Sweetening the deal
Dr. Larry Jacobs, academic director of undergraduate medical education with the Windsor Program, is known among students as the cookie guy. And it’s not just because he has a sweet tooth.
Dr. Jacobs organizes special treat days each week for the medical students on his internal medicine rotation.
“I do have a bad reputation for having an addiction to junk food,” he explained. “When I’m on service, every Tuesday is warm cookie day and Thursday is ice cream day. It’s for morale, that’s how I look at it.”
The treats are just one way he maintains a positive working environment. “It’s also being there to show them why I love what I do and what makes me so happy about this type of medicine,” he said.
Dr. Jacobs completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Windsor in biology and psychology and attended medical school at Wayne State University in Detroit. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Toronto. Originally from Leamington, the opportunity to take on training responsibilities with students was a big draw to come back to the Windsor region.
He says his involvement with the Windsor Program is a rewarding and exciting experience.
“There’s nothing more exciting than helping someone form the way they think about a problem,” he said. “It’s about the teaching around an undifferentiated patient, who’s coming in without labels and no one’s diagnosed or labelled them.”
Outside of work, Dr. Jacobs enjoys spending time with his family and cooking. “If I wasn’t in medicine I’d probably be a chef,” he said. “I love to experiment.”
And aside from planning for an overhaul to the weekly treat schedule – “I’m trying to combine cookie and ice cream day,” he laughed. “It’s coming.” – Dr. Jacobs is perfectly happy right where he is.
“I could not imagine a better gig than the one I have. It’s a lot of fun.”
