Perseverance and a Giving Heart: The Margaret Cotton Memorial Bursary

The Margaret Cotton Memorial Bursary was established by Dr. David Cotton, medical practitioner and professor emeritus of the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine. Inspiration for the bursary came from a place of compassion for both students and patients. It aims to support aspiring students who face financial challenges while pursuing medical education.

“My Dad wanted this bursary to help promising medical students who wouldn't normally apply without financial assistance. He knew how hard it is to continue studies while supporting yourself,” said Geoff Cotton.

When Dr. David Cotton was eighteen, he was the main support for his mother, Margaret Cotton, as she battled cancer before she ultimately passed away in 1961 at the age of 50 years.

“He was by her bedside. He watched her last breaths as she slipped away,” said Cotton. “In one of his letters, he admitted that was a driving point of his life. He made a promise to her just before she lapsed into a coma that ‘although I was helpless to alter the course of her illness, I would harness all of my energies to prevent death from taking away others at such an early age.’”

Having grown up in the mill town of Fort Francis, Ontario, Dr. Cotton moved to Winnipeg to pursue medical education at the University of Manitoba.

Throughout his schooling, he combatted a lack of finances, doing what he could to pay for his education. He rented in a bedroom house in a boarding house, a hot plate and a shared bathroom, and often skipped meals when his money ran out.

Elaborating on his father’s decision to study medicine despite a lack of support from his family, Cotton shared, “He said a life of mediocrity was offered, but he refused it and went out on his own. He was one of only three students in his high school graduating class to pursue a university education.”

After receiving his medical degree, Dr. Cotton pursued his interest in research and respiratory medicine in Montreal. After conducting a year of cardiac research, he completed his internship at the Montreal General Hospital before doing his residency in both internal and respiratory medicine at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

Dr. Cotton then spent three years as a Medical Research Council of Canada Scholar at the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of California in San Francisco.

Eventually, Dr. Cotton’s career as a physician brought him to Saskatchewan in 1976 to work at the USask College of Medicine. During his tenure, he achieved the rank of full professor and head of the Department of Respiratory Medicine before later becoming the academic head of the Department of Internal Medicine and a professor emeritus.

Among his many achievements and contributions to health care in Saskatchewan, Dr. Cotton is accredited with helping to develop a medical and respiratory intensive care unit in 1977. This unit became the predecessor of the Royal University Hospital’s critical care unit. Another major contribution came in the form of his assistance in building the overnight sleep lab at the Royal University and City Hospitals.

One of Dr. Cotton’s proudest achievements was his role in founding the Canadian Respiratory Journal. In its premier issue published in the spring of 1994, Dr. Yvon Cormier wrote on his President’s Page: “Special recognition for his contribution to the founding of the Canadian Respiratory Journal must be given to my predecessor, Dr. David Cotton, president of the Canadian Thoracic Society in 1992-93. His conviction for the need of this journal, his continuous drive and his abilities to lead others in this venture are responsible for the realization of this step forward in Canadian respiratory research.”

Dr. Cotton’s dedication to medical research, practice and care for patients led him to be a trusted expert in fields such as the treatment of cystic fibrosis and tuberculosis. He participated in leading research teams, and much of his work contributed to the practice of respiratory and internal medicine within Saskatchewan and around the world today.

Despite his interest and education in research, his primary focus was always on patient care. “His litmus test was ‘if the patient before me now was my own mother, what course of action would I recommend?’” said Cotton.

When asked if his father had any advice for students in medicine, Cotton referenced another letter his father wrote.

“As MDs, we're not supposed to describe the details of patient encounters, but one knows when the actions you take make all the difference…The rewards are unforgettable and life changing. A patient successfully resuscitated, the many ventilated in intensive care for respiratory failure who survive, identifying new treatments for respiratory failure and altering the standard of care throughout the world.”

“My recurring advice to my students was proper treatment first and foremost requires proper diagnosis. Spend time on the details of the history and physical so you are confident there are no missed diagnoses. You can't treat what you do not know.”

Cotton added a quote his father left about his approach to medicine, “I know that many patients were rescued from certain death because I always tried to think outside the box and never trusted the advice or the diagnosis that was presented or gave up on a patient without a fight.”

Students interested in applying to The Margaret Cotton Memorial Bursary can view the award and eligibility within the Scholarships and Bursaries channel in PAWS. More information about award cycles available to MD students can be viewed on the UGME Awards and Funding webpage.

Memories - The road to timelessness

One brief moment in the sun
And then time slips away.
The body’s molecules crumble,
its elements, scattered in the wind to mingle with the fundamental chemistry of life.
Then, harnessing the sun’s immense creative powers,
We blend with life’s fundamental building blocks,
And are transformed into new life,
New life forms created from the old.

But, like our ever-expanding universe,
Every individual’s journey in life is unique,
each one following the other,
in a never ending kaleidoscope of separate worlds.

So, all that remains of the time that we spent here on earth,
are wrapped up in memories,
Memories embedded in the minds of those we leave behind -
The stories are the essence of our individuality,
These become our immortality.

By: David J. Cotton.                
April 14, 1943 - October 20, 2024