Dr. Carol Geller, a family doctor at Centertown Community Health Centre in downtown Ottawa since 1999, completed medical school at the University of Toronto and trained in family medicine in Ottawa. She is dedicated to serving inner-city populations, especially newcomers and those facing mental health and addiction challenges. Recently concluding a role at the University of Ottawa, Dr. Geller co-led the Community Preceptor Program and advocates for struggling learners. She now chairs the Canadian National PGME Remediation Leads Collaboration, merging her passion for medical education with her enthusiasm for ice cream.
Q: How did joining your small group in the early 2000s lead to your involvement as an author with FMPE?
It all began when a colleague of mine, a resident a year behind me, needed someone to join their small group after another member left, and they thought I’d be a good fit—so, I joined, and now, over 22 years later, we’re still the same group with the same members.
Concurrent with this, our facilitator mentioned that FMPE was looking for authors. I thought it sounded intriguing, so I signed up. In 2009, when I first started, I was probably the first new author in a long time. I learned through trial and error, with the support of another author with more experience.
Initially, I was pretty hesitant to weigh in on revisions. But over the years, with encouragement from the FMPE staff, I’ve learned to make edits and contribute with more clarity. Thanks to their training and support, I developed strong editing skills. I appreciate that they value each person’s expertise, and I’ve continued the tradition by recommending talented people from my network. For example, I once recruited a pharmacist I work with in Ottawa to help with a module, and now he’s part of the team.
Looking back, I love how it evolved and how the program values new perspectives.
Q: How has the evolving, collaborative module development process, especially for your current hepatitis C module, enhanced your practice and strengthened your support for colleagues?
The module development process has evolved significantly, making it a robust, collaborative experience. Currently, I’m working on a module focused on hepatitis C, and I’m amazed by the depth of pre-work involved. This phase includes identifying knowledge gaps, understanding participant needs, and basing the content on primary care literature, which I truly respect. Once we establish the objectives, I work on creating real, de-identified case studies, ensuring they resonate authentically with the audience. Feedback often confirms that people recognize the cases as accurate, strengthening their impact.
The roundtable review process is thorough and structured, with focused questions and detailed feedback that help refine the module’s content. Following the roundtable, we evaluate if additional appendices like patient handouts or EMR tools would be beneficial. Wendy Leadbetter, the Module Development Coordinator, drafts the initial version with guidance on key points, and we involve content experts to provide added depth if needed. This collaborative approach continually evolves, making each module richer and more comprehensive.
I love being part of this process; it allows me to dive deeply into questions directly relevant to my practice, and the experience enhances my ability to help my colleagues. In my clinic, they even call me the “module lady” because I often say I have a “module” ready when asked a clinical question. Ultimately, the work is rewarding, and I feel proud to contribute something I hope is genuinely impactful for fellow clinicians.
Q: How did developing the hypercholesterolemia module for primary prevention, along with the early pregnancy bleeding module, empower you to address practical family practice needs, and how has this real-world focus influenced your teaching approach?
Working on the hypercholesterolemia module back in 2015, specifically for primary prevention, was one of my favourites. I teach quite a bit, especially to medical students and family practice residents. A recurring challenge has been the over-reliance on tertiary care guidelines, such as the Canadian Cardiovascular Society guidelines, which are intense and focus on specific targets and frequent blood tests. Writing this module felt incredibly empowering, grounded in practical, real-world care—focusing on what truly impacts clinical outcomes rather than laboratory benchmarks.
This approach still resonates with me today, and I often remind my colleagues for primary prevention, we should prioritize target doses of medication rather than chasing blood level targets. Another memorable project was the module on early pregnancy bleeding, which I co-wrote with my resident last year. This topic raised so many practical questions, like when to do blood work, ultrasounds, or assess blood type for possible injections. I loved that this module gave concrete answers to issues we frequently face in family practice and helped simplify sometimes contradicting information. The collaborative experience with my resident enriched the process, adding depth and ensuring we addressed real clinical needs.
Q: How has the mutual support and diversity in your small group—combined with a focus on trust and vulnerability—helped you grow as a family doctor, and how has this environment fostered pride in primary care for you and your trainees?
The benefits of my small group is incredibly valuable, especially for establishing a sense of “norming.” Family doctors, though often comfortable with uncertainty and vulnerability, are still doctors—we can be hard on ourselves when things don’t go as planned or when we feel we “should have known better.” In my group, a foundation of trust, safety, and mutual support allows us to bring forward cases where we felt unsure or where outcomes weren’t ideal and discuss openly what each of us might have done differently. This supportive environment helps us grow in our knowledge and confidence.
Our group has seen each other through countless life events—marriages, children, health challenges, and even COVID, where our conversations naturally extended to navigating real-world complexities, like all the work accommodation requests during COVID. Beyond professional discussions, this camaraderie has brought a lot of personal support and perspectives, with members offering unique insights: one with rural experience, another in geriatric rehab, a Hep C/HIV and street medicine expert, a special focus on mental health and a rural emergency doctor. This diversity deepens our discussions and strengthens our practice.
Another significant benefit has been fostering pride in family medicine and our expertise. We encourage each other—and our trainees—to trust and take pride in primary care practice and literature. There’s often a pull toward tertiary guidelines, yet I remind my residents that they’re training to be family doctors, where primary care expertise is invaluable.