About
The University of Alberta Department of Family Medicine trains physicians who will shape the future of medical care. We work and train in diverse settings including rural and urban medicine, emergency care and academia. Family physicians provide 70 per cent of all medical care in Canada.
As the first point of contact many have with the medical system, our graduates are essential to public health and wellbeing. Our education and research priorities focus on the needs of the communities we serve.
Our department has more than 800 teachers, guiding approximately 170 residents and 650 medical students.
Located in Edmonton, Alberta’s dynamic capital city, our students, graduates and residents attend a top-tier institution in the heart of a thriving and diverse city.
Our department is guided by three strategic pillars:
Education
We manage the largest physician residency program in Alberta. Enrollment is rapidly increasing as students come for top-notch education that prepares them for a rewarding health-care career.
Research
Our Research Program has three themes:
- Conduct foundational primary care research to improve health outcomes.
- Expand the scope of our research.
- Support major, targeted research initiatives on topics that matter.
Health Services
We embody excellence in primary care and strive to teach family medicine in environments that mirror best practices within the healthcare system. Our focus includes increasing access to care, as well as developing, meeting and exceeding meaningful quality-of-care metrics.
Mission, Vision & Values
Mission
We train family physicians for the future, adapting to the needs of an evolving society. Our research and scholarly work improves the practice of family medicine and primary health care.
- We train residents in a team-based approach. We believe in socially accountable patient care and leadership.
- We provide high-quality education. Students are taught by quality and safety-driven instructors who model academic excellence and embody the values of social accountability.
- Our clinical, educational, epidemiological and health-services research improves the teaching and practice of family medicine.
We will achieve this outcome by developing and demonstrating excellence in:
- Training residents for team-based, systems-based, socially accountable patient care and leadership.
- Providing medical students with high-quality education, and serving as role models of academically excellent, quality- and safety-driven, socially accountable generalists.
- Conducting and disseminating clinical, educational, epidemiological, and health services research that improves the teaching and practice of family medicine and primary health-care.
Vision
We strive for a health-care system in which all Albertans have access to a family physician who provides timely, proactive and comprehensive care, backed by an interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals.
We believe in evidence-based, patient-centred care. We are driven to provide the safest, high-quality care possible, based on data, dialogue with stakeholders and the latest published research.
Core Values
We seek to constantly improve. We seek to provide better education for our learners and better care for our patients and communities. We encourage and accept feedback, using that information to improve.
We support accountability. We are responsive to our community. We account for the resources allocated to us in a transparent fashion. Our curricula and research addresses the needs of society.
We believe in innovation and collaboration. We are creative, producing high-quality academic work. We share that freely with others, and welcome what they share with us.
Message from the Chair
Welcome to the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta, where healthcare excellence thrives! We take pride in our dynamic and diverse department, offering a unique breadth of skills, diverse practice, and the chance to build lasting connections with patients and families.
Our mission is to serve the public with social accountability, driven by partnerships, leadership, and innovation in education, research, and health care. We invite you to explore the enriching opportunities within our Department of Family Medicine as we continue to strive for excellence. Join us on this journey of compassionate care and impactful service.
Tina Korownyk
Professor and Chair
2023 Annual Report
2023 marked 50 years since the Department of Family Medicine was founded at the University of Alberta.
- We trained 170 family medicine residents.
- Seventy-five staff support our program.
- More than 800 clinical academic faculty support our students.
- Our researchers helped urban Indigenous families learn about healthy lifestyles, and explored how digital devices impact lifelong learning.