2008 Alumnus of Distinction Award – Dr. Lanice Jones

Drs. Jones and MannerfeldtFor Dr. Lanice Jones (’85), a day at work in the Calgary Refugee Health Clinic involves things you might expect – like screening new arrivals for tropical diseases. But it also involves many things that go well beyond what any of us expect from our family doctor.
“Last year she went to the top at City Hall when one of her patients was hit by a city transit bus and he needed compensation to replace his only mode of transportation – a bicycle,” says Dr. Jaelene Mannerfeldt, who nominated Jones for the 2008 Faculty of Medicine Alumnus of Distinction Award. In fact, when it comes to making the case for better health care for refugees, Jones has been known to write, phone and talk to just about anyone who will listen.
It’s that lifelong commitment to advocating for marginalized and vulnerable populations that was recognized when Jones was presented with the Alumnus of Distinction award on October 3. This year’s focus of the annual award was to recognize alumni who have demonstrated distinguished community or volunteer service at home or abroad, which has made a difference to the well being of others.
For Jones, who started her career as a nurse and went back to study medicine at age 27, family medicine has always meant looking beyond the four walls of her practice to the larger global community. From volunteering in Nepal on a leprosy mission to setting up a Youth Clinic and a Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Response Team as a family physician in Duncan, B.C., Jones ensures that no one is left behind in any community that she is part of. That philosophy is one she learned by example.
“I grew up watching my parents volunteering – it was just part of life at my house to do what needed to be done in your community,” says Dr. Jones. “I think because of that I tend to see solutions rather than problems.”
Part of finding those solutions has been to continually upgrade her skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the community she is serving. In 2004, she travelled to Lima, Peru to attend the Gorgas Course in Clinical Tropical Medicine. She also recently spent time refreshing her obstetrical skills to ensure prenatal patients at the Refugee Clinic would have a doctor to deliver their babies.
Her dedication to helping new immigrants also extends to those in her own profession. She finds time to volunteer with the Alberta International Medical Graduate Association to mentor and coach physicians from other countries so they can have the opportunity to practice in Alberta.
“She is simply an amazing physician,” says Dr. Mannerfeldt. “She works from a philosophy of generosity and that means she will help with whatever crosses her office and life’s doors. To me, she embodies what it means to be a physician – a compassionate teacher of patients and colleagues.”


Click here to read about Dr. Les Cunning, winner of the 2007 Faculty of Medicine Alumnus of Distinction Award.