This is Family Medicine

This is Family Medicine (TIFM) is an online campaign aimed at shifting the attitude towards Family Medicine amongst healthcare professionals and the general public. The TIFM campaign is spearheaded by Adam Payne and Emily Seale, medical students at the University of Ottawa and Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) executives, who created this platform to “redefine the perception of Family Medicine by acknowledging its importance and celebrating the diverse contributions family physicians have made.” This student-led initiative is presented in collaboration with The University of Ottawa’s FMIG and Department of Family Medicine.

The TIFM team is looking for physicians, medical trainees, and patients who are interested in sharing their personal achievements, experiences, or opinions towards family medicine. Possible topics of interest include: current attitudes towards FM, patient interactions, scope of practice, multidisciplinary teams, access to care, and much more.

If you are interested in getting involved, please contact us at thisisfamilymedicine@gmail.com to share your achievements and/or experiences as a trainee or current family physician.

During one of my free weekends on an elective in child and adolescent psychiatry in Regina, Saskatchewan, I stumbled upon a memory that would continue to encourage me to reflect on the publicly funded and delivered healthcare services and system that Canadians receive to this day. I went to the MacKenzie Art Gallery with a friend to explore the Christi Belcourt and Isaac Murdoch exhibit entitled, ‘UPRISING: THE POWER OF MOTHER EARTH’. The gallery is located in the multipurpose T. C. Douglas Building, named after Tommy Douglas, widely known as the father of Medicare in Canada - he was the Premier of Saskatchewan and later as leader of the federal NDP. He saw his Medicare plan enacted in Saskatchewan in 1962 (the first medicare plan in Canada) and later by the federal government in 1966. 

Just as we were about to leave the building, we noticed a painting in the foyer of the building, of a Dr. Orville Hjertaas. That’s when a kind and knowledge security guard shared with us, the significance of Dr. Hjertaas to the movement of medicare in Saskatchewan, and ultimately later, Canada as a whole. He practised medicine in Prince Albert, becoming chief of surgery at both hospitals in the city, and pioneered the team approach to holistic, preventive medicine. When discussions about publicly funded healthcare as provincial law were being discussed and debated - that the ability to pay for healthcare services should not determine whether or not you received care - physicians widely protested this policy paradigm shift. Dr. Hjertaas was in the minority of physicians that continued to practice medicine - caring for people regardless of the ability to pay, as a form of protest. 

I think it is so very crucial to acknowledge that our current understandings of how primary healthcare and hospital-related care are structured and funded are in large part relatively new decisions. How quickly and greatly have our societal values shifted to not only recognize the social determinants of health but also reflect this in medical practice in all fields - but in particular, in family medicine. Our family doctors are well-positioned to take action on the various determinants that impact one’s ability to achieve health and wellbeing outside of the clinic and hospital environment, and sometimes this means doing what Dr. Hjertaas and many others continue to do - speak up and out about inequities and injustices, act with social accountability and responsibility, and work towards a world that prevents illness and fosters wellbeing. This is why I chose to embark on the journey of family medicine, and public health and preventive medicine. 
 

I knew I wanted to become a family doctor even before I was accepted into med school. I could go on and on about the reasons that motivated my decision but will focus here on the issue of access to care. I have been working in a pharmacy for almost eight years and I have too often seen patients at the pharmacy tell me they did not have access to a doctor to help them and didn’t have the financial resources available to seek private care. It broke my heart, family doctors are so important, they are at the forefront of patient care and their role is too often underestimated. Yes, they are generalists, but it is often forgotten that they are their patients’ specialists and therefore play a crucial role in preserving and promoting health. I am proud to say that I aspire to be a family doctor soon.