The weekend was filled with inspiring conversations, collaborative learning, and meaningful connections among faculty members. The energy and engagement throughout the retreat reflected the strength and spirit of our Department of Family Medicine community.
This year’s theme, Anchored and Aligned: People, Systems and Purpose in Family Medicine, brought faculty together to reflect, learn, celebrate and connect.
We are already looking ahead to our next Faculty Retreat in 2028. While planning is still in its early stages, more information about the dates, location, program and registration will be shared as we get closer to the event.
In the meantime, we invite you to look back on the 2026 retreat and explore the Faculty Retreat Agenda to revisit the sessions and activities that made the weekend so memorable.
Thank you to everyone who joined us in Montebello. We look forward to welcoming our faculty members back for another memorable retreat in 2028!
From October 2 to 4, 2026, members of the Department of Family Medicine community gathered at Fairmont Le Château Montebello for the Department of Family Medicine's Faculty Retreat, Anchored and Aligned: People, Systems, and Purpose in Family Medicine. Special guests included keynote speaker Dr. Melissa Forgie, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Alan Chaput, Vice-Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education, and colleagues Erinn Salewski and Karim Mekki from our Ontario Health Teams. Across three days of discussion, learning and reflection, participants explored the opportunities facing Family Medicine while reaffirming the department's commitment to patient care, education, research and social accountability.
During the Faculty Retreat, the Departmental Assembly provided an opportunity to update attendees on the department's financial position and progress toward greater financial stewardship, transparency and sustainability. It also marked the launch of the department's next strategic planning process. As part of this work, attendees were invited to share their perspectives on the department's role in advancing community and health system needs and to help identify priorities for the next Strategic Plan, which will be developed with the support of an external facilitator and finalized in 2027.
When Dr. Liz Muggah invited participants to reflect on a key question: "What should we, as a department, prioritize to ensure our next Strategic Plan reflects the needs of our faculty, our learners, our patients and communities?" the discussion quickly moved beyond broad themes to some pressing questions facing the discipline. What should the family doctor of the future look like? How can the department attract and retain academic family physicians? Are learners being prepared for increasingly complex patient care? And how can Family Medicine better demonstrate its impact on patients, communities and the health system? These discussions will help shape the department's next Strategic Plan.
The themes raised during the breakout sessions continued throughout the retreat’s faculty development sessions. Led by Dr. Laura Iliadis, Assistant Professor and Faculty Development Director, these sessions showcased the breadth of work across the department, with presentations ranging from innovations in undergraduate medical education and lifestyle medicine to precision dementia prevention, Indigenous and Francophone health, climate-informed care, digital health and artificial intelligence.
Dr. Carol Geller, Assistant Professor and Director, Foundational Sciences Curricular Pillar and Laura Muldoon, Assistant Professor, Director Medicine and Society Curricular Pillar, Undergraduate Medical Education, led a session "UGME wants YOU (in a platonic way!)" in which they discussed the upcoming revisions to the UG curriculum that will emphasize generalism. Dr. Sylvie Caissie, Lecturer, MD-FM Program and Dr. Alison Eyre, Associate Professor, MD-FM Program, spoke about the new MD-FM program.
The renewed UGME curriculum will require greater participation from Family Physicians in order to produce graduates who can comfortably practice with a generalism approach. The MD-FM program strengthens the pathway into Family Medicine through innovative undergraduate medical education initiatives. Through the MD-FM program, the department will help build the next generation of family physicians by fostering early interest in the discipline through focused learning experiences, mentorship and meaningful community connections. Dr. Alan Chaput, Vice-Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education, also shared perspectives on the importance of building and sustaining the future Family Medicine workforce.
Recognizing the growing impact of artificial intelligence on health care, education and research, the Department of Family Medicine is also exploring how AI can be thoughtfully integrated into Family Medicine. An AI and Digital Literacy plenary session brought participants together to discuss opportunities, risks and future directions, emphasizing responsible innovation, equity and the importance of maintaining human-centred care.
The retreat also celebrated the department's achievements through awards (11 faculty and 4 administrative managers), years-of-service recognition (10), and poster presentations, highlighting contributions across clinical care, teaching, research and leadership. This year’s recipient of the Best Poster at the retreat was Cole Munro, a third-year medical student, who presented on behalf of Dr. Marie-Isabelle Desrosiers, Assistant Professor, for the poster titled: “ClinSava: A Bilingual AI-Powered OSCE Simulation Platform — Validation and Future Directions.”
The retreat's focus on people, systems and purpose was reflected in an address by Dr. Melissa Forgie, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. She invited participants to consider the department's future role within the Faculty of Medicine, the health system and the communities it serves. Key reflections are highlighted below.
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