M ichael Gordon, MD, MSc, FRCPC, FACP, FRCPEdin; Geriatrician, ethicist, educator, speaker, author. He is one of Canada’s best known geriatric medical specialists. His latest book, Moments that Matter: Cases in Ethical Eldercare follows soon on his memoir Brooklyn Beginnings: A Geriatrician’s Odyssey. Moments that Matter, is a guide for family members to help support them through the very difficult personal and ethical challenges which they often face during the later years of life of their parents and elder loved ones. Brooklyn Beginnings was an exciting departure from his previous books and most recent book which are care and decision-making guides for older patients and their families. The reflections recounted in Brooklyn Beginnings trace Dr. Gordon’s roots and the circuitous path he has taken to reach his position in Canada as a regular contributor and commentator on the joys and problems of the elderly for various TV programs, radio shows, newspapers and magazines. Dr. Gordon publishes for the professional press in the United States and Canada and is frequently interviewed and quoted in the media on issues related to aging. He is currently Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatrics at the University of Toronto, Medical Program Director of Palliative Care and Former Vice President of Medical Services and Head of Geriatrics and Internal Medicine at Toronto's Baycrest Geriatric Health Care System. Dr. Gordon holds Canada's first certificate issue by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in the field of Geriatric Medicine. He was awarded a fellowship in the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 2004.
In addition to his contributions to the field of geriatric medicine, Dr. Gordon has written and spoken widely on the field of medical ethics, especially in relation to the elderly and to end-of-life situations. He is a member of the University of Toronto's Joint Centre for Bioethics and in this capacity is involved in ethics education primarily for health care providers. He writes on ethics for medical publications, with articles on medical ethics that appeared in the Annals of Long-Term Care as well as Canada's Medical Post.
During his years at the University of Toronto he has taught medical students and post-graduate medical trainees. He has served on many national, provincial and health organization's committees and boards including the Canadian National Advisory Council on Aging, the Ontario Drug Benefit Program's Quality and Therapeutics Committee and the College of Physicians of Ontario and the Provincial Coroner's Committee on Geriatrics and Long-Term Care where he continues to serve on both as an active member.
He has contributed to many corporations as they develop programs for the care of the elderly, including most recently Pfizer's More than Medication program. He is the Chair of the advisory committee to the EnCircle® Program at Canada's Bank of Montreal-Harris Private Bank as well as a member of the advisory board of the EnCircle® program at Harris Private Bank in the United States.
Parenting your Parents, which he co-authored with Bart Mindszenthy, is his prior book to Brooklyn Beginnings. It deals with the joys, trials and tribulations of aging. It was published by Dundurn Press in the spring of 2002, has had a second Canadian edition published in February 2005 The American edition was published in the fall of 2006.
He is currently undertaking the creation of a handbook on ethical issues in end of life dementia care.
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