COUNCIL AWARD
Dr. Stephenson and clinic staff see themselves as
facilitators and gatekeepers to the many resources that
can aid in their patients’ recovery. So, in addition to
offering primary health care, they spend much of their
time helping patients through everyday challenges
and advocating on their behalf to ensure their patients
receive much-needed services.
Margaret Brockett, former executive director of the
Canadian Occupational Therapists Association and the
clinic’s current associate director, says, “Dr. Stephenson
is an outstanding physician and leader [with] a passion
for refugee medicine. He saw an unmet need among
refugee newcomers and set out to meet that need. He
has garnered respect from patients, colleagues and the
wider community, and Kitchener-Waterloo is consid-
ered a showpiece in the welcome given the recent influx
of refugees.” lecture by a representative from the Canadian Centre
for Victims of Torture. The speaker had himself ex-
perienced torture and spoke of the impact physicians
had on his recovery by taking a holistic, supportive
approach to his circumstances. His lecture showed me
that, as a physician, you could walk with individuals
who had been through this horror and help bring a
sense of peace in their recovery.
We recently spoke to Dr. Stephenson about his
work: How did your medical training prepare you for
practising ‘refugee health care’?
I did my medical degree at Queen’s. When it came time
to choose my residency program, I wanted something
that had a broader impact in terms of my ability to
make change. I ended up choosing McGill because they
had a family medicine site with a refugee clinic. I did
an elective there but found myself at the refugee clinic
whenever I had free time. Going to the clinic helped me
achieve my residency goals, but it also allowed me to
further explore my interest in refugee health and under-
stand how it is different from other types of care.
When did you first become interested in refugee
issues?
I grew up in Ottawa, and in the 90s, when I was in
high school, the first wave of Somali refugees arrived.
Two of those refugees became my biology lab partners.
I remember being very curious about what led them
to Canada and for the first time, I realized there were
people in our community who didn’t share the same
experiences my friends and I took for granted, and that
the world is a far bigger place than I’d imagined.
Did you always intend to practise refugee health?
Not at first. But there were a couple of events during
medical school that led me to it. I used to travel a lot
during the summer breaks, and one year I worked in
a hospital in Rwanda. Working in Rwanda was an eye
opening experience that helped me understand how
differently medicine is practised around the world when
you don’t have the same access to the same care and
resources we have in Canada.
The other pivotal experience came when I attended a
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DIALOGUE ISSUE 3, 2017
Apart from providing necessary medical care,
why is your work in the clinic so important?
The people we serve have complex issues. While on the
face of it, some of those issues – like housing and food
– may not appear to be medical, they are issues that are
intertwined with their health. And finding creative ways
to help them meet their diverse challenges gives them a
better chance to be physically and emotionally well.
Tell us about your family
I met my wife, Allison, while studying in Montreal.
She is a professor in clinical psychology with a focus on
eating disorders. We both share a desire to help margin-
alized parts of our community that have distinct health
and mental needs. And we have two amazing kids:
Catherine is three and Kieran is nine months old. After
the traumas I hear about at the clinic, I am grateful
every day that I can raise them in Canada in peace and
stability.
MD