The Family Health Team | Queen's Family Health Team | School of Medicine

Caring for our community. Training the future

At the Queen’s Family Health Clinic, we’re more than just a clinic — we’re a hub for community care and academic excellence. Located in Kingston and open to all, we provide high-quality, team-based care for individuals and families at every stage of life.

While we help shape the next generation of health professionals, our priority is you.

Our services are designed to meet the evolving needs of our patients, and we collaborate with local organizations to connect you with additional care and resources when needed.

As an academic teaching clinic affiliated with Queen’s University, we offer a unique environment where compassionate care meets hands-on learning. Our team includes family physicians, resident doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, a dietitian, pharmacists and more — all working together to support your health and well-being.

Here are some of the roles we have on our team:

Faculty Associate

Faculty associates are medical doctors who provide care for our patients and their families when our faculty family physicians are away. Like our full-time faculty, the QFHT's faculty associates supervise our resident family physicians and provide support in many other areas. Contributing greatly to the QFHT’s belief in the value of continuity of care, they play a critical and integral role within the Queen’s Department of Family Medicine

Family Physician (MD)

Family physicians are medical doctors who specialize in family medicine. They provide "cradle-to-grave" care for patients and their families. The QFHT's faculty family physicians supervise our resident family physicians in training. Residents are medical doctors who must complete two years of residency before they can become independent specialists in family medicine. Some residents choose to complete a third year of training in enhanced skills, such as anesthesia, palliative care or women's health.

Lactation Consultant

The QFHT's International board-certified lactation consultant is a registered nurse with additional specialized training and skills in infant feeding. As co-ordinator of the QFHT Lactation Support Program, her primary role is to provide education, hands-on assistance, and support to women and their families regarding infant feeding and nutrition options. She meets with patients before they deliver, and offers ongoing support after baby is born in person or over the phone.

Medical Records Clerk

Our medical records clerk helps to process incoming and outgoing records requests, such as:

Obtaining records from your previous physician
Preparing your chart for transfer if you are leaving our practice
Processing insurance and legal claims
Requesting reports from specialists

Nurse Practitioner (NP)

A nurse practitioner is an experienced registered nurse with additional, graduate-level university education. Nurse practitioners work autonomously and collaborate with other members of the team as required.

Services our NPs can provide:

Diagnose health problems
Provide basic medical services such as annual physicals, preventative health, and common procedures
Prescribe and renew medications
Treat many common medical conditions such as infections, arthritis, insomnia, and anemia
Provide symptom management and supportive care measures
Interpret and communicate diagnostic test results
Refer to health-care team members, specialists and health services in the community
Manage the treatment of stable ongoing medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and pain

Receptionist

Our receptionists book, co-ordinate and provide all the information you need for your appointment with your family physician, nurse practitioner, or other team member.

Your receptionist can help you by:

Scheduling/changing/cancelling appointments
Triaging phone calls (nurse, physician, allied health professional)
Providing information regarding the After Hours Clinic (which physician is working/on call, booking appointments)
Providing information on where to get blood work done
Updating demographic information (address, phone number)
Providing information regarding well-baby checks
Obtaining a copy of immunization records
Connecting to other services within QFHT
Providing status of test results, referrals, consults, etc.

Referral Clerk

Sometimes, you and your health-care provider will decide that you should see another health-care provider. For example, your family doctor may feel you should see a cardiologist or another specialist, in which case your provider will make a referral to another provider, typically in the form of a letter.

Our specialized referral clerks deal with all referrals. Their job is to make sure the information your provider thinks is important makes it to the right place in a timely fashion. They are also responsible for knowing what each specialist or other provider requires and what the process is for getting you an appointment (including wait times). After we have sent off your information, the team within the specialist’s or other provider’s office will review your information and then contact you to make an appointment. Please note that wait times for specialist appointments may be quite long (weeks or months). After your appointment, the specialist or other provider will typically provide you with instructions (e.g., new medication or a request for another appointment) and will provide us with a summary of the visit so we can follow up as well.

Registered Dietitian (RD)

At your appointment, our dietitian, Allison, will:

Review your health and eating pattern
Review your medications and vitamin/mineral supplements
Review and explain any related blood work results
Provide information about your eating pattern, appropriate use of supplements, and how to manage your chronic disease or life stage with nutrition-healthy behaviours
Work with you to set nutrition- and healthy behaviour-related goals to help you achieve your best health

Registered Pharmacist (RPh)

A registered pharmacist is an expert on medications who can help you understand how to properly use prescription drugs. Our pharmacist also overseas and co-ordinates the INR clinic for anti-coagulation management.

Services our pharmacist provides:

Answers questions about your medication
Helps obtain an accurate medical history
Monitors and manages side effects of drugs, adverse reactions, and medication treatmentsReviews, monitors, and helps manage medication treatments of individuals on multiple medications to ensure safe and effective use
Reviews medication orders for accuracy and provides recommendations for dosing adjustments

Registered Nurse (RN) and Registered Practical Nurse (RPN)

A registered nurse assists with health assessments and examinations, helps with procedures, promotes preventative health, and provides ongoing care, health education and support in managing your symptoms. RNs help monitor patients with more complex chronic conditions. They also coordinate care with community services and provide advice in managing symptoms and supportive care. Some RNs are involved in direct programming. They can help you with your INRs if you are taking medication to prevent blood clots, assess your 0-18-month-old child, or support you and your newborn with breastfeeding.

A registered practical nurse assists with health assessments, examinations and procedures, and provides ongoing care, health education and support in managing your health. Our RPNs provide care to patients whose ongoing health conditions are well controlled.

Services our RNs and RPNs can provide:

• Blood pressure monitoring, glucometer readings, ear syringing, vital signs
• ECGs, hearing and vision testing
• Testing for pregnancy, rapid strep and urine
• Immunizations, flu, allergy and other prescribed shots
• Staple/suture removal, wound care, dressing changes
• Stool cards for occult blood testing, drawing blood for testing
• Test results
• Entry and update to patient records with medications and allergies
• Education to help you manage diabetes, hypertension and other ongoing medical conditions
• Telephone support or in-person triage, follow-up as needed

Resident Physician

Resident physicians are medical doctors who must complete two years of residency before they become independent specialists in family medicine. Working with the latest medical information and technologies under the direction and supervision of our family doctors, our resident physicians bring enthusiasm and fresh perspective to patient care.

Social Worker

Social work is a diverse profession that focuses on improving health and well-being, and promotes the rights and dignity of all individuals and the achievement of social justice.

Services our social workers provide:

Time-limited, supportive counselling for anxiety, depression or other mental-health issues
CBT-based groups
Short-term illness and adjustment therapy
Service navigation assistance
End-of-life issues and grief counselling
Advocacy for patients’ rights and access to services
Help for caregivers