Top studies relevant to primary care practice.

Objective: To summarize 10 high-quality studies from 2017 that have strong relevance to primary care practice.

Quality Of Evidence: Study selection involved routine literature surveillance by a group of primary care health professionals. This included screening abstracts of important journals and Evidence Alerts, as well as searching the American College of Physicians Journal Club.

Systematic review of systematic reviews for medical cannabinoids: Pain, nausea and vomiting, spasticity, and harms.

Objective: To determine the effects of medical cannabinoids on pain, spasticity, and nausea and vomiting, and to identify adverse events.

Data Sources: MEDLINE, the Cochrane Database, and the references of included studies were searched.

Study Selection: Systematic reviews with 2 or more randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that focused on medical cannabinoids for pain, spasticity, or nausea and vomiting were included.

Selection for family medicine residency training in Canada: How consistently are the same students ranked by different programs?

Objective: To examine the consistency of the ranking of Canadian and US medical graduates who applied to Canadian family medicine (FM) residency programs between 2007 and 2013.

Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study.

Setting: Family medicine residency programs in Canada.

Simplified guideline for prescribing medical cannabinoids in primary care.

Objective: To develop a clinical practice guideline for a simplified approach to medical cannabinoid use in primary care; the focus was on primary care application, with a strong emphasis on best available evidence and a promotion of shared, informed decision making.

Methods: The Evidence Review Group performed a detailed systematic review of 4 clinical areas with the best evidence around cannabinoids: pain, nausea and vomiting, spasticity, and adverse events. Nine health professionals (2 generalist family physicians, 2 pain management-focused family physicians, 1 inner-city family physician, 1 neurologist, 1 oncologist, 1 nurse practitioner, and 1 pharmacist) and a patient representative comprised the Prescribing Guideline Committee (PGC), along with 2 nonvoting members (pharmacist project managers).

Well-being of family medicine graduates.

Objective: To determine family medicine graduates' professional and personal well-being, general health status, stress levels, coping strategies, and the degree to which they felt supported or isolated in professional life; and to compare findings by sex, practice location, and location of medical school (Canadian medical graduates [CMGs] vs international medical graduates [IMGs]).

Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional survey.

Setting: University of Alberta in Edmonton and the University of Calgary in Alberta.

The CHANGE program: Exercise intervention in primary care.

Problem Addressed: Primary care settings require a feasible program for integrating lifestyle interventions, which can reverse metabolic abnormalities, for patients in practice.

Objective Of Program: To integrate a lifestyle intervention program into existing primary care clinics with an interprofessional approach that includes dietitians and kinesiologists.

Program Description: Canadian Health Advanced by Nutrition and Graded Exercise (CHANGE) provides a personalized approach to nutrition and exercise modification focusing on patients with metabolic syndrome.