FROM THE PRESIDENT

That is a meaningful slogan to delve into on this year’s World Family Doctor Day! (FDD) For one thing, it implies a rarely mentioned truth about our profession: Our own hearts areamongthosethatarebeingnourishedby our work with Health Care Our job has a profoundimpactonusashumanbeings

Think what a privilege it is to know we’ve madeagenuinedifferenceinotherpeople`s lives Asweexperienceourpatients’trust,we growinourcapacity–andourdetermination –tobedeservingofit

Thathelpsexplainthestandingovationthat greeted WONCA President Professor Chris van Weel’s announcement declaring that very day, May 19th, 2010, to be the first AnnualFamilyDoctorDay(FDD).Iremember itsowell.TheWONCAWorldConferencethat year took place in Cancun, Mexico, at the timewhenmanypartsoftheworld,including Mexico,hadjustcomethroughtheswineflu epidemic We experienced President Weel’s messageasWONCA’sacknowledgementthat the Primary Care treatment and disease prevention we Family Doctors had provided had made a difference. That warmed our hearts, our hard-working, tired hearts The May19thFamilyDoctorDayisnowanannual event, globally The celebrations around the world reflect the remarkable diversity of our communities’needsandtheirlocalcultures You can enjoy the regional reports from last year `scelebrationhere

The demanding and often lonely work of carrying other people’s pain takes a toll, making the human need for solidarity and companionship an inevitable aspect of our profession. It becomes particularly heartrending whenthatneedremainsunmet intimesofconflictanduncertainty

For me, receiving support from colleagues has a unique effect That’s the case with explicit support, spelled out in words, and the implicit support that underlies our professional brothers’ and sisters’ active assistance. Also, subtle support, such as in the heartfelt warmth wehearinacolleague’s voice, can remind us that we’re not alone in thismassiveandvitaltask

RemembertoshareourFDDwithourPrimary Care team partners Health Care is inclusive and collaborative teamwork Think a moment:whichofyourcolleaguescoulduse someone to ask them, now: “How are you doing?”Wecandaretoextendthe warmth of our hearts to our colleagues while they’re strivingto warm the hearts of their suffering communities I say “dare” because, unfortunately, just the thought of speaking from the heart may trigger obstructive shyness

It's much easier to get past that nowadays. For one thing, we don’t have to travel to reachouttocolleagueswhocoulduseadose of collegial heart warming Check out the promotional materials worked out by WONCA`s Communication Officer, Maria Zavala.Theyarewritteninasharedlanguage ofmutualsupport.

It would be heartbreaking were we to recognize that too late We can use FDD to underline the urgency by highlighting the evidenceonwhichthefactisbased.

Let’s Celebrate this Family Doctors Day! Let our hearts sing out so the world hears, and we remember, just how much we value our profession – our work, our patients, and our colleagues. We’re glad to continue putting our hearts AND minds toworktoensurethat each and every person has unobstructed accesstoqualityhealthservices

The week following FDD, the WONCA delegation goes to Geneva for WHO’s World Health Assembly. We aim to bring Family Medicine to the foreground of the global health policy dialogue Because health is a fundamental need and everyone’s right unmitigated by either geopolitical boundariesorlinesofconflict–ourFDDcan helpuschampioninternationalsolidarity

We carry with us the inspiring and heartfelt supportofourWONCAmembers!

We doctors are certainly well-educated and knowledgeable But we can’t be good clinicians unless our hearts are in our work Many or even most patients recognize quicklywhichdoctorshavetheir hearts in the right place; they react to that more than we mayrealize!

Just as our patients need their Family Doctors’ heartfelt care,sodothoseofuswho arecaringforthem AdedicatedFDDinspires ustoletour hearts go out alsotoeachother–our far-flung colleagues, living and working inastunningvarietyofcontexts.I’mthinking inparticularnowofthoseofuswhoconfront extremelydifficultconditions,suchasduring and after armed conflicts and natural catastrophes T

By uniting our hearts, FDD also strengthens the bonds at the core of our organization, further empowering us to fulfill WONCA`s mission:AFamilyDoctorforeveryindividual and every family, regardless of gender, age, orsexualorientation

We can benefit from using May 19th FDD as an opportunity to contact those outside our profession as well – such as politicians and policy makers (Don’t ever doubt that they too have heavy hearts at times!) Tell them loudandclear, from your heart to theirs,that the following is not just a nice idea of ours but rather a well-documented fact: Every country in the world will need more Family Doctors in the coming years if we hope to meet the global population’s health requirements

TIME TO BE INSPIRED!

This month’s WONCA Sydney World Conference newsletter is a spotlight on ProfessorMichaelKidd

Professor Kidd will be giving a wonderful keynote at the WONCA Sydney World conference in October 2023 I want you to hear it Because Professor Kidd and I went through something together in our roles as Australia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, and as President of the Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP). in Australia respectively. It wascalledCovid-19aglobalpandemic.

I am sure you all went through a similar extraordinary time. His keynote will be inspiring us with recent research demonstrating the international contributions primary care made and the ongoingimpactofthatcareinrelationtothe globalpandemic Weallwentthroughagreat deal of hardship, upheaval, and loss, howeverwhatwelearnedwasthestrengthof primarycare.IquoteMichaelhere: during this time with patients and overstretched systems delaying care along with the continuing mental health impacts such a global disruption caused The exposure of ongoing inequity was a very salient lesson for public health and should informfutureresponses

Professor Kidd invites you to be inspired, as hewaswhenhefirstwenttoaWONCAworld conference in Jerusalem in 1989. He was encouraged to go by the late and great Australian GP, Professor Neil Carson Professor Carson encouraged Michael to present his academic findings as a new academicGP

The contribution that family doctors and primary care teams made towards the protectionofpatientsandtheircommunities during Covid-19 pandemic was significant andcontinuestobemade.Theprimarycare workforcecontinuestogoaboveandbeyond

Michael describes finding his passion for globalhealthanddescribesthejoyhehadin findinglike-mindedfamilydoctorsatWONCA Jerusalem It was here he was able to begin hislifetimeinterestsinWONCAandindigital technology and strengthening medical education. WONCA changes lives. Professor Kidd describes WONCA as an extraordinary organization because it reminds all family doctors, that we are working together as a globalfamilyoffamilydoctors

I am really looking forward to his keynote plenary and encourage you not to miss the inspiration of our world’s recovery, our globalreconnectionandrevival!Wewilltruly celebrateprimarycareandmaybeexcitethe nextleadersofourprofessiontohavesucha globalimpactonhealthcareandhealthcare systems as the dynamic Professor Kidd We can return to our clinics and our patients knowing we are part of something much biggerandgreaterthananyofusindividually can achieve. Equally understanding that every individual interaction we have as Family Doctors makes such an impact on people’severydaylives

Family medicine is truly an extraordinary career and Professor Kidd’s research will provide the empirical evidence of just why thatisso

I cannot wait to hear Professor Kidd’s presentation and share that joy and pride in the ongoing work of our professional colleagueswithyou

SeeyouallinSydneyinOctober

And here next month where I will showcase more exciting WONCA Sydney world conferencenews