Family medicine needs investment, not advertisement

In the past five years or so, family physicians have been under steady attack—not because the work we do has become any less meaningful, but because policymakers have chosen to redistribute that meaning among other professionals. Nurse practitioners, pharmacists and other allied health providers have gradually been handed a wider scope of practice by governments and regulators. It’s been sold to the public as “improving access,” but in truth, medicine has been wrongfully reshaped in a way that downplays the central role family doctors play in patient care.Family doctors have not taken this well. Many feel that our scope is being fragmented by those more focused on optics than outcomes—on saving money rather than improving care. In our frustration, we’ve sometimes become defensive and reactive, constantly trying to prove our worth instead of being recognized for it by default. But that defensiveness is not weakness; it’s the fatigue of a profession that feels unseen, despite carrying the weight of the system every day.Read: Dr. Jabir Jassam: Have fun under the sunIn an effort to remind the public of our value, the Ontario College of Family Physicians launched an ad campaign. But watching it, I felt uneasy—even embarrassed. The issue is: the more we push to tell people we’re important, the less important we sound. We don’t earn respect with slogans and television spots. We earn it through actions. Through showing up, leading and making a difference in our clinics, our communities and our health system. A profession that feels compelled to advertise its importance has, at best, lost its confidence—and at worst, lost sight of its purpose.Yes, our scope is being whittled away, but our worth is not. No slogan can capture what family medicine truly means. It is the long view—the quiet, consistent work of a physician who has cared for the same patient for 20 years, through dozens of illnesses and many recoveries. It’s found in the small moments: recognizing that a familiar pattern of symptoms signals a deeper cause or knowing what’s changed in a patient’s life without them saying a word. That continuity—that depth of understanding—cannot be replaced, redistributed or handed over to algorithms or less-qualified professionals.The money spent on advertising would have been better invested in helping family doctors working in overcrowded clinics—those paying rent out of pocket, struggling to hire staff and closing practices under financial strain. Imagine how strong family medicine could be if the money spent on podcasts, commercials and fancy conferences were instead invested to keep clinics open, to update infrastructure and to give physicians what they need to do their jobs well—and to be fairly compensated for it. Family medicine would not have to be sold. It would sell itself. The respect would be visible in the care we deliver, the healthier communities we build and in the gratitude of patients who already know exactly how much we matter.The college’s intentions were good, but its strategy was misplaced. Family medicine doesn’t need a campaign—it needs vision. Its survival rests on if we can redefine what it means for us, not by persuading others we are still relevant, but by continuing to demonstrate it with excellence, integrity and leadership. We must hold the system accountable not through op-eds, but through policy, advocacy and genuine support.Meaning can’t be advertised. It can only be enacted. Family doctors have never lost their meaning—but the system needs to remember it.Dr. Jabir Jassam is a family physician in Ottawa.

Family medicine needs investment, not advertisement

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