The Department of Family Practice is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Carolyn Canfield as Adjunct Professor effective July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2024.
Carolyn Canfield works as a citizen-patient across Canada and internationally to expand opportunities for patients, carers and communities to partner with healthcare professionals to transform health systems. Following personal tragedy from care failures in 2008, her full-time volunteering has earned her recognition as Canada’s first Patient Safety Champion in 2014, and faculty appointment at UBC with the Department of Family Practice, first as Honorary Lecturer and now as Adjunct Professor.
Carolyn carries the patient perspective into the classroom as co-instructor in Patient Safety and Leadership Synergies for first year medical and nursing students. As a member of UBC’s MD Admissions Subcommittee and as writer of candidate interview questions, she helps to identify the most suitable candidates for collaborative excellence. Serving on UBC Health Council and the Departmental Advisory Council for Family Practice, she supports interprofessional collaboration across campus and the province. A variety of projects include Carolyn as an advisor on client engagement and knowledge translation in patient-oriented research.
Among her international roles, Carolyn is chair of the scientific advisory board to SHARE Resilience in Health (Stavanger), member of the international advisory board to PRIME Centre for Primary and Emergency Care Research (Wales), and advisor to the 5th Global Ministerial Summit on Patient Safety executive in Montreux in February 2020.
As an informal mentor to patient and caregiver collaborators, Carolyn spreads her enthusiasm for patient-led innovation and investment in quality improvement, safer care, patient-oriented research and health professional training that honours the lived experience. She co-founded BC’s Patients In Education (PIE) and the Canada-wide Patient Advisors Network (PAN) to expand capacity and develop leadership in citizen-patients.
Carolyn’s own scholarship interests include health systems resilience, the “second victim” of harmful clinical events, relationships in healthcare and the nature of trust, apology and forgiveness.
Congratulations, Carolyn!