We are deeply saddened to announce the peaceful passing of Dr. Lynne Anne Fulton at midnight on February 22, 2017.
Figure 1 Lynne’s Surprise Trauma Team Leader Retirement Party (2009). Foreground (left to right): Dr. Barry McLellan and Dr. Lynne Fulton. Background (left to right): Virginia Cosby, Paul Sinclair, Teresa Korogyi, Graham Caruana, Wendy Chomsky, and Dr. Lorraine Tremblay.
Dr. Fulton was a pillar and pioneer of emergency medicine and acute trauma care in Ontario, Canada. She taught, mentored, and impacted all of us. She was an inspiration for female physicians – being the first female physician to spearhead leadership and the specialties of emergency medicine and trauma.
Dr. Fulton’s unique dedication and commitment to Sunnybrook was astounding. She began her Sunnybrook career in 1980 and retired in 2013. She was part of the first cohort of the Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada (FRCPC) Canadian physicians, obtaining her degree in 1984. She was an emergency physician, base hospital physician and trauma team leader with expertise in medico-legal issues and geriatrics. For 33 years, Dr. Fulton fulfilled many leadership roles nationally and locally. She was part of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) executive committee, Canadian Trauma Society, and was the editor of CAEP Communique and Journal of Pre-Hospital Care. At Sunnybrook Hospital, she served as the Finance Manager, Acting Sunnybrook Department Head, and part of the Sunnybrook Hospital University of Toronto Clinic (SHUTC) Board of Directors. Not only did she shape Sunnybrook emergency services through the planning, finance, education, and executive committees, but also she was instrumental with the amalgamation between Sunnybrook and Women’s College Hospital. She was a member of numerous university and national committees: CAEP, Trauma, Prehospital Care, and the Division of Emergency Medicine. She dedicated 28 years as a trauma team leader, resuscitated 1,830 patients, and is said to hold the all-time record for career composite Injury Severity Scores!
It is safe to say that Dr. Fulton was a teacher of hundreds of emergency physicians of many generations. She gave journal clubs to nurses, taught advanced trauma life support (ATLS) courses, and gave numerous rounds to residents and faculty. She was a personal mentor to many and affected others through those who became teachers themselves. Her mentees’ achievements are a testament of her conscientious support and encouragement: Drs. Barry McLellan, Dave Williams, Andy McCallum, and multiple other FRCPC graduates (who subsequently became Sunnybrook emergency physicians and international emergency medicine leaders). Besides Dr. Fulton’s clinical knowledge and acumen, she had all of the essential “soft skills” of a compassionate physician and teacher. She truly cared about her students and residents, acting as social convener, therapist, and friend. Dr. Fulton’s personal philosophy was that of dedication and clinical excellence.
At Sunnybrook, we most remember Dr. Fulton for her relationship with everyone – colleagues, nurses, clerical staff, social workers, porters, and technologists. She knew everybody’s names and made them feel like integral parts of the team. Her dedication and support of her colleagues were admirable – routinely working holidays and weekends whilst sacrificing her own personal interests for the hospital and our patients.
Lynne, you will always remain in our hearts, and we will all miss you.
“What a great mentor she was. I remember when I was a resident, telling her that I would have to have my dog put down and was working the next day with her. Being a dog-lover herself, she forbade me from coming to work that day, one of only 3 days I have missed work in over 30 years.”
“A true legend, pioneer, and exemplary role model. I am lucky to have been her colleague.”
“I am sad to learn of Lynne’s death. She was one of my original mentors. I can still remember my first night shift with Dr. Fulton; the charge nurse took me aside and explained that her ‘bark was worse than her bite.’ And she was right. Lynne had a big heart. And she cared deeply for her patients and her colleagues. Lynne taught me a great deal about emergency medicine and trauma; she taught me more about medicine and looking after people.”
“I heard from countless people about her splendid nature and committed friendship. She was a pioneer who added so much and asked for so little.”
“I will never forget the time that Lynne helped me change a patient who was soaked in urine one night shift in the old department. I could see the compassion she had for this patient in her eyes. Just her, the patient, and I behind the closed curtain. Perhaps not a side that she always showed so openly, but I am glad that I had a chance to see it, and it is one of my fond memories of Lynne.”
“My memories of Lynne will always be those of a strong woman with a sense of humour, a cutting tongue, someone who scared the hell out of me as a med student and then a doctor I learned to respect and learn from. She’s a friend I have many fond memories of, and her death saddens me immensely, much more than I would have imagined.”
“A pioneer who led the way for so many of us.”
“I always knew when I was working with Lynne as a resident, because the shift would start with a startle when I heard her gruff voice yelling “SCHULL!!” from somewhere behind me when I first got to the ED. I was pretty sure she knew I had a given name, and that she probably knew what it was, but I also knew she addressed pretty much all the residents by their surnames alone. The other thing I’ll always remember about Lynne was her dedication to her patients. Once I became staff, I recall how when she handed over to me on night shifts, she would call me in the ED about 30 minutes or so after leaving, and then want to chat about the patients she had seen, the ones still in the ED. I knew how much her patients and her friends and colleagues meant to her, so even though it was always busy, I liked to listen and talk to her on those calls….She was definitely one of a kind, in all the best ways.”
“She was a lovely human being. I worked with her as a resident and staff and also cared for her father, the former Surgeon in Chief at TEGH. Lynne certainly made an impression on my heart, mind, and soul for many of the reasons you indicated.”
“I absolutely adored Lynne, and to me, her name floods back so many memories surrounding residency and my years as staff there.”
