Dr. Ziter and his wife
For Dr. Dale Ziter, choosing a career was easier than most. Growing up, he watched his father run a busy family practice and garner a lot of respect in the community and from his patients. Near the end of high school, Dr. Ziter realized that he too wanted to be a family physician, and his vision never changed despite being introduced to other medical specialties, "I loved every aspect of training and family medicine was the right fit.”
For the past 26 years, Dr. Ziter has been practicing in Windsor after beginning his career in Minden, Ontario. "It was my father and brother who convinced me to return to Windsor to join their practice,” he explains. In addition to his daily appointments, Dr. Ziter covers the FHO’s walk-in clinic and actively cares for some of his patients who enter the hospital. Additionally, he is responsible for administering the family medicine program for Schulich’s Windsor campus as Academic Director for Postgraduate Education.
For Ziter, the best part of his job is, "looking after the patients that [he has] known for 26 years, constantly trying to deliver the best care for the people who trust [him] the most.” The real satisfaction comes, however, from demonstrating the solid physician-patient relationship to family medicine students and residents that he supervises. "That is a very enjoyable part of teaching, demonstrating the bond and trust that exists between doctor and patient, and the job satisfaction that it brings,” he enthuses. His students can clearly see his passion for teaching, as he is this year’s recipient of the Dr. Ian McWhinney Teacher of the Year Award, something he is very proud of. The receiver of this award is selected by residents based on excellence in teaching, dedication to family medicine education and their caring and nurturing attitude toward residents.
Ziter began teaching when medical students who grew up in Windsor asked to spend some time in his office as part of their clinical training. After supervising in this manner for a few years, he was approached by the University of Western Ontario to see if he wanted to teach on a more regular basis and he jumped at the chance. Ziter says that he models his teaching philosophy after a quote from Albert Einstein, "I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” While he believes in seizing "teachable moments,” what’s more important to him is being a mentor and role model for hard work, listening carefully to patients, not taking shortcuts and keeping up to date. "Hopefully students will do as I do, not necessarily do as I say,” he reasons.
In his spare time, Dr. Ziter enjoys spending time with his family; his wife of 26 years, their three grown children and of course, the family dog. An avid athlete, Ziter plays in regular basketball, softball and hockey leagues, goes hiking and takes in big-league sporting events across the river in Detroit. He also has a quiet place in cottage country, and travels south of the border with his family when the Windsor winter becomes too fierce.
When asked what the most important lesson he imparts on his students is, Dr. Ziter emphasized the importance of working hard while maintaining a balance between one’s professional and personal lives, "It is an honour and a privilege to work as a family physician and there can be tremendous job satisfaction if you work hard, listen to people and bring them the best of your ability each day while at the same time looking after yourself and your family.”