Happy Birthday DFM!

A Message from Dr. David Price, Chair

Fifty years -- In human years, a significant milestone and in organizations equally so. The academic year, 2017/18 represents 50 years of the Department of Family Medicine here at McMaster University. The last 50 years have seen this Department train thousands of family physicians, expose thousands more learners to the principles and values of comprehensive family medicine, participate in and disseminate millions of dollars worth of scholarly activities/research, and have an influence locally, provincially, nationally and internationally: far beyond what might have been expected from such a small and new department. It’s appropriate to take stock of where we’ve been, to understand what has helped us to get to this place, and hopefully to better see the road ahead for us all. Interprofessional team-based care, E-health, gender and diversity equity, population-based primary health care which includes outstanding care from preconception to palliative care at both the individual and system-level; all are part of the pieces of the quilt that make up our department. The most important piece, however, is the people who have contributed so much of themselves over the decades. We celebrate all that you have contributed, accomplished, are accomplishing and will accomplish. Happy Birthday, Department of Family Medicine and many happy decades to come!