Scholarship is a critical part of family medicine practice. The CanMEDS-Family Medicine framework requires “As Scholars, family physicians demonstrate a lifelong commitment to excellence in practice through: continuous learning and teaching others; gathering, combining, and evaluating evidence; and contributing to the creation and dissemination of knowledge” (Shaw E, Oandasan I, Fowler N, eds. 2017). In the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster, we take a broad view of scholarship, and consider any rigorous form of inquiry, knowledge application, or education to be scholarly.
All residents in the McMaster Family Medicine residency program will acquire core competencies in scholarship via the InQuiry Curriculum and by appraising and incorporating the scientific literature into their medical practice across all residency rotations. Some residents want to engage in scholarship beyond the core curriculum.
If residents are interested in exploring additional research and scholarship activities, we work with them one-on-one to explore their interests and goals and identify ways to facilitate scholarly learning and contributions. We can provide residents with support and mentorship to grow their scholarship skills, capacity, and output. Some residents join a faculty-led project, while others plan and lead their own project. Some residents engage in primary data collection and analysis, while others engage in secondary data analysis or knowledge translation activities.
Some examples of areas of focus for research and scholarly work you might wish to pursue include:
Visit the Research Programs and Projects webpages to see the research underway at DFM.
For any area of interest, you could develop research and scholarship through activities such as:
Supports for residents include:
Assistant Clinical Professor (Adjunct)
Research and Scholarship Program Director
Claire Bodkin is a queer femme, family physician, and white settler living on Anishinaabe territory on the Saugeen Peninsula. Her medical practice includes care for people who use drugs, care for queer and trans people, and full scope rural generalist practice. Her research practice is focused on community driven participatory research methods, the health of people who are incarcerated, and the health of people who use drugs. She is the Postgraduate Research and Scholarship Director with the Department of Family Medicine.
For further program details please contact fmpgy3@mcmaster.ca