About Dr. Tom F. Godwin, MD, FRCP (C)

After graduating from medical school in 1961, Tom Godwin trained at the Toronto General Hospital just as the first cardiac monitoring unit in the world had been set up. Perfect timing for the future cardiologist who also witnessed the development of pacemakers, coronary bypass surgery, angioplasty with coronary artery stenting and tremendous improvements in open heart surgery.

Dr. Godwin was also there to see the initiation of government run public medicine and the demise of private medicine. He also saw the declining role of general practitioners in hospital and the collapse of the informal exchange of ideas between the various specialties in the hospital coffee shops. During his career, he witnessed first hand the closing of large mental hospitals and the sad results that ensued.

By 1976, while at work in British Columbia's Royal Columbian Hospital, Dr. Godwin started taking notes about his work and the social climate at the time, thinking that this might one day make for an interesting and informative book. When he graduated, abortion was illegal in Canada, homosexuality was considered a crime by the vast majority, end of life issues were seldom discussed and the problems with the department of Indians and Northern Affairs were continuing to grow.

In his newly published book, "A Doctor's Notes: taken from both sides of the bed sheets", (Hancock House Publishers, 2009), he's tackled some of these issues and brought other pressing topics to the forefront for discussion including what he sees as the imminent collapse of Canada's health care system. And he speaks from both sides of the sheets as he calls it as a doctor for over three decades and as a patient initially requiring heavy chemotherapy. Dr. Godwin is now retired and lives in British Columbia with his wife Elaine and their 200 pound old English mastiff, Nubi.