DR. JOSÉ FRANÇOIS MD, MMed Ed, FCFP
Dr. José François - Candidate for President-Elect of the Canadian Medical Association
Dr. José François is nationally recognized academic and health system physician leader. He is currently Head of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Manitoba's Max Rady College of Medicine and Provincial Specialty Lead for Family Medicine at Shared Health. During his 20 years medical leadership and comprehensive clinical practice, he has developed a deep understanding of the many issues facing our profession today.
Originally from Ste-Anne-des-Chênes, a francophone community in South-eastern Manitoba, Dr. François obtained his medical degree at l'Université de Sherbrooke in 1997, followed by a family medicine residency at the University of Manitoba. He also holds a Masters of Medical Education from the University of Dundee.
As an academic leader, he has held a number of positions within the Max Rady College of Medicine, including Associate Dean for Continuing Professional Development (2008-2013), Head of the Department of Medical Education (2009-2010) and since 2013, Head of the Department of Family Medicine. During his tenure, the Department of Family Medicine has seen a significant expansion of its educational programming with the addition of the Masters of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) program and growth of its network of distributed education sites, which now spans all regional health authorities in the province. In addition to growing the department’s research infrastructure with the establishing of two professorships, the department had developed its reputation as a nation leader in Quality Improvement education.
As a health system leader, he has helped family physicians navigate some of our health system’s most challenging periods: the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA)’s hospital consolidation and the recent COVID-19 pandemic. As a solution- and improvement-focused leader, he has advocated for, collaborated on, or led a number of initiatives to improve patient care, both in inpatient and outpatient settings, including: new family medicine inpatient care models, supports for virtual care, e-consult, shared-care models, advanced access scheduling.
Recognizing that we’re all better when we work together, he has fostered collaboration and is always ready to help. No better example is when, during the height COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022), he provided interim leadership in Emergency Medicine while the University and Shared Health continued its search for a permanent leader. His ability to foster dialogue and build consensus have allowed him to successful lead a number of national committees and working groups including the Association of Canadian Chairs of Family Medicine (ACCFM), and a recent College of Family Physicians task force on the review of Mainpro+ continuing professional development requirements.
Finally, Dr. François is grounded by a deep commitment to his community and to comprehensive clinical care. He practices at Centre de santé St-Boniface, a community-health centre in Winnipeg, provides inpatient care at Victoria Hospital and longterm care services at ActionMarguerite. He is a strong advocate for improving access to care for the underserved, including access to French-language services.
