House Calls

Experiences and observations after sixty years of Family practice.

David Smith graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School in 1954. He completed two years of residency training, at the Toronto Western Hospital and then at at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Internal Medicine. He joined the staff of The Toronto Western Hospital, working in the Out Patients Department. After ten years in private practice in association with his father Dr. Arthur Smith a long time General Practitioner, he was asked to join a group of five primary care physicians form a family Practice teaching Unit, the first in the newly developing Department of Family and community Medicine, a totally new Department in the Medical Faculty. At present this Department has become one of the largest, if not the largest Primary care facility in the world, with over fourteen hundred teachers in the GTA and throughout Ontario.

During miserly teaching years he developed special interests in Student Medicine, Tropical and parasitic Disease, and the earl formation of Palliative care services in downtown Toronto.

David received his Certification in The College of Family Physicians of Canada, and in 1985 became a Fellow of The College of family Physicians of Canada.He had been associated with Student health services at U oil T since starting practice, becoming Director of this facility from 1984 to1996, working in Student health until retirement. He is an associate professor in thedepatment of Family and Community Medicine., having been involved in teaching since before this new department was formed.

He continues as permanent president of his graduating class of 5T4, and retired after sixty years of active practice in 2014. By writing few of his early experiences, he softened the withdrawal from the demands of practice and the struggle to keep up with the myriad new developments ion medicine.