Dr David Patrick

What profession might you have pursued, if not medicine?
Music. I play jazz and rhythm and blues, and it might have been fun to focus on that for a while.

Which talent would you most like to have?
I wish I were more handy. I like doing small projects but it takes me a while to get them right.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Sharing a life with Patricia, raising kids, and keeping it real.

Who are your heroes?
Those Battle of Britain Spitfire and Hurricane pilots. They gave us a much brighter future. Oh, and Louis Pasteur.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Satisfying work or play in the absence of negative energy.

What is your greatest fear?
White people playing bongos.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
I concern myself too much with being conciliatory.

What characteristic do your favorite patients share?
Interesting world travel and experiences.

What is your favorite activity?
Spending quality time with my wife, followed by making music.

On what occasion do you lie?
I never lie, or just did. You tell me.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
“That’s right.”

Where would you most like to practise?
I’m here in Vancouver by choice.

What medical advance do you most anticipate?
People finally figuring out that personalized prevention has even more potential than personalized diagnosis and treatment.

Which living physician do you most admire?
Everyone who had the guts to go to West Africa and help out during the Ebola crisis.

What is your most marked characteristic?
I can find the humor in almost anything, and this can really be annoying to some people.

What do you most value in your colleagues?
Compassion.

Who are your favorite writers?
Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Dawkins.

What is your greatest regret?
Attempting to microwave a roast.

What is your motto?
Onward and upward.

How would you like to die?
I’m not sure that should be printed.

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Dr Patrick is an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist, serves as professor and director at UBC’s School of Population and Public Health, and provides service as a medical epidemiologist at the BCCDC. His primary focus is the control and study of emerging infectious diseases with a strong emphasis on the problem of antibiotic resistance at the population level.