Med student grad combines mental health care with family medicine

Aidan Jeffrey saw a gap in the mental health system across Canada and decided to tackle this dilemma by becoming a physician.

Throughout her studies at the Niagara Regional Campus of McMaster’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, Jeffrey has learned how focused compassion and patient care make a difference to patients’ health and well-being. It is a skill that she will proudly make good use of as a rural family physician in the future.

Jeffrey is one of 25 new physicians who graduated from the Niagara Regional Campus as part of the 200 who graduated from the medical school on Friday, May 23.

The Faculty of Health Sciences convocation saw graduates from across programs including the Bachelor of Health Sciences Program, midwifery, and several specialty diplomas.

A graduate in research and policy at McGill University, Jeffrey began her career at the Mental Health Commission. Her travels across Canada allowed her to experience first-hand the struggles of the medical system to adequately care for those with mental health issues.

“I saw how community doctors work relentlessly at the grassroots level to provide their patients with adequate and timely care and I felt medicine would allow me to make a difference in my patients’ lives,” says Jeffrey.

Jeffrey always knew that family medicine would be a great fit for her and feels it’s a perfect patient-physician interaction combination. Building long-term relationships with her patients will allow for the potential to have meaningful clinical connections.

“I can’t imagine a field more appealing than family medicine; it offers the best of everything,” she says.

For Jeffrey, spending time training with a variety of doctors in their practice allowed her to observe them attend with compassion and see directly the immense interactions with their patients. It’s something she hopes to provide in her practice and one day to pass on to other medical students.

Jeffrey has accomplished a great deal during her studies. She received a College of Family Physicians of Canada Medical Student Leadership Award and an academic award from McMaster’s Faculty of Medicine, division of Internal Medicine.

“Aidan has contributed to the Niagara Regional Campus through many student-led community initiatives that concentrate on giving back,” said Dr. Karl Stobbe, regional assistant dean of the Niagara Regional campus. “It’s great to see medical students like Aidan come to the campus and embrace the community and learning experience.”

Jeffrey will remain at the Niagara regional campus of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine for her two year residency in family medicine in West Lincoln. After that, she is planning to practice in the Niagara area.