Physicians Making an Impact: Meet Dr. Jessica Thom

On the surface, it would seem that Dr. Jessica Thom found her path to medicine in a typical way, by having an interest in and an aptitude for science. But her desire to become a physician was also borne of another, more unexpected, passion: mystery novels. Growing up, Dr. Thom devoured every mystery book she could find, from Agatha Christie to Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew, and (her favourite) Encyclopedia Brown. It was this natural curiosity that led Dr. Thom to dedicate her career to a future in healthcare, and above all, helping people.

Dr. Thom originally wanted to be an emergency physician, but she soon found that something was missing: continuity in care. It was this desire to follow her patients’ journeys, and to hear their stories, that finally drew her to the internal medicine subspecialty. “I knew I needed to participate in healthcare that was more patient-facing,” she recalls. “It’s really interesting to get to know a person and understand what it took for them to get to where they are now. Ultimately, what it came down to was enjoying that one-on-one, face-to-face interaction that allows you to see what your work can do to help somebody.”

Internal medicine, as it turned out, was the perfect complement to Dr. Thom’s inquisitive nature. As an internist, she finds that her most memorable cases are much like cold cases: ones that start with a straightforward question, but lead to an array of answers, both novel and expected. It just takes a new set of eyes, or a different perspective, to finally crack it. “Internal medicine is exactly that: detective work,” Dr. Thom says. “It allows me to be involved with and care for people, and because it’s such a broad specialty, it requires a lot of time to talk to the patient, learn their full history, conduct investigations, look for clues – to me, it’s like solving a mystery.”

Fast forward to a few years later, when Dr. Thom became the Division Lead for the General Internal Medicine group at Brampton Civic Hospital. She witnessed the growing pressures placed on physicians in Ontario and more broadly in Canada, with the volume, complexity, and acuity of cases increasing every day. As a member of the William Osler Health System, Dr. Thom also cultivated an in-depth understanding of the hospital infrastructure in Brampton and Etobicoke, as well as the many benefits its interdisciplinary care systems offer both patients and physicians. When TMU’s School of Medicine came along, Dr. Thom saw a valuable opportunity to continue working in clinical medicine while also giving back to the medical community at large as a teacher and a mentor. More importantly, it represented a welcome return to her first calling as a physician, and her long standing dedication to helping people.

“Mentorship and teaching have always been interests of mine, even when I first graduated,” Dr. Thom recalls. “When the time came that TMU was starting a new medical school, it was an opportunity for me to get more heavily involved in an aspect of my career that I hadn’t been able to before. I could help design the best program we can right from the get-go to attract future residents.”

For Dr. Thom, it’s a story that has come full circle, the perfect confluence of all her interests in pedagogy and practice. And while she’s since traded her mystery books for autobiographies, as Program Director of the TMU School of Medicine’s General Internal Medicine program, Dr. Thom continues to apply her enduring curiosity as a devoted mentor. She looks forward to fostering the next generation of TMU’s internal medicine students and residents and following their journeys as they develop their confidence and potential. A firm believer in the motto, ‘It’s not a race, it’s a marathon,’ Dr. Thom remains focused on charting a clearer path forward for future physicians to not only address the complexities facing them in the short-term, but also thrive in rewarding careers in the long-term.

 “It’s an exciting opportunity to build a school that sees things in a different way, right from its very foundations,” says Dr. Thom.  “My hope for the school is that it will be able to develop physicians who will continue to work in our communities and improve the quality of care for people who need it most.”