MD’84 35th Anniversary Reunion

UBC MD Class of 1984 35th Anniversary Reunion Oct 18-20, 2019 Vancouver BC

The UBC MD Class of ’84 held its 35th Anniversary Reunion on October 18-20, 2019. Almost 60 classmates gathered from across Canada and the US for a full weekend celebration, held in a magnificent setting overlooking harbour and mountain views centered at the Pan Pacific Hotel in downtown Vancouver.

The rain could not dampen the enthusiasm of classmates eager to meet and reconnect, starting at the Reception on Friday evening that featured classmates Dr Ken Lee and Dr Jessica Shintani (playing the violin and harp, respectively) at Pan Pacific Oceanview Suites 3,4.

The Saturday morning program started at the UBC campus at Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre with a breakfast presentation about the UBC Medical School by classmate Dr Cheryl Holmes, Associate Dean Undergraduate Medical Education, followed by a tour (down memory lane) of the Biomedical buildings and new Anatomy Lab. This was immediately followed by a guided walking tour of the North Campus showing off  UBC’s vibrant autumn colours.

The main event, Saturday’s dinner and dance at Pan Pacific Oceanview Suites 5-7 was attended by about 90 classmates and spouses/partners. Dr Caroline Wang delivered welcoming remarks and thanked her fellow members of the 35th Reunion planning committee: Cheryl Holmes, Christy Maxson, Terry Chang, and Jean Jamieson for their dedication. Tom Kinahan spoke to thank the UBC Alumni Engagement Office, which provides invaluable assistance by professional staff making these events possible. Chris Jones was the perfect MC presiding over the highlight of the evening, inviting each classmate to give a quick update and share an anecdotal story as self-entertainment.

The memorable evening concluded with live entertainment by a six-person band by Marty Robson and Ten Souljers, but not before sharing his heartfelt personal story about his young daughter’s emergency surgical condition (that has a happy ending), in which he attributes the timely (and fateful) intervention by a phone call from Caroline to having helped saved his daughter’s life. His story is a powerful reminder of the importance of our work in Medicine as a calling, and that as doctors our decisions and actions can make a huge difference to people’s lives and to their families.

Sunday morning capped the reunion weekend with breakfast and 3-hour learning program “All Teach, All Learn” with 12 superb presentations from classmates on a rich variety of topics. Expertly moderated by Dr Terry Chang, the class enjoyed a series of 10-15 minute thoughtful and provocative talks grouped under three sections (1) past: Reflections of 35 years in Medicine, (2) present: Emerging issues and innovations (3) future: Change the world, Change ourselves. The topics and speakers: Computerization in Medicine (Dr Tom Kinahan), Musings of a physician philosopher (Dr John Westerlund), Medical Leaders from Past, Present, and Future (Dr Ian Courtice), Practicing Family Medicine in the US, is the grass greener (the answer? yes by Drs Mike Best and Sandi Deausy), Lessons Learned from a career dedicated to improving survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Dr Mohamud Daya), Kidney Transplantation, what donors, docs, and recipients should know (Dr Chris Jones), Compensation Medicine – bringing light to the dark side (Dr Cath Lopaschuk), MAID in my family, the process and the experience (Dr Sherry Baskerville-Bridges), Physician as Leader, Advocate and the Quadruple Aim (Dr Caroline Wang),  Healthspan (Dr Patrick Yu), Mindfulness and self-care for physicians (Dr Elizabeth Drance).

This memorable weekend reunion not only provided the opportunity for our amazing UBC Class of ’84 to renew and strengthen bonds of friendship as classmates, it reminds us that as UBC MD Alumni we are a rich resource of experts from diverse specialities across the continent and the world. We are making a difference everyday, saving lives; together we can help change the world for better.

We invite you to view photos from our reunion below!