A new future for “The Doctor”: How a painting united two generations of U of T MD students

A framed print gifted to Nancy Tozer (MD ’78) when she was a University of Toronto medical student has found new life with current U of T MD learner Greg Dance, bridging generations through a shared appreciation of compassionate care.

The story begins in 1978, as Tozer was nearing the end of her four-year MD training at U of T’s Faculty of Medicine (now the Temerty Faculty of Medicine). Assigned to a surgical rotation, she met a patient in his mid-70s undergoing treatment for colon cancer. When surgery revealed the tumour could not be removed, the two began speaking candidly about his future and the limits of medicine.

“We talked about the unfairness in life,” Tozer recalled, describing conversations that went far beyond routine clinical care. The patient, she said, valued being treated “like a human being,” not just a case.

The relationship didn’t end there — after he was released, the patient invited Tozer and her husband to visit him at his home. Near the end of their visit, he gave her a gift: a framed black-and-white print of The Doctor, a well-known painting by 19th century British artist Sir Luke Fildes depicting a physician keeping vigil over a sick child. He told her his own family doctor had displayed it in his office and believed Tozer should have a copy as well.

After she completed her medical training, Tozer opened a family practice in Pointe-Claire, Quebec in 1980 and hung the print across from her desk. It became a daily reminder of what it means to care for patients until her retirement in 2018.

Recently, Tozer began searching for someone who would value the art and its subject matter as she had.

A general communication from Temerty Medicine prompted her to respond and inquire about finding a new home for the beloved print, setting in motion an unexpected collaboration. While space constraints prevented U of T from accepting it and similar in-kind donations, the request was taken up by the Medical Students’ Society, which organized a contest advertised through a student Facebook group.

Students were invited to submit short reflections explaining why the image and its story resonated with them. Three finalists were shortlisted, and Tozer made the final choice.

That recipient was Greg Dance, a second-year MD student at U of T’s Mississauga campus.

A legacy passed forward

Dance was immediately drawn to the story behind the painting.

“I remember thinking, wow, this is really cool — I’d love to be a part of that,” he said.

His submission reflected his own path into medicine. Before joining the U of T MD Program, Dance studied neuroscience and mental health at Carleton University where he also worked part-time as a first responder.

While there were many memorable experiences over his four years on the job, he recalls one that still resonates. It was during an overnight shift, when he was called by the university’s special constables to respond to someone loitering in a school parking lot. When Dance arrived, the constables suggested he may want to stay distanced out of concern for his safety, but Dance felt he could help just by talking with the individual.

In their conversation, Dance learned the person was having difficulty managing schizophrenia symptoms and had recently become unhoused, and was just looking for a warm place to spend the night.

“Sometimes they just want to know you’re on their team,” he says.

Dance notes his experience in some ways mirrors Tozer’s interaction with her dying patient, in that they were both young students compelled to have difficult conversations with patients in need.

He could also see this same care and concern reflected in the expression on the doctor’s face in the painting.

Together, they represent to Dance what it means to be a good physician.

“It’s not just about being good at the medicine — it’s about connecting with patients.”

Dance plans to pursue psychiatry after graduating from the MD Program. In the meantime, he will keep the artwork carefully stored, but vows to display it prominently in his future practice — a continuation of the tradition begun by the patient who first gifted it to Tozer.

Nearly 50 years after it first changed hands, The Doctor continues to tell a story — not only about illness and uncertainty, but about the enduring human connection at the heart of medicine.