Anthems of resilience and hope: Voices Rock Medicine

Voices Rock Medicine is a choir of female physicians in the Greater Toronto Area. Featuring numerous University of Toronto faculty, the choir’s heartfelt renditions of popular songs are sharing resilience and hope during these challenging times.

Dr. Susan Thouin, a palliative care physician at the Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care at Mount Sinai Hospital and Department of Family and Community Medicine faculty member, started Voices Rock Medicine after seeing her daughter and husband taking part in other Voices Rock choirs. 

“They were having so much fun that I wanted to try something similar. My network is mostly physicians, so that’s where I started,” explains Dr. Thouin. “When I first approached the Voices Rock founder Cheryl Bower, and artistic director Anthony Bastianon, they weren’t sure how a choir of female physicians would work out. But they let us do a pilot season, and the enthusiasm and the community that has grown around it is incredible.”

The choir includes 55 female physicians from across the GTA, from family doctors and pediatricians, to psychiatrists, internists, surgeons and emergency care physicians. Since the pandemic began, they have been getting together virtually. 

“Singing provides a way to transcend difficult moments in life, especially singing with others,” says choir member Dr. Sarah Kim, a Sport & Exercise Medicine physician, mindfulness teacher and clinical lecturer in DFCM. “It’s not only an important outlet, a break from the weight of work and other responsibilities, but also a restorative and re-energizing activity. We’ve all experienced so much loss during COVID-19, with ups and downs since the pandemic began, and singing together every week has brought a sense of connection and community, which has been hugely important in supporting our morale, mental health, and overall well-being. Being together in song gives us added nourishment to be able to continue being excellent caregivers to our patients and loved ones.”  

Many of Voices Rock Medicine are faculty members in U of T’s Department of Family and Community Medicine and elsewhere within the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. After finishing clinic, putting the kids to bed, or even while on a break from the emergency room, the physicians gather virtually to connect and share the joy of singing. 

The songs they choose are often inspired by current experiences, from the OMA’s #HandWashChallenge sung to the tune of Pharrell Williams’ “Happy”, to the Rankin Family’s “Rise Again”, an anthem of resilience and hope. 

Dr. Thouin remembers “Rise Again” from childhood summers spent in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. “It had become a regular motivational song for me personally, and it felt fitting given everything going on in the world. We all recorded our parts for Anthony to stitch together, and even though we knew what was coming, many of us cried our eyes out when we saw the final video.”

There is something deeply powerful about 55 voices sharing gratitude and positivity during these challenging times. Their performance of “Brave” is a heartfelt reminder that ‘you can do this’. The video shows footage of the singers combined with clips of their kids and family members climbing trees, jumping into lakes and even heading off to medical school.

Voices Rock Medicine members include:

Lori Albert (Dept of Medicine, University Health Network), Jennifer Arvanitis (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, Sinai Health System), Anne Aspler (Dept of Medicine, North York General Hospital and University Health Network), Adelle Atkinson (Dept of Pediatrics, Hospital for Sick Children), Nupur Bahl (Internal Medicine, Brampton), Lisa Ballinger (Emergency Medicine, Michael Garron Hospital), Rachel Barrett (Dept of Pediatrics, North York General Hospital and Michael Garron Hospital), Danielle Bischof (Dept of Surgery, Sinai Health System), Susan Campbell (Dept of Pediatrics, Oshawa), Caroline Chan (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, Scarborough Health Network), Ruth Connelly (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, Trillium Health Partners), Susan Deering (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre), Elyse Dubo (Dept of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and community practice), Mariella Ferreyra Galliani (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, Toronto), Risa Freeman (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, North York General Hospital), Susanna Fung (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, Scarborough Health Network), Ilana Greenwald (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, Markham Stouffville Hospital and Scarborough Health Network), Smita Halder (Dept of Medicine, McMaster University), Roberta Hood (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, Markham Stouffville Hospital), Beverley Jackson (Family Medicine, Toronto), Sarah Kim (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, St. Joseph’s Health Centre), Chetana Kulkarni (Dept of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children), Carol Loffelmann (Dept of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, St. Michael’s Hospital), Laura McAdam (Dept of Pediatrics, Holland Bloorview), Melissa Melnitzer (Family Medicine, Sinai Health System), Suchitra Mensinkai (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, Ajax), Stephanie Milone (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, Orangeville), Rachel Mitchell (Dept of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre), Bernice Mittleman (Emergency Medicine, Markham Stouffville Hospital and Bellwood Health Services), Ruchi Mohindra (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, Michael Garron Hospital), Emily Moore (Family Medicine, Toronto), Cara Ooi (Dept of Psychiatry, Sleep Medicine and Child Psychiatry), Susan Parker (Family Medicine, North York General Hospital), Anahí Perlas (Dept of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Toronto Western Hospital), Diane Philipp (Dept of Psychiatry, SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health), Sonia Prokopetz (Family Medicine, Trillium Health Partners), Alisa Rachlis (Dept of Pediatrics, Hospital for Sick Children and Scarborough Health Network), Seema Rathee (Focused practise Family Medicine, Richmond Hill), Moni Ravi (Dept of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children), Sharon Sadry (Endocrinology, Greater Toronto Area), Lisa Salamon (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, Scarborough Health Network), Laura Schiffer (Neurology, North York General Hospital), Sheryl Seidman (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, University Health Network), Carolyn Snider (Emergency Medicine, St. Michael’s Hospital), Christine Song (Dept of Medicine, St. Michael’s Hospital), Susan Thouin (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, Sinai Health System), Daphne Williams (Dept of Family & Community Medicine, St. Joseph’s Health Centre), Doreen Yee (Dept of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre)