Series: CVFP Stories
Stories are fact sharing, knowledge transfer, lived experience and a way to understand what matters most to patients and providers.
Every story matters -- whether it is a patient sharing their experience and perspective, or a health provider describing their personal approach for care delivery. Not as an anecdote with a neat start and end. But as something dynamic that we can learn from. Stories are fact sharing, knowledge transfer, lived experience and a way to understand what matters most to patients and providers. The knowledge gained can be an effective tool to inform and evolve health care.
“Several years ago, my CVFP doctor had moved on and I was assigned a new one. I had only seen the new doctor once. A while later while I was in Boston running the 2013 Marathon (the year of the bombings), I was pleasantly surprised that one of my earlier emails asking if I was ok was from this new doctor. I had many emails and phone calls from family and friends, as well as from annoying Canadian news media, but this unexpected email from my new doctor was a real boost as I was trying to access my hotel with the entire area under police lockdown. He is still my doctor.” -- Walter, CVFP Patient
“The richest aspect of family medicine is the relationships that are developed over time between patients and their doctor. I get to be witness to key moments in my patients’ life stories, and in fact, I sometimes get to be a character in those stories. I am invited to share in their joys, and I am often called to be present in their moments of pain, uncertainty, fear and loss. I consider it a deep privilege,” says Dr. McLean Wiest, CVFP Physician.
He adds, “Walter is such an interesting and inspiring guy. After suffering a potentially life-threatening incident years ago, rather than slow down like many would, he continued running and training ultimately qualifying for one of the world’s elite races. When the tragedy of the bombings occurred, how could I not check in to make sure this inspiring guy was OK?”