Dr. Elena Mitevska: Compassion, Connection and Care Beyond the Textbook
For Dr. Elena Mitevska, medicine has always been about service. She was drawn to the profession because she wanted a career focused on helping others and pediatrics quickly stood out as the right fit. In her field, she says, she can care not only for patients but for entire families, ensuring every recommendation is both patient-centred and family-centred while also grounded in social context.
That breadth is part of what makes pediatrics so meaningful to her. The specialty offers remarkable diversity, from resuscitating newborns only seconds or minutes old to supporting adolescents managing chronic illness or mental health challenges as they move toward adulthood. It also provides a wide range of career paths, from subspecialty practice to intensive care and outpatient medicine. For Dr. Mitevska, that variety keeps the work both challenging and deeply rewarding.
Alberta has long felt like home. Her family immigrated to the province when she was in elementary school and she grew up here, eventually attending medical school at the University of Calgary. The sense of community she experienced both within and outside medicine shaped her decision to stay. She wanted to give back to the same community that had shaped her.
Her medical training began during an especially difficult time. Starting medical school at the height of the pandemic meant pre-clerkship learning happened virtually and in isolation, far from the experience she and her classmates had imagined. Still, she reflects on that period with gratitude. Supportive teachers, adaptable mentors and dedicated classmates helped create meaningful connections despite the circumstances. Their collective effort ensured students built strong foundations of knowledge that carried forward into clerkship and residency.
The moments that stand out most in her training are not dramatic procedures or rare diagnoses, but moments of human connection. She recalls sitting with a patient and family in the pediatric intensive care unit while explaining a new chronic illness diagnosis. There was nothing she could say to change the reality of the news. What mattered most was simply being present. Supporting families during life-altering moments, she says, is a profound privilege, and being allowed into those experiences is something she never takes for granted.
Those experiences shaped her approach to medicine and to teaching. She remembers senior residents and staff who prioritized education even on the busiest services, carving out time for teaching despite clinical demands. Now, as a senior resident herself, she tries to do the same. She looks for teachable moments throughout the day, tailors teaching to each learner’s goals and stage of training, and works to create environments where learners feel safe and supported. Hearing that junior trainees felt their learning was prioritized, she says, is one of the accomplishments she is most proud of so far.
She believes resident physicians play an essential role in Alberta’s healthcare system. From managing inpatient wards day and night to caring for acutely ill patients and supporting those with chronic conditions, residents contribute a tremendous amount of care while working long hours and navigating complex demands. What stands out to her most is not just the volume of work they do, but how deeply they care about their patients and the system as a whole.
Her message to future physicians reflects the values that guide her practice today: always remember that patients are people first. Clinical decisions, she emphasizes, must meet patients and families where they are, taking into account their real-life circumstances. Perfect textbook care is not always possible, and that is okay. A physician’s role goes beyond memorizing guidelines or algorithms. It requires understanding each person’s lived reality and working with them toward shared goals.
Even on the busiest days, she offers one simple reminder: pause before entering a patient’s room and think about the person you are about to meet. That moment of intention can shape everything that follows.
