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New head of medical school's Windsor campus takes pride in never rushing patients

Dr. Larry Jacobs has been trying to provide comfort to the community since he was a boy working in his parents’ shoe store in Leamington.

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Dr. Larry Jacobs has been trying to provide comfort to the community since he was a boy working in his parents’ shoe store in Leamington.

As the new associate dean of Western University’s Schulich Medical and Dentistry School, Windsor campus, he’s still seeking the perfect fit.

“It was a regular routine, Saturday mornings in my parent’s store,” said Jacobs, who replaces the retired Dr. Gerry Cooper.

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“As a kid you hated it. Looking back, so much of my personality came from working alongside my mum and dad.

“I learned so much about customer service.”

The world is changing and being disrupted

That spirit of care has continued into his medical career.

When asked what personal philosophy he’d like to emphasize to students, Jacobs said he’s prided himself on always making sure his patients had the feeling they were never being rushed out.

“I take pride in my patients having a belief that they know how important their problems and life are to me,” said Jacobs, who is a general internist.

“When I mentor young students, I make sure they understand how extremely privileged they are to be young physicians.”

The Leamington native said physicians have to understand how different their patients have become over the last decade.

Technology and social media have played a role in arming patients with much more information — and that can be both good and bad.

“The world is changing and being disrupted,” said Jacobs, who earned his medical degree from Detroit’s Wayne State University and did his residency in Toronto. “Patients are googling things and looking up symptoms, which may be right or not.

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“That means doctors have to embrace the idea they are tour guides to healthcare, not just the keepers of all medical knowledge. That’s gone, thanks to a few key strokes.”

Jacobs, who was appointed through 2023, takes over the campus on the cusp of what he feels will be significant change.

The most significant of those changes locally will be the building of a new hospital as the centrepiece of a redefined healthcare system.

“It’s rare that you get a chance to be part of something like that,” Jacobs said.

“One of our students was part of the site selection committee. We’re looking forward to having some input in the process.”

Jacobs expects Schulich to have some sort of physical presence at the new site, such as classroom space, but there are no plans to move entirely to the new hospital complex.

“There are many benefits to having a presence on the University of Windsor campus,” Jacobs said. “There’s the opportunity of a lot of partnerships here.”

Jacobs, who served as assistant dean of faculty affairs since 2015, will focus some of his early efforts at continuing to improve the support network and professional development of faculty and improve inter-departmental ties on the University of Windsor campus.

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Currently, about 400 area physicians play a role in supporting the medical education of students in Windsor.

“What medical education does is bring a higher level of learning to the community,” said Jacobs, who earned bachelors of science and education degrees from the University of Windsor .

“It forces us to examine our own practices, to keep updated and elevate our game.”

Jacobs is also looking to expand the school’s already strong community ties.

With the issues of mental health and addiction dominating the current municipal campaign, Jacobs feels there’s a role for the school to play.

“We’ve always been involved in the cleanup of situations ,” said Jacobs, who is married with three daughters.

“How do we intervene before an acute crisis? That’s where I see a bigger role for us.”

Dr. Larry Jacobs is the new dean of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Windsor Campus. He is shown at the school on Friday, September 28, 2018.
Dr. Larry Jacobs is the new dean of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Windsor Campus. He is shown at the school on Friday, September 28, 2018. Photo by Dan Janisse /Windsor Star

Jacobs would like med students to become more involved in helping teachers deliver health education, especially in higher risk communities.

“We’ve been doing some of that with school boards, but I’d like to expand it,” Jacobs said.

With a resident psychiatry program in its third year on the Windsor campus, Jacobs also sees opportunities there that most communities don’t have.

“We have the ability at this school to co-ordinate the efforts of people,” Jacobs said.

“We can bring people together because we bring a certain amount of credibility in people’s minds.”

dwaddell@postmedia.com

twitter.com/winstarwaddell

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