A message from Dermot Kelleher, Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Vice-President, Health, UBC.
There is great anticipation about this season, a time when families reunite, a time when people come together and celebrate over a meal, and a time when one can take stock of what has prevailed over the last 12 months and wonder what the future might bring.
After several difficult and challenging years during which it has been hard to fully appreciate the moments of respite that the holiday season can bring, it’s even more important that we take time to enjoy these things, from the decorations and melodies of the season, to the expectation of the aromas and flavours of holiday favourites served on special evenings. It’s strange and uplifting to think that this winter holiday has been around for thousands of years, an antidote to hard times and a precious interval that sustains us all as we move back into spring and summer.
And for us here in the UBC Faculty of Medicine, it is hard not to reflect on the difficult times of the past few years, when so many in our community have worked tirelessly to ensure that we could come through the pandemic — by treating patients on the frontlines, planning how to defeat the virus through prevention and cure, and ensuring that our future health professionals are educated to the same standards that we have always upheld. Having recently attended convocation, it was personally heartwarming to see the excitement of our newly qualified health professionals and doctoral students as they received their degrees — degrees made more valuable by the resilience they have shown in the face of extraordinary pressures.
In reflecting on this, I want to thank all of the faculty and staff, for the profound and extraordinary contributions each of you have made so that we could come through these times together in such an effective manner. And in acknowledging the difficult times that so many have experienced during this period, I would like to re-emphasize the deep debt of gratitude we owe to all of you.
I’d also like to emphasize the impact of what we do in this Faculty of Medicine. The 2022 Year in Review story beautifully illustrates how profound so many of our achievements in the last year have been: from celebrating 20 years of our Indigenous MD Admissions Pathway and the Indigenous Family Medicine Residency Program and its outstanding graduates; to establishing the new Black Student MD Admissions Pathway; and to making tremendous research achievements that make a very real difference to patients and communities across B.C., Canada and the world — including establishing new programs of research in Healthy Aging and Multiple Sclerosis supported by very generous philanthropic donations.
I encourage you to take a look at this year in review, but as you read, think about the work that has led to each of these stories and think about the wonderful faculty, staff and learners who have contributed towards bringing all of these achievements and others to fruition in very difficult times.
A new year will always bring new opportunities and challenges, which is why it is so important that we face 2023 rested, refreshed and having renewed our connections with family and friends in the most convivial way “So that…” as T.S. Eliot wrote, “the accumulated memories of annual emotion may be concentrated into a great joy!” ¹
To that end, I share with you my latest playlist of holiday melodies that I hope captures the spirit, warmth and merriment of the season.
I wish you all a peaceful, joyful and healthy holiday season.
1. T.S. Eliot: The Cultivation of Christmas Trees (The Ariel Poems) 1954
This message was sent to all faculty, staff and learners in the Faculty of Medicine.
