About

Dr. Allan Peterkin

I grew up in Manitoba and completed my B.A., Bsc.Med and M.D. degrees at the University of Manitoba.

My father was a family doctor and my mother was a writer and journalist. I have tried to honor them both in my creative and clinical lives.

My undergrad was in English and French literature which deepened my lifelong love of reading, writing and the French language.

I completed my residencies in both family medicine and psychiatry at McGill University. As a resident, I wrote my first book called STAYING HUMAN DURING RESIDENCY TRAINING, which is now in its seventh edition!

I then joined the University of Toronto, where I was promoted to full Professor of Psychiatry and Family Medicine. My teaching focus has been on incorporating arts-based learning, the humanities and narrative-based medicine  across the span of a clinical life , with the goal of humanizing healthcare culture and encouraging reflection and renewal for all practitioners. I served as the inaugural Faculty Lead in Medical Humanities at the University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine, co-founded the literary journal ARS MEDICA www.ars-medica.ca and helped found the Canadian Association for Health Humanities www.cahh.ca. The CAHH hosts CREATING SPACE, Canada’s annual medical humanities meeting.

I co-founded and now serve as Medical Director of the CPD Narrative-based Medicine Lab  https://narrativebasedmedicine.ca/

I am a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, a Fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, a Distinguished Fellow of the Canadian Psychiatric Association, and a Senior Fellow at Massey College.

I have been honored to receive various teaching awards from these organizations including the Royal College/ Associated Medical Services Donald Wilson Award and the Henry Durost Award for Excellence in Creative Professional Activities.

In 2023, I received the US-based Health Humanities Consortium Visionary award.

In 2024,  I was the  recipient of the Ivan L. Silver Award for Excellence iin Continuing Mental Health Education for my work with the  CPD-Narrative-based Medicine Lab at the University of Toronto.

MEDICAL HUMANITIES PRIZES NAMED AFTER THE PETERKIN FAMILY

RADY FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES 2023 Peterkin Prize in Medical Humanities Call for Submissions The aim of the prize is to encourage and celebrate the connections between creative endeavours and the practice of medicine. The prize strives to shine a light on how the arts and humanities inform medical practice, and how creative endeavours can fuel a physician’s medical practice and support personal well-being and renewal as a practitioner. PRIZE: $1,000 Submissions All kinds of creative acts and artistic expressions are accepted, including those from the literary, visual, and performing arts. Eligible art forms include, but are not limited to, painting, drawing, photography, film, sculpture, short story, graphic novels, creative non-fiction, poetry, theatre script, theatre performance, music, song, dance, digital story, or photovoice. All works will be presented with a written narrative that demonstrates how the creative piece informs the student’s medical practice and development as a physician, fosters critical thinking, provides opportunities for reflection and reframing. Submissions by groups of students are also welcome and the prize and recognition will be shared among the winning group members. The contest is open to Max Rady College of Medicine undergraduate students. Dates and Deadlines May 1, 2023: Submissions Open May 31, 2023: Submissions Deadline August 2023: Notification of Winner Submission Guidelines 1.     Entries will be submitted via email to Ashley LaRosa, [email protected] beginning May 1, 2023. 2.     You must submit a digital copy of the creative piece in the format that best suits the work (e.g., a video file, photo, audio file, Word file, or PDF). a.     In the event of your submission file being too large to send over email, please submit it via DropBox to [email protected].         i.    Should you require assistance with DropBox, please contact Ashley LaRosa.        ii.     Please note if you submit via DropBox, that we will need access until the end of August 2023. 3.     You will also submit a written narrative (maximum 500 words). The narrative should tell the story behind the piece and a personal reflection on the issue(s) raised and the relationship to the practice of medicine or medical education. 4.     Judging will be blinded. Students should not include their name on the creative piece or the written narrative. 5.     Submissions will be judged on the basis of originality, creativity, and relevance of the interface between the arts/humanities, personal well-being, and how the artistic/arts-based endeavour fuels medical practise. 6.     All submissions must be the applicant’s original creation and must not have been copied, in whole or in part, from any other work. 7.     Any individual who is identifiable in the submission (by name, likeness, image, voice, or picture) must provide permission to the artist submitting the creative piece. Signed releases must be obtained from all people who may potentially self-identify. Signed releases will be available through the program. The Peterkin Family The Peterkin Prize in Medical Humanities celebrates the legacy of the Peterkin family and their connection to the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine: Dr. Edith Peterkin (MD/46) was one of four women in her medical class and pursued a lifelong interest in philosophy, bioethics and theology. Dr. David Peterkin (MD/56) played cello and clarinet and was a President of the Canadian Mahler Society. Dr. Allan Peterkin (MD/85) is an international leader in the health humanities and published author on cultural history, physician wellness and narrative medicine. Each has been a champion of the medical humanities in Canada and a proponent of humanism in medical training and practice. For additional information, please contact Susan Wingert, Program Steward [email protected] Alan Klass Program in Health Humanities

THIS AWARD IS PRESENTED EACH YEAR AT CREATING SPACE, THE ANNUAL HEALTH HUMANITIES MEETING IN CANADA CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR HEALTH HUMANITIES: www.cahh.ca PETERKIN BRETT-MACLEAN STUDENT PRIZE The Peterkin Brett-MacLean Prize for best student presentation was created to encourage student involvement. Consisting of a certificate and a prize of $500, it honours the contributions of Drs. Allan Peterkin (University of Toronto) and Pamela Brett-MacLean (University of Alberta) as founders of the conference series. This award is presented by CAHH to a student (undergraduate or graduate) or resident whose oral presentation/paper, poster, performance, installation, or other contribution at Creating Space is judged to be the best. Eligibility criteria: * The abstract must be accepted and subsequently presented at Creating Space. * The primary submitter must be a CAHH member and be a registered student (undergraduate, or graduate), resident or fellow at the time the contribution is presented (a copy of the student card or other evidence of learner status must be provided to meet this requirement). * Submissions that are co-written or co-developed with other learners are eligible. Submissions co-written/developed with a faculty member are not eligible. The cash award is to be shared among co-contributors, if applicable. Submissions will only be considered if the primary submitter has NOT previously received the award in the past two years.

SEE MY BOOKS