The Curious Family Doctor

About the Book

Before there was a well-organized effort in Canada to encourage research by general practitioners, many individuals had the curiosity to do studies of their own work. This book is written to remind us of the work of the pioneers, many of whom are unknown in the year 2001.
In the late sixties ad early seventies there was a great surge of interest and activity in family medicine research in Canada. This interest was largely the result of pioneering work done by individuals and committees who saw the potential value of such research before it became a major theme of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, or of most departments of family medicine in our teaching centres.
In the eighties and nineties there has been a progressive increase in the volume of research in Canadian family medicine, to the point where it is difficult to keep track of it. This book is written to bring together scattered records of studies done by the pioneers, mainly limited to the third quarter of the twentieth century. It does not claim to be complete, but at least provides a record of much of the early work, and as such is archival.
In writing this book, I feel qualified mainly as an admiring observer of the early workers, as well as having some part in development of research by doing studies in my own practice and working with various research committees. Work done in other countries is mentioned, as it has has a direct and large influence on our progress in Canada.

About the Author

"Curious = Eager to learn; inquisitive..." This is the word chosen by Dr. Falk to describe his fellow family doctors who, like himself, had an interest in doing medical research based on their practices. Family doctors are uniquely situated to study disease in that they care for patients of all ages, often for all members of a family or an extended family, for all conditions, from the onset of symptoms to their resolution.
His interest led him to a Nuffield Fellowship that took him to Britain, Europe, Jerusalem, Australia and New Zealand to meet and exchange ideas with other family doctors involved in research work. That was in 1965, before an organized support system for research was available in Canada.
Stimulated by this experience, Dr. Falk has served as chairman of research committees of The College of Family Physicians of Canada in both British Columbia and Alberta, and as chairman of the National Research Committee of The College, and also of the Research Committee of the World Organization of General Practitioners (WONCA). He has received the Fellowship of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, Honorary Fellowship in the Royal College of General Practitioners (Britain), and the Queen's Jubilee Medal.
Dr. Falk practised in Victoria, B.C., for 25 years before undertaking a two-year program in Health Services Planning at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C. He then joined the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Calgary, Alberta, in 1978. He retired in 1987.
In this book he seeks to recognize and record the work of the pioneers in family practice research in Canada between the years 1950-1975.