Social, Political, and Scientific Issues in Family Medicine

This course was originally established about 30 years ago within DFCM’s masters degree program. It explores the history and current state of Family Medicine as an academic and community-oriented discipline. Using McWhinney’s Textbook of Family of Medicine (2016) and a series of guest speakers, learners will analyze and evaluate presentations on a variety of social, political and scientific issues in primary care, and in doing so, broaden their understanding of the forces that influence one’s ability to provide quality primary care in Ontario, Canada.

There will be 7 modules involving in-person, interactive seminars and online activities (discussion and reflective activities). The in-person sessions occur approximately every 2 weeks from September to December with the online activities occurring between sessions.

Each in-person seminar is 3 hours in length and broken into a 90-minute student led discussion and analysis of selected chapters from McWhinney’s Texbook of Family Medicine (2016) and a 75 min seminar on selected primary care-oriented topics. There are 21 hours of in-person learning in this course.

For the online activities, learners prepare for and engage in quizzes, 3 online discussion groups and 2 reflective papers deepening learning gained in seminars and applying learned concepts to their own practice and to novel primary care topics.

Freeman, T. (2016). McWhinney’s textbook of family medicine (T. Freeman, Ed.; Fourth edition.). Oxford University Press.

Certificate in Academic Family Medicine

​​The Certificate in Academic Family Medicine is designed to address the growing need for skilled educators and leaders in family medicine. The certificate is comprised of 3 courses that are established in our graduate studies programming at DFCM and Dalla Lana School of Public Health. The courses will help learners to expand family medicine expertise from a systems lens, build skills in teaching and learning in the health professions, and develop skills in a preferred scholarship domain, all of which highlight key components of academic family medicine as a discipline.

The target audience is family physicians.

The certificate goals include:

– Developing an evidence-based approach to teaching and learning.
– Promoting innovation and scholarship in primary care
– Growing Family Medicine leadership

The certificate requirements include:

1. Foundational coursework in Family Medicine: Social, Political, and Scientific Issues in Family Medicine Course
2. Foundational coursework in Teaching and Education: Interprofessional Applied Practical Teaching and Learning in the Health Professions (INTAPT) Course
3. Scholarship selective:
– Appraising and Applying Evidence to Assist Clinical Decision-Making
OR
– Research Issues in Family Medicine/Primary Care
OR
– Leading Improvement in the Quality of Health Care for Community Populations
4. Capstone Project

Duration: The program is completed in 12-18 months.​

CPD Forum (2025-2026)

The CPD Forum is a collaborative space for everyone working in the field of continuing professional development and medical education more broadly. Whether your work involves program development, education consultation, accreditation, or professional services in the CPD ecosystem, this forum is designed to help you stay ahead of the curve with engaging webinars covering timely topics.

Each webinar features a thought-provoking presentation from an invited speaker, inviting dialogue around what’s new in program evaluation, artificial intelligence, accreditation best practices, and health equity research. Together, we’ll explore how these innovations shape our work as CPD professionals.

More than a webinar series, the CPD Forum is a space to connect with ideas, with colleagues, and with the future of our field. Registration is free, and all are welcome.

The program is a way to bring the U of T CPD community together.

The series dates are as follows:

Webinar #1: Monday, November 17, 2025 (12:00 – 1:00 pm ET)

Webinar #2: Monday, January 19, 2026 (12:00 – 1:00 pm ET)

Webinar #3: Monday, February 23, 2026 (12:00 – 1:00 pm ET)

Webinar #4: Monday, April 20, 2026 (12:00 – 1:00 pm ET)

Certificate in Academic Family Medicine

​​The Certificate in Academic Family Medicine is designed to address the growing need for skilled educators and leaders in family medicine. The certificate is comprised of 3 courses that are established in our graduate studies programming at DFCM and Dalla Lana School of Public Health. The courses will help learners to expand family medicine expertise from a systems lens, build skills in teaching and learning in the health professions, and develop skills in a preferred scholarship domain, all of which highlight key components of academic family medicine as a discipline.

The target audience is family physicians.

The certificate goals include:

– Developing an evidence-based approach to teaching and learning.
– Promoting innovation and scholarship in primary care
– Growing Family Medicine leadership

The certificate requirements include:

1. Foundational coursework in Family Medicine: Social, Political, and Scientific Issues in Family Medicine Course
2. Foundational coursework in Teaching and Education: Interprofessional Applied Practical Teaching and Learning in the Health Professions (INTAPT) Course
3. Scholarship selective:
– Appraising and Applying Evidence to Assist Clinical Decision-Making
OR
– Research Issues in Family Medicine/Primary Care
OR
– Leading Improvement in the Quality of Health Care for Community Populations
4. Capstone Project

Duration: The program is completed in 12-18 months.​

Social, Political, and Scientific Issues in Family Medicine

This course was originally established about 30 years ago within DFCM’s masters degree program. It explores the history and current state of Family Medicine as an academic and community-oriented discipline. Using McWhinney’s Textbook of Family of Medicine (2016) and a series of guest speakers, learners will analyze and evaluate presentations on a variety of social, political and scientific issues in primary care, and in doing so, broaden their understanding of the forces that influence one’s ability to provide quality primary care in Ontario, Canada.

There will be 7 modules involving in-person, interactive seminars and online activities (discussion and reflective activities). The in-person sessions occur approximately every 2 weeks from September to December with the online activities occurring between sessions.

Each in-person seminar is 3 hours in length and broken into a 90-minute student led discussion and analysis of selected chapters from McWhinney’s Texbook of Family Medicine (2016) and a 75 min seminar on selected primary care-oriented topics. There are 21 hours of in-person learning in this course.

For the online activities, learners prepare for and engage in quizzes, 3 online discussion groups and 2 reflective papers deepening learning gained in seminars and applying learned concepts to their own practice and to novel primary care topics.

Freeman, T. (2016). McWhinney’s textbook of family medicine (T. Freeman, Ed.; Fourth edition.). Oxford University Press.