After a brief end of the Academic Year and start of the next Academic Year hiatus, we’re excited to start back with our Resident and Faculty Spotlights. This week we’re shining the light on Dr. Joseph Westgeest, a recently graduated Enhanced Skills resident. Keep reading to learn more about Dr. Westgeest.
Dr. Joseph Westgeest with his wife and son in front of a blossoming cherry blossom tree.
Favourite part about your residency experience so far:
- First: Getting to know what nurses actually do on home care visits. For an order that I have so frequently requested, I am ashamed to admit how little I knew about the impressive scope of their work and skill prior to joining the home hospice consult service for the past two weeks. A close second: McDonald’s coffee (see below).
Favourite song:
- Gotta Serve Somebody by Bob Dylan. It’s an apt theme in our field.
Favourite past-time activity:
- Anything with moving parts. I have been fascinated by everything to do with aviation since I was old enough to assemble a (toy) balsa wood plane.
Favourite restaurant in your community:
- McDonald’s. Honestly. I love their coffee, and most road trips of mine have started with an Egg McMuffin, so I guess there is the nostalgia factor. Now that I have a child, though, their record on marketing to kids does leave a bit of a bitter taste in the mouth, so to speak. Unlike their coffee.
A book or article you would recommend:
- I’m reading The Cost of These Dreams: Sports Stories and Other Serious Business. It has little to do with sports, and much more about the characters behind the plays.
Who is someone who inspires you?
- My wife. She is the most insanely hard-working, determined, and thoughtful girl I know.
What are you creating in the world right now?
- Memories with my family.
What are you most looking forward to in your career ahead?
- Continuing to learn from my patients, many of whom could write the book on equanimity.