Mark Yaffe, MDCM, Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, will be honoured with 海角社区鈥檚 Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership in Learning during the fall convocation ceremony on December 2.
The award, one of 海角社区鈥檚 highest distinctions, recognizes sustained excellence in leadership and innovation that has had a significant impact at 海角社区 and beyond. It also highlights the active integration of teaching and learning with research, scholarship and inquiry.
Dr. Yaffe has made invaluable contributions to 海角社区 since joining as a faculty member in 1978. Over the course of his career, he has held numerous leadership roles and dedicated himself to improving the experiences of both students and patients. Colleagues and former students have praised Dr. Yaffe as an inspiring role model and an engaging, student-centred teacher and mentor, highlighting his enduring influence in shaping the educational environment.
鈥淚 am deeply honoured to be receiving this remarkable recognition, which has caused me to reflect on various aspects of my career,鈥� said Dr. Yaffe. 鈥淎s a 鈥榞eneralist,鈥� it was easy at times to become involved in a broad range of projects. However, I was most fortunate that my superiors at both St. Mary鈥檚 and at 海角社区 granted me the latitude to explore areas that offered personal and intellectual challenges.鈥�
Leading change and advancing research聽
A clinician-scientist, Dr. Yaffe has made significant strides in the fields of family caregiving and elder abuse. His development of the Elder Abuse Suspicion Index漏 (EASI) has been used across Canada, the United States and internationally. Additionally, as a core member of the St. Mary鈥檚 DIRECT-sc (Depression Intervention via Referral, Education and Collaborative Treatment 鈥� Self Care) research team, Dr. Yaffe has spent more than two decades advancing the management of depression in older adults. The team鈥檚 depression self-care toolkit, tailored for community-based patients with chronic physical conditions, emphasizes the critical connection between mental and physical health. The team鈥檚 research has demonstrated that supported self-care for depression, using principles of cognitive behavioural therapy, is a feasible and effective approach.
Contributions to family medicine and education聽
In 1980, Dr. Yaffe was appointed the first Co-ordinator of Family Medicine Residency Training at St. Mary鈥檚 Hospital Center, where he made notable contributions to both the Department of Family Medicine and the field of family medicine itself. Through his leadership, the St. Mary鈥檚 Family Medicine Residency Program has become one of the largest family medicine training centres in Canada. Dr. Yaffe also played a key role in the establishment of rural training sites for 海角社区鈥檚 Department of Family Medicine, helping to accommodate the growing number of residency trainees while addressing health-care needs in underserved regions of Quebec. Today, 海角社区 boasts more than 25 rural training sites, which primarily serve family medicine students and residents but also offer training opportunities in various other specialties.
Dr. Yaffe鈥檚 innovative thinking has consistently anticipated the needs of both health care and education. For example, he was instrumental in creating opportunities for international students to engage in health-care equity work, well before such initiatives became widespread.
Recognition and awards聽
Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Yaffe has received numerous accolades. In 2008, he was the inaugural recipient of the Prize of Excellence for the Advancement of Family Medicine Education from the Quebec College of Family Physicians, in partnership with the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC). In 2014, he was doubly honoured with the CFPC鈥檚 Lifetime Achievement Award in Research and the inaugural Award of Distinction in Health Care for Older Adults from the Canadian Geriatrics Society. Most recently, in 2023, he was recognized as a core member of the DIRECT-sc Research Group at St. Mary鈥檚 Hospital Center, which received the Outstanding Care and Integrative Practice Award from the Canadian Coalition for Seniors鈥� Mental Health and the Canadian Association of Geriatric Psychiatry.
Dr. Yaffe鈥檚 career is a testament to his outstanding contributions to family medicine, in education, patient care and research. His work continues to inspire future generations of trainees, clinicians, educators and researchers.