Dr. Jocelyn Charles has said that she owes her life to a family physician who saved her when she was three years old; it could also be said that Dr. Charles has given her own life to family medicine. This and other experiences as a patient have inspired and shaped her career.
Today, Dr. Charles provides a broad scope of care across generations of families. Working in the Family Health Team and as medical director of the Veterans Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, she is well known for her unwavering commitment to veterans and her patients.
"Dr. Charles has been looking after three generations of my family over the past 25 years, caring for my wife and me, our children and my parents," said Larry Novachis. "When my parents got very sick, Dr. Charles would visit my mother late at night in intensive care and made house calls to make sure both were doing well. She not only provided excellent patient care to them both, she was also a key counselor and a calming influence for all of us. Our family feels blessed to be in her care."
Her passion for collaborative, patient-centred care led her to co-develop and co-author tools for care coordination that are being used province wide, like TIP - Telemedicine Impact Plus - which allows primary care physicians to collaborate virtually with an interprofessional team of specialists to support patients with complex conditions.
Dr. Charles is also passionate about teaching and mentorship. She teaches at the undergraduate, postgraduate and master's levels at University of Toronto.
She is also tapped for work on health system solutions locally and provincially. She served as Physician Advisor at the Toronto Central LHIN, where she liaised with local primary care providers and co-created a primary care strategy for central Toronto to strengthen local primary care for patients. Dr. Charles also volunteers with SPRINT Senior Care where she shares her expertise on strategies for improving practice to help seniors live safely in the community.
Dr. Charles has most decidedly made her mark at every level. This year she was honoured as the 2019 Dr. Reg L. Perkin Ontario Family Physician of the Year. This award is the OCFP's highest honour, presented annually to a family doctor who provides exceptional care to patients while significantly contributing to the health and well-being of communities and society.