Patient Partners of DFCM

The concept of Family Medicine and the Performing Arts rarely appear in the same sentence. In Joanna MacFadzean’s case they have intersected repeatedly. The first time was in Winnipeg, Manitoba at the hospital where she was born. After all, not every newborn has a big sister who is a nurse working next to the Maternity Ward. The other nurses erected a sign saying, "this is nurse so-and-so’s baby sister Joanna". Little did anyone know this was Joanna’s first marquee! After many years of training in classical singing and stage acting with success at the local level, Toronto beckoned with further success. This included stage, film, TV, cabarets and a one-woman show. Marriage soon followed and Joanna took on a very demanding role, that of caregiver to her husband who developed several serious health issues. Often times she recalled stories about patient care from her older sister’s career. After some 10 years that care giving became palliative home care culminating in a peaceful passing. Simultaneous to this, Joanna coordinated her elderly mother’s health care via long distance from Toronto to Winnipeg. This included procedures, prescriptions, appointments, home care and lifeline phone safety systems until her mother’s passing. Learning to navigate family medicine in two provinces attuned Joanna to advocating for family patients. In 2017, Joanna was recruited by her own family doctor to become involved with the Utopian DFCM Scientific Committee. This new role acquainted Joanna with current medical research studies, interacting with doctors on the committee and advocating for patients. Having been a small part of first University of Toronto Family Medicine Report has been a huge privilege.