Vancouver Division Collaborations

The Vancouver Division of Family Practice (VDoFP) is a not-for-profit society established by and for Vancouver family physicians. Sharing the same underlying goals of improving primary care for patients and supporting family physicians in their levels of well-being, professional development, and professional satisfaction, UBC CPD and the VDoFP have fostered a collaborative partnership for shared learning in the standardized use of continuing professional development/ continuing medical education (CPD/CME) tools and approaches. To date, UBC CPD and the VDoFP have collaborated on over forty certified educational events as part of various initiatives including:

Advanced Billing: Updates, Pitfalls and Tips to Get Paid for What You Do
Vancouver Attachment (A GP for Me) Initiative
Primary Maternity Care Network
Residential Care Initiative
Recreating the Doctor's Lounge: Reconnecting Family Physicians for Practice Success
Residents and New-to-Practice Program

To learn more about the VDoFP or to become a member, please visit their website.

Education

UBC CPD has collaborated with the VDoFP on a variety of initiatives, including the Advanced Billing, Vancouver Attachment (A GP for Me), Primary Maternity Care Network, Residential Care, Recreating the Doctor's Lounge, Residents and New-to-Practice initiatives, and Team-Based Care with Primary Care Networks.

But I don’t do maternity care!

Most family physicians do not provide full spectrum maternity care. However, nearly all see pregnant patients, if only for a few visits, and provide some degree of prenatal and postpartum care as a result. But I Don't Do Maternity Care! is an educational series aimed to cultivate an improved and viable referral process among family physicians and maternity care physicians.

This program began in 2014 and in 2022, VDoFP contracted UBC CPD to redesign and update the education meet the current needs of physicians in our ever-evolving education landscape. This involved transitioning workshops to a hybrid model of in-person and online learning, creating stand-alone online modules, and updating content based on new research and evidence.

Topics include: Preconception Care, Early Prenatal Care, Prenatal Genetic Screening, Perinatal Mental Health, Initial Postpartum Care, and Newborn Care.

Access the online module, But I Don't Do Maternity Care! Essentials for Family Physicians here.

Team-Based Care Education Series

The Team-Based Care Education Series is a tailored team-based care CPD initiative for Vancouver family physicians and their teams. Through collaboration with key organizations including the Practice Support Program and Vancouver Coastal Health, this initiative aims to enable learning and ongoing supports to sustain successful team-based care in Vancouver Primary Care Networks.

The interactive series pilot ran in two clinics 2022/2023 and provides learners with practical tools and resources to support the integration of team-based care principles into practice. This program will now be rolled out across Vancouver, with an online module available for anyone to take.

Sessions include:

Recognizing your team
Understanding scope and roles
Optimizing communication
Workflow integration

Take the online module or sign up for the workshop series. Any questions can be directed to @email.

Past Education

Doctor’s Lounge Series

With changes in practice habits, many family physicians no longer have hospital privileges and are faced with decreasing opportunities for collegial interaction and discussion of day-to-day practice questions. The Doctor’s Lounge Series brought together relevant, practical education with an opportunity for family physicians to build collegial relationships with the aim of supporting family physicians for practice success. Interactive workshop topics included:

Tech Tips for Family Practice
Internal Medicine
Cultivating a Mode of Non-Doing: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to Prevent Physician Burnout
Enhancing Patient Care and Practice Life through Optimized Chronic Disease Management and Expanded Services
Maintaining Work-life Balance

Residential Care Initiative

From 2003-2013, the number of family physicians delivering residential care services in BC dropped 13% with Vancouver Coastal Health seeing a decline of 27%. Additionally, 4% of British Columbians aged 85 or older take 10+ drugs and 31% take at least 5 drugs with higher percentages for long term care. The Polypharmacy Risk Reduction (PRR) Initiative, implemented by the VDoFP Residential Care Committee in collaboration with UBC CPD, aimed to raise awareness of polypharmacy risks in elderly care and fostering a community of support for involved family physicians. Interactive workshop topics included:

Polypharmacy Risk Reduction for our Growing Frail Elderly Community
Serious Illness Conversations: Engaging Patients and Families

Residents and New-to-Practice Workshops

The Residents and New-to-Practice Workshops were designed to support residents and new-to-practice family physicians in their transition to practice by providing information on key resources and tools for managing the first years of practice. Interactive workshops created opportunities for networking and informal mentoring. Topics included: