The Good Doctor: Patient partner helps new medical students explore what it means to be a good doctor

On August 23rd, Carolyn Canfield, an independent citizen-patient, led a session with Dr. Cheryl Holmes for UBC’s incoming medical class of 2026. It was the second day of classes for 288 first year students in the undergraduate medical program, and students from the Island (Victoria), Northern (Prince George) and Southern (Kelowna) medical programs joined their peers in Vancouver for the first week of classes.

The session was part of a required course, MED 411 – Foundations of Medical Practice, which sets expectations for the medical profession and supports an introductory-level understanding of core medical concepts and skills. In this initial session, students were asked to reflect on what makes a good doctor. A good listener, compassionate, team player, and humility were some of the words the students used to describe what constitutes a good doctor.

“I have realized that my personal view of what makes a good doctor emphasizes the ability of the physician to co-create definitions of health and wellness in collaboration with the patient,” says first year Vancouver-Fraser student Rory Trevorrow. 

Stephanie Bell, a first year student from the Island Medical program says, “I have been so impressed, and frankly relieved, to see so much emphasis on topics like patient centered care and cultural humility at the start of this term. I feel like it is setting a tone for our class, and has made me believe that I am in the right place.”

Cheryl and Carolyn received dozens of encouraging letters from the students afterwards and plan to run the session again next year.

“Partnering with a patient in delivering this content was unimaginably rich,” says Cheryl Holmes, Associate Dean Undergraduate Medical Education.

“This is how they arrive, so keen and so focused on the interests of the patient,” says Carolyn.