these highlights is the launch of our Office of Health System Partnerships (OHSP), which embeds academic family doctors in system leadership roles to shape the future of primary care locally and globally. Also included are our ongoing efforts to strengthen reconciliation through the establishment of the Indigenous Leadership Circle and the opening of a new Indigenous Health Space. The Self-Study also highlights the deeper partnerships we are building with patients and families through the Patient and Family Advisory Committee. And of course, the incredible work of our education teams, our researchers, and our innovators and QI experts shines through on every page.

This progress unfolded during a time of remarkable growth. Since the last Self-Study, we’ve added four new core teaching sites, expanded residency positions throughout the province, and introduced new divisions.

Our impact is wide-reaching, touching every part of our work — education, research, quality improvement, and partnerships. From UPLEARN, our “living laboratory” for research, to the OurCare initiative shaping national primary care policy, to global collaborations with partners in Ethiopia and Ghana, the scope of work done in DFCM is extraordinary. And through it all, we’ve kept our patients and our learners at the centre of our field of vision.

I could go on and on, listing off the amazing work of this Department. Instead, I invite you to explore the full story in our 2020–2025 Self-Study Report. Thank you to everyone who contributed information, insights, and reflections to this process. Input came from every corner of the Department, and the product truly demonstrates the strength of our collective voice.

In January, we will welcome two external reviewers as part of the next phase of this process. Thank you in advance to all who will participate. I am confident the reviewers will be impressed — not only by the work we do every day to advance family medicine and primary care, but by the calibre of kind, intelligent people who make up this Department. Most of all, I hope they will see what I see: a Department full of talent, vision, and hope for what’s ahead.

As we close out the year, I hope each of you finds time for rest, renewal, and connection with loved ones. Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a happy, healthy start to 2026.