CFP Podcast

By Canadian Family Physician (CFP), Dr. Nicholas Pimlott and Dr. David PonkaScience Medicine Health & Fitness

CFP Podcast episodes

September 17 Pourquoi notre système de santé est-il toujours en crise?
Pour quiconque pratique la médecine de famille au Canada depuis un certain temps, il peut sembler que notre système de santé passe constamment d’une crise à l’autre : urgences surchargées, longs délais pour consulter un spécialiste, et absence complète d’accès à un médecin de famille ou à un autre professionnel de soins primaires pour des millions de Canadiens.

Dans cet épisode, le Dr David Ponka s’entretient avec la Dre Maxine Dumas Pilon, auteure principale d’une série de trois articles publiée dans Le Médecin de famille canadien sous le titre « Système de santé en crise : au-delà du constat ».

Ensemble, ils explorent les causes profondes des crises répétées de notre système de santé, proposent une nouvelle façon de réfléchir aux objectifs du système de santé et à ce que nous entendons véritablement par « santé », puis examinent certaines pistes permettant de sortir de ce cycle de crises perpétuelles.

Les trois articles de la série sont maintenant disponibles :

Partie 1 : Comprendre les forces en jeu
https://www.cfp.ca/content/cfp/72/3/e84.full.pdf
Partie 2 : S’inspirer du concept des limites planétaires
https://www.cfp.ca/content/cfp/72/4/e136.full.pdf
Partie 3 : Feuille de route pour la mise en place d’un système de santé équitable et viable
https://www.cfp.ca/content/cfp/72/5/e183.full.pdf

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27 min
August 20 Sharing a habitat with our patients: interview with Dr. Sarah Barclay
Dr. Sarah Barclay arrived in the community of Stouffville, ON in 2002 as a young family medicine resident studying at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON, never expecting to return. But under the influence of her then preceptor, Dr. Jane Philpott, two years later in 2004 she returned to start her own family practice and has spent her entire career caring for the people of Stouffville and immersed in the life of the community. Join CFP Associate Editor, Dr. David Ponka, and Editor, Dr. Nick Pimlott, as they explore Dr. Ian McWhinney’s sixth principle with Dr. Barclay – that family physicians should share a habitat with their patients – and how we can better teach and role model this important principle for learners.
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23 min
July 09 Between the individual and the community: the role of the family doctor
"Dr Ian McWhinney’s fifth principle—the need for the family doctor to feel or see themselves as part of a broad community network of health and support services —belies the complexity of our lives from a biological, physiological, psychological, sociological, and spiritual point of view that compels us to understand the needs of various perspectives."

So begins Sister Dr. Monique Bourget and colleagues’ reflection on McWhinney’s fifth principle in the June issue of CFP. Join Editor Dr. Nick Pimlott and Associate Editor Dr. David Ponka for a wide-ranging conversation with Sister Dr. Bourget about her essay, her pioneering collaborative work to help establish family medicine as a discipline in Brazil, and her more recent work in Benin in West Africa.
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29 min
May 28 Le jardin sauvage : les strates de la pratique familial
Dans cet épisode inaugurale en français du balado du Médecin de famille canadien, la Dre Marie-Dominique Beaulieu discute de l’évolution de la médecine familiale vers une approche davantage centrée sur la santé populationnelle et la responsabilité communautaire. L’entretien explore les défis liés à l’intégration des soins primaires et de la santé publique, l’importance du travail interprofessionnel ainsi que le rôle potentiel des outils numériques et de l’intelligence artificielle dans l’amélioration des soins. La conversation aborde également les tensions entre soins individualisés et gestion populationnelle, les risques d’inégalités et les raisons pour lesquelles plusieurs réformes en soins primaires peinent à être implantées. Enfin, la Dre Beaulieu partage sa vision d’une pratique exemplaire de la médecine familiale pour les prochaines années, ancrée dans la collaboration, la proximité avec les communautés et une meilleure prise en charge collective de la santé.
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37 min
May 14 What should Dr. Ian McWhinney’s legacy be?
What should Dr. Ian McWhinney’s legacy be? Join CFP Editor Dr. Nick Pimlott and Associate Editor Dr. David Ponka in a wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Iona Heath about her essay “Continuity of care should be Dr. Ian McWhinney’s lasting legacy”. This layered essay is a contemporary reflection on Ian McWhinney’s third principle that the family physician sees every contact with his patients as an opportunity for prevention or health education. For 35 years Dr. Iona Heath practiced comprehensive family medicine in Kentish Town in London, UK. Dr. Heath is a past President of the Royal College of General Practitioners in the United Kingdom. Her essays on the nature and the state of general practice have been published in the British Medical Journal, the British Journal of General Practice, Clinical Medicine, and Canadian Family Physician and elsewhere. The essay and the books discussed in the podcast can be found at the following links: https://www.cfp.ca/content/cfp/72/4/230.full.pdf; https://canongate.co.uk/books/2244-a-fortunate-man-the-story-of-a-country-doctor; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/395860/the-spirit-level-new-edition-by-richard-wilkinsonkate-pickett/9780241954294).

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34 min
April 30 Why is our health care system always in crisis?
For anyone who has practiced family medicine in Canada long enough, it can feel like the health care system lurches from crisis to crisis – from overcrowded emergency rooms to long wait times to see specialists to complete lack of access to a family physician or other primary health care professional for millions of Canadians. Join CFP Editor Dr. Nick Pimlott and Associate Editor Dr. David Ponka in conversation with Dr. Maxine Dumas Pilon and Dr. Timothy Holland. They are the lead authors of a three-part series in the journal entitled “Health care crisis: Looking beyond the obvious”. In the articles and on the podcast, they explore how we got here, a new way of thinking about health care systems and our goals for health, and a way out of our perpetual crises. Links to the first two articles can be found here: https://www.cfp.ca/content/cfp/72/3/209.full.pdf; https://www.cfp.ca/content/cfp/72/4/e131.full.pdf. The third and final article in the series will be published in the May issue of Canadian Family Physician.
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42 min
April 16 Understanding the importance of context in family medicine: from the molecular to the community level
Join CFP Editor Dr. Nick Pimlott and Associate Editor Dr. David Ponka as they explore the meaning and importance of context in family medicine with Dr. Anna Stavdal. Dr. Stavdal is the lead author of the third article in the “Foundations for Tomorrow” series in the journal celebrating the centenary of Dr. Ian McWhinney’s birth. Dr. Stavdal’s essay is entitled “Understanding the Context of Illness”. Dr. Stavdal’s co-author of the piece is Dr. Susan Senstad. Listeners can find a link to the article here: https://www.cfp.ca/content/cfp/72/3/164.full.pdf. A link to the book “Core Values in Family Medicine: Inspiring Global Change” can be found here: https://www.routledge.com/Core-Values-in-Family-Medicine-Inspiring-Global-Change/Stavdal-Sigurdsson-Goodyear-Smith/p/book/9781032893280.
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45 min
March 05 The person, not the problem: A conversation with Dr. Alan Ng Cheng Hin
In a time of rapid change and many challenges in the practice of family medicine, how do we maintain the heart of our discipline – our deep relationships with our patients? Join CFP Editor Dr. Nick Pimlott and Associate Editor Dr. David Ponka in conversation with Dr. Alan Ng Cheng Hin from the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Ng is the author of the second essay in the series “Foundations for Tomorrow” entitled “Ian McWhinney and the doctor-patient relationship” in the February issue of the journal (https://www.cfp.ca/content/cfp/72/2/84.full.pdf).

Listeners interested in some of the books discussed in the podcast can find them at these links: “A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor” by John Berger (https://canongate.co.uk/books/2244-a-fortunate-man-the-story-of-a-country-doctor/); “A Fortunate Woman: A Country Doctor’s Story” by Polly Morland (https://www.pollymorland.com/books/a-fortunate-woman/); “McWhinney’s Textbook of Family Medicine” revised by Thomas R. Freeman (https://www.oupcanada.com/catalog/9780199370689.html); and “Patient-Centered Medicine: Transforming the Clinical Method” by Moira Stewart et al. (https://www.routledge.com/Patient-Centered-Medicine-Transforming-the-Clinical-Method/Stewart-Brown-Weston-Freeman-Ryan-McWilliam-McWhinney/p/book/9781032480596).
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44 min
January 29 Finding safe harbour: a conversation with Dr. Tom Freeman
This year – 2026 – marks the centenary of Dr. Ian McWhinney’s birth. Ian McWhinney is considered the “father of family medicine” in Canada and founded the first academic Department of Family Medicine in Canada at Western University in 1970. Join CFP Associate Editor Dr. David Ponka and Editor Dr. Nick Pimlott as they interview Dr. Tom Freeman, Professor Emeritus at Western University to discuss an article in the January edition of CFP which they co-authored with Tom entitled “Finding safe harbour: reassessing 9 principles of family medicine in difficult times” (https://www.cfp.ca/content/72/1/20). Tom, David and Nick discuss Tom’s first encounter with Ian McWhinney as a medical student and their long working relationship together; the launch of a new series in CFP entitled “Foundations for Tomorrow” reinterpreting McWhinney’s 9 principles for our current challenging times; and our partnership with the National Gallery of Canada to bring these principles to life on the journal’s covers from the Gallery’s extensive archival collection (https://www.cfp.ca/content/72/1/8).
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31 min
December 18, 2025 2025 year-end review
Join CFP’s Editor Dr. Nick Pimlott and Associate Editor Dr. David Ponka for their final podcast of the year as they review some of their favourite articles published in the journal in 2025. Together they cover a wide range of topics from a report on the role of primary care in Ontario in the Covid-19 pandemic (https://www.cfp.ca/content/71/1/31) to the Journey of a Pill (https://www.cfp.ca/content/71/4/263) to how we can reclaim our precious time in family medicine (https://www.cfp.ca/content/71/11-12/726) and much, much more.
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36 min

About CFP Podcast

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Canadian Family Physician (CFP) is Canada's only peer reviewed family medicine journal. Join Dr. Nick Pimlott, Editor of CFP, and Dr. David Ponka, Associate Editor of CFP, as they interview…