Remembering Dr. Jim Ruderman

It is with immense sadness that we share with you the news that Dr. Jim Ruderman passed away peacefully on January 29th, surrounded by his loving family.

Dr. Ruderman was not only one the most highly respected physicians and healthcare leaders in this country, he was also a much loved friend and cherished colleague to those who had the privilege to work with him, including the staff of our academic family health team. We had the privilege of Jim’s leadership from 1998-2006 when he was our Chief of the Division of Family Medicine at Sunnybrook. Jim’s calm, knowledgeable, wise leadership was inspirational and he will be fondly remembered by all of us who worked with him.

Jim graduated from the University of Toronto in the Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) in 1977 and soon after established a community-based practice. Gradually, Jim became more involved in academic family medicine, joining the Department of Family and Community Medicine at UofT in 1979 and the Family Practice Teaching Unit at Women’s College Hospital (WCH), where he continued to practice for the duration of his career.

He was Chief of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at WCH from 1992 until 2014, as well as Chief of Staff from 2006 to 2013. Jim was also the Chief of Family Medicine at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre from 1998 to 2006 and Chief of Medical Staff there. During his tenure at Sunnybrook, Jim was awarded the Canadian Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) Reg L. Perkin’s Family Physician of the Year Award (2005). While at WCH, he established the Academic Family Health Team and founded the Frigon-Blau Chair in Family Practice Research.

His achievements and contributions to family medicine are impossible to list in their entirety here. Throughout his career, Jim was an outstanding leader, a published researcher and a highly respected teacher. He had a wide variety of clinical interests, including care of the elderly, rehabilitation medicine and obstetrics. He was the recipient of numerous distinguished awards, including the Excellence in Mentorship Award from DFCM (2013), the Award of Excellence from the Ontario College of Family Physicians (2013), and the Excellence in Leadership Award from DFCM (2014). In his honour, WCH established the Jim Ruderman Lecture on Leadership and Innovation, the first of which will be delivered in June of this year. In 2014, the CFPC established the Jim Ruderman Academic Family Medicine Leadership Award.

Jim provided mentorship to countless medical students, residents, faculty and staff. His impact on family medicine and those who practice it will not be forgotten — he will be greatly missed.