Day in the Life

The IMAGINE Clinic and Remembering What I Love About Family Medicine

After 30+ years in community-based family medicine in midtown Toronto, I was looking for something a little different. Like so many of us emerging from the Covid pandemic, I was feeling burned out. I happened to read an email from the OMA and saw a post from the IMAGINE clinic recruiting preceptors. IMAGINE was created and is run by University of Toronto medical students to offer walk-in medical services to disenfranchised patients in downtown Toronto. The clinic also partners with Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, which provides space and supplies, and pathways to care for clients needing care continuity. The clinic provides typical primary care to patients on a walk-in basis each Saturday from 10AM to 2PM. I was intrigued by the opportunity, so reached out, signed on, and have just completed my first shift in July. My role was to precept a group of students from diverse backgrounds: first- and second-year medicine, social work, physiotherapy. After students meet patients, we then discuss their histories and physical assessments as a group, come up with a diagnosis, and plan which students should then present to the patients. 

Can I say how much I enjoyed this experience? Apart from the satisfaction of getting out of the office and into the community, what was most surprising and interesting to me were the discussions I had with the students. They wanted to know if I liked what I did and why. Several of them were interested in family medicine but had been discouraged by what they had heard about workload, compensation, and burnout among family doctors. Talking honestly with them about my experience reminded me that in spite of dealing with Covid, increasing administrative burdens, the stresses of running a small business, and often difficult and demanding patients, I still love my chosen field. It was gratifying to know -- and feel -- that the skills and knowledge I’ve accumulated were of value to this group of young doctors-to-be.

 I would highly recommend trying out a shift at IMAGINE. You can do as many or as few as you want, and shifts are scheduled quarterly. I promise you won’t regret volunteering. I would also vouch for how rewarding it is, and how crucial, to share what we love about comprehensive primary care.

Dr. Susan Brunt, Family Physician in Midtown Toronto