A new gift in support of McGill’s Osler Head Librarian will protect Sir William Osler’s legacy of humanism and encourage future doctors to embrace a patient-centered approach

Have you ever consulted a doctor who is intensely focused on the particulars of your illness, or the specific body part that’s in pain, but notices nothing else about you?

 

This kind of experience may seem normal in today’s overloaded healthcare systems, but it is precisely the type of detached care that “Father of Modern Medicine” Sir William Osler, MDCM 1872, wanted to avoid.

 

Osler’s views on the primacy of the patient-physician relationship revolutionized medical education at the turn of the 20th century. In an era when students could complete their medical training without ever speaking to a patient, he introduced bedside teaching in hospital wards and created the first residency program.

 

“Osler used to say that doctors should ‘care more particularly for the individual patient than for the special features of the disease.’ He felt it was really important to understand the person,” explains Californian physician and entrepreneur Dr. Mario Molina, who is a past president of the American Osler Society.

 

A person holding an award and standing at a podium.
Molina received the 2024 Friend of the Year Award from the Friends of the Libraries, a volunteer organization at McGill.

An avid book collector throughout his life, Osler bequeathed 8,000 medical volumes to his alma mater, McGill University, which formed the basis of the Osler Library of the History of Medicine. That Library now houses over 100,000 rare books, manuscripts, artifacts and other materials, and is considered one of the top medical historical collections in North America, attracting researchers and visitors from all over the world.

 

In an effort to preserve Osler’s humanistic approach to medicine, Molina recently made a gift of $2 million to the Osler Library; the donation will help create an endowment to provide permanent funding for the Osler Head Librarian.

 

“It’s really important that we preserve the Osler Library and that we have the right staff to facilitate its use,” says Molina, who sits on the Library’s Board of Curators.

 

Thanks to Molina’s donation and support from other donors, the Osler Library is now within striking distance of the $4-million total needed to fully fund the Head Librarian position, with about $600,000 left to raise as of December 2024.

 

The role of the humanities in medical training

Molina first heard about Osler from his father, who often quoted the Canadian medical pioneer’s aphorisms – things like, “Listen to the patient; he is telling you the diagnosis.”

 

He later developed a fascination with Osler and the history of medicine during his internship and residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital, an institution that Osler helped found.

 

A person sitting at a desk with a pile of books.
Osler working on his landmark medical textbook, The Principles and Practice of Medicine, at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1891.

For Molina, one of Osler’s most meaningful contributions was his love of the humanities and his belief that subjects like history, art and literature were essential elements of medical education and practice.

 

“At the end of 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, many of our important scholars were polymaths – they were really interested in all kinds of disciplines. And Osler was part of the last generation of that type of scholar,” explains Guylaine Beaudry, McGill’s Trenholme Dean of Libraries.

 

“Every night before he would go to bed, he would read something non-medical for half an hour,” says Molina, adding that Osler compiled lists of classics (including the Bible and the works of Shakespeare) that he believed all doctors should read.

 

Because young medical students “haven’t yet experienced a lot of life,” it can be difficult for them to fully understand what their patients are going through, says Molina. “But one of the ways you can experience a lot of life is through the humanities: reading novels, reading poetry, and getting a different perspective.”

 

“Without this, doctors become more one dimensional. They become more like technicians – cut here, insert needle there – and they lose track of the whole patient.”

 

Molina believes that as medicine becomes increasingly technical, Osler serves as an important reminder about the heart of his profession. Far from old-fashioned, Osler’s ideas have since been backed by numerous studies showing that having a good rapport with your doctor can improve health outcomes.

 

A close-up of a library,
Molina’s favourite spot at the Osler Library is the niche at the back of the Osler Room (pictured), which serves as a resting place for the ashes of Sir William Osler and his wife Lady Osler.

Bringing medical history to life

McGill’s Osler Library aims to preserve this connection between medicine and the humanities and ensure that medical students understand the history of their profession.

 

As Beaudry explains, the Osler Head Librarian is responsible for managing and protecting a collection that includes many priceless pieces of medical history.

 

An old book with a picture of a person and a ship.
Osler’s copy of Francis Bacon’s Of the advancement and proficience of learning (1640) is one of many rare books housed at the Osler Library.

In keeping with Osler’s wishes, the Osler Head Librarian position has always been staffed by an accomplished scholar in the history of medicine who can bring the Library’s collection to life for students and the public.

 

“Students have tons of questions, and there are thousands of different ways to answer them,” says Beaudry. “Through interactions and discussions with the Librarian, students may be inspired to take one route or another and explore different pathways.”

 

“For me, that’s what the Osler Library is: an extraordinary collection, a network of people, and a space with very rich programming,” says Beaudry.

 

In addition to supporting the vital work of the Head Librarian, Molina’s gift will help free up funds to create a second librarian position at the Osler Library. “This will help to bring even more moments of wonder, experiential learning, and interactions with students,” says Beaudry.

 

Beaudry is profoundly grateful for the Osler Library’s passionate community of supporters. To Molina and all those who choose to give to this cause, she says: “Thank you for believing in the power of books – how books can transform and help us understand each other and understand the world.”