Second-year Residents in the Department of Family Practice’s Postgraduate Program are required to complete a scholar research project. Each year, the DFP Care of the Elderly Committee awards scholar prizes to residents whose projects demonstrate research excellence and contribute to geriatrics research within the discipline of family practice. Please join us in congratulating two 2025 resident research teams, who each received a $2000 Care of the Elderly Scholar Project Award.
See below for the winning 2025 project abstracts.
Barriers to MOST Completion in the Primary, Tertiary and Long-Term Care Settings
Recipients: Drs. Ashley Pinter, Emily Zehnder, Marwa Hammuda and Michayla Hicks
Region: Interior Health
Supervisor: Evelyn Cornelissen
Abstract
Objective: Advanced Care Planning (ACP) aims to ensure that patients’ wishes and values as they relate to their health care are communicated to and respected by their healthcare team(1). Across British Columbia Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment (MOST) forms are the primary means of formally communicating patients’ preferences for life sustaining treatment to their providers. ACP’s tools such as MOST forms are not consistently completed by health care providers. This has been demonstrated across various patient populations (2,3,4).This project aimed to identify barriers to MOST completion experienced by family physicians within the Interior Health region.
Design: We created a cross-sectional survey which was distributed electronically.
Participants/ Setting: Our survey was sent to family physicians who work in clinics, hospitals, and long-term care facilities in the Interior Health Region.
Methods: The survey included quantitative and qualitative questions. Quantitative data was analyzed with descriptive statistics where qualitative data was analyzed for themes.
Findings: 41 respondents completed the distributed survey. 36.6% of respondents worked solely in ambulatory clinics, 19.5%, worked in both ambulatory clinics and long-term care settings and 17.1% of respondents, included a combination of ambulatory clinics, hospitalist work, and long-term care. The primary barrier to MOST completion was the lack of time during patient appointments (identified as a moderate or major barrier by 75.6% of respondents). The second largest barrier was the absence of patient-friendly tools to facilitate discussions (identified as a moderate or major barrier by 46.4% of respondents). Thematic analysis of qualitative data identified respondent perceived barriers as (i) Clarity of MOST Forms (ii) Electronic Medical Record Limitations, (iii) Communication challenges. Themes for suggestions for change were (i) clarity and specificity of MOST forms, (ii) patient facing resources and education, (iii) electronic medical record enhancements and (iv) teamwork approach.
Conclusions: This project helped to gain a better understanding of current practices and barriers to MOST form completion in the interior health region as well as identify potential solutions to these.
Keywords: Advanced Care Planning, MOST, primary care, Interior Health
Exploring Physician Experiences in Long Term Care: Insights to Increase Recruitment and Retention
Recipients: Drs. Caitlin Finnamore, Raisa Shabbir, Sabrina Wei, Sarah Tahir, Sophia Shen
Region: Fraser Health
Supervisor: Dr. Amber Jarvie
Abstract
As the population in British Columbia continues to age, the demand for high-quality care in long-term care (LTC) settings is increasing. However, LTC communities face significant challenges – including understaffing, overcrowding, and poor physician retention, compounded by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent changes in the Longitudinal Family Physician (LFP) payment model have added further complexity to the situation. Understanding the experiences, challenges, and job satisfaction of physicians in LTC is crucial for identifying strategies to attract and retain more doctors in this field, ultimately improving care for the aging population. Our study aims to investigate the challenges and motivators for physicians working in long-term care settings in British Columbia, with the goal of identifying factors that could help improve
physician recruitment and retention. Specifically, this study explored: the challenges faced by LTC physicians in the region, the motivators that drive physicians to continue working in LTC, strategies for improving physician retention, and physicians’
perspectives on the new payment model. The research was conducted through a survey distributed to physicians working in LTC in Metro Vancouver’s Fraser health community. The results from the survey provided valuable insight, and highlighted concerns regarding compensation, staffing support, and physician retention. Responses shared that working in LTC was a vital and meaningful area of practice, with many physicians valuing the relationships built with patients and the medically complex nature of the work. However, this survey highlights significant systemic challenges that threaten the sustainability of physician involvement in LTC. The most pressing concerns include inadequate compensation—particularly for on-call work—workforce shortages, inconsistent nursing support, and increasing administrative burdens. By identifying key barriers to retention and satisfaction, as well as understanding physicians’ motivations, this research provides valuable insight to help serve our aging population.