Celebrating 50 years text

DFM’s 50th Anniversary

Our Department of Family Medicine (DFM) is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025. Throughout the year, we will showcase our growth, accomplishments and vision for the future as a department.

Did you know...?

FM Resident Training 1978

According to the 1978 CFPC Onsite Survey Report of the Residency Training Program in Family Medicine, the University of Ottawa’s two Family Medicine teaching units struggled to provide pediatric and obstetric experience due to a low birth rate and an overabundance of primary care pediatricians, limiting resident exposure to these patient groups.

“As already noted, the experience provided in family medicine varies between the two teaching units. However, the two units also share some problems. Despite large patient populations, both suffer from a relative lack of obstetric and pediatric patients. This is due, for the most part, to the nature of the Ottawa situation, in which there is an over abundance of primary care pediatricians and a relatively low birth rate.” (Extracted from the CFPC document)

Through our collective efforts and commitment, we have developed into a strong, highly effective department with a shared goal since the beginning: to advance the discipline of Family Medicine. We have engaged leaders who lead with compassion and equity and strive to adapt and meet the ever-changing needs of our learners. This is especially important as our discipline undergoes transformation to resolve challenges within the primary care system in Ontario.

Our department was officially established in 1975 and recognized as a training program by the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and housed within uOttawa’s Faculty of Medicine. There have been 10 Chairs, including today’s current Chair, Dr. Clare Liddy.

Previous chairs and their terms : 

  • 1968-1970 Dr. John Day
  • 1970-1975 Dr. John Last
  • 1975-1981 Dr. Campbell T. Lamont
  • 1981-1986 Dr. Walter Rosser
  • 1986-1995 Dr. John Forster
  • 1996-2005 Dr. Nick Busing
  • 2005-2012 Dr. Jacques Lemelin
  • 2012-2014 Dr. Michael Hirsh (Interim)
  • 2014-2019 Dr. Dianne Delva
  • 2019-current Dr. Clare Liddy

Note: the 2 chairs prior to 1975 were instrumental in the official establishment of our department, and hence are included in our department’s history.

Our department has grown steadily over the years. Today, we are the largest clinical department within the Faculty of Medicine with 675 faculty members, of whom 120 are primary preceptors for our 185 residents (PGY1 – PGY3) in our postgraduate training programs. Our department is supported by 45 administrative staff and a number of faculty members who fill key leadership roles.

Our research activities enhance the discipline to support the training of our learners, faculty and community members. Our research community of practice has grown to support interdisciplinary collaboration and promote junior investigators to become future leaders in research.

As the department has grown and evolved, so have our strategic priorities. We have seen the expansion of our programs and the advancement of our curriculum through quality improvement measures and reform. We continue to move forward with our two key areas of focus: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Indigenous Health. Our social accountability efforts have had an impact locally and beyond.

We thank our faculty, learners and staff who have made the DFM what it is today. We have a lot to be proud of! We look forward to celebrating this milestone at our upcoming Retreat in April and throughout the year.

Share

We invite you to share a memory or a story that captures a meaningful experience you had in the course of your work within the department. We would like to share your stories on this page throughout the year.

To submit your story, or to stay informed about our department and activities, please email [email protected]. Ask to be added to our mailing list to receive our monthly newsletters.