Canadian family physician Médecin de famille canadien
-
To summarize information on the effects of opioid use in pregnancy on subsequent pediatric development and behaviour. ⋯ The effect of maternal opioid use on pediatric development is unclear and the evidence is inconsistent. However, opioid exposure in pregnancy does define these children as a population at risk. They might experience developmental delays compared with their peers, yet remain within population norms in cognition, fine-motor skills, hand-eye coordination, executive function, and attention and impulsivity levels.
-
To compare the national health systems of Canada and Brazil and how both countries have addressed similar challenges in their primary care sectors. ⋯ The Brazilian and Canadian primary care systems are faced with similar challenges, including geography, demographic changes, population health inequities, and gaps in universal access to comprehensive primary care services. Although the approaches to addressing these challenges are different in both settings, they highlight the central importance of family physicians in both systems. Both countries continue to face considerable challenges in the context of mental health services in primary care. It remains important for Canada to draw lessons from the primary care systems and reforms of other countries, such as Brazil.
-
To define pregnancy-related cardiovascular risk indicators and their association with developing future cardiovascular disease (CVD), and to provide guidance on how primary care providers can help lower future CVD risk through early identification and intervention. ⋯ Women with 1 or more of these pregnancy complications should be identified at the time of delivery and have formalized postpartum follow-up, including a thorough history, a physical examination, biochemical screening, counseling around lifestyle modification, and possible therapeutic intervention. The link between pregnancy complications and future CVD affords the earliest opportunity for CVD risk assessment for health preservation and disease prevention.
-
To assess the quality of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) training in family medicine residency programs and to obtain the opinions of current family medicine residents on the role of ultrasound in primary care. ⋯ This is the largest survey identifying the perceived needs of family medicine residents for POCUS. Very few Canadian family medicine residents currently receive POCUS training. Consistent with our recent family medicine program director survey, there is overwhelming interest by family medicine residents to begin incorporating POCUS training into the family medicine curriculum.
-
To describe the experiences of participants in Canadian family medicine maternity care enhanced skills programs: their current practice situation with respect to maternity care; the reasons they pursued enhanced maternity care training; and their perceptions of competencies attained during the program. ⋯ This is the first evaluation of graduates of enhanced skills programs in maternity care in Canada. Enhanced skills programs appear to support the education of family medicine maternity care providers; however, these programs might be compensating for residents' lack of confidence in providing maternity care independently rather than providing truly enhanced skills. This study also confirms that some medical students and family medicine residents change their minds in the direction of wanting to provide full-scope maternity care during the course of their education.