“I was working in the ER one evening when one of the housekeepers asked if I would be around for a little while. She came back with a present. She had been back home to Jamaica and brought me back a bottle of rum. I was totally surprised. I knew her casually. I had not treated her or one of her family members. I asked what I had done to deserve this. She answered: “You are the only doctor who talks to me.” EVERYONE is important. So talk to everyone. If you are approachable, you will promote teamwork you will get a lot more accomplished.” Dr. Robert Primavesi is an Emergency Physician at the Montreal General Hospital and Montreal Children’s Hospital sites of the McGill University Health Centre and was the Keynote speaker for the Faculty of Dentistry’s 2016 White Coat Ceremony (during which he shared this story).Dr. Primavesi has also been an avid contributor to faculty development, continuing professional development and undergraduate medical education within the McGill community for over two decades. From 2011-2015, Dr. Primavesi was Associate Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education, where he successfully implemented an innovative new medical school curriculum - the first major curricular reform in 19 years. In 2016, he was presented with the Osler Award for Outstanding Teaching by the graduating medical class as the professor who has made the most outstanding contribution to their medical education.
