WALTHAM – Dr. Lucy M. Candib, of Worcester, has been selected by the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) as the 2024 recipient of its Senior Volunteer Physician of the Year Award, which recognizes a senior member of the society who has shown a dedicated
commitment to direct patient care volunteerism in Massachusetts and to sharing medical experience and expertise.
Dr. Candib, a legendary family physician, has been a trailblazer for decades as a fierce advocate for the underserved, ignored, and overlooked. She is professor emerita at UMass Chan Medical School and practiced for 40 years at the Family Health Center
of Worcester.
Dr. Candib has done medical forensic asylum evaluations pro bono since 2000 for people fleeing persecution from around the world. Her work also includes documenting torture, abuse, depravity, and other acts of atrocities. She mentored medical students
at UMass Chan Medical School as they created the UMass Human Rights and Asylum Program. They also provide educational sessions in the community.
Dr. Candib volunteers on the Trauma Informed Care Committee at the Family Health Center of Worcester and was a volunteer medical consultant in Worcester’s HeadStart program for many years.
Outside of medicine, Dr. Candib is co-chair of the Peace and Social Concerns and Outreach Committee of the Worcester Friends Meeting (Quakers), a role in which she advocates for both local and global approaches to create a more peaceful and tolerant
world. She is also an active participant in the Standing Up for Racial Justice Worcester chapter.
Dr. Candib is deeply committed to social causes for women, LGBT persons, people who have opposed repressive regimes, and others who have been mistreated. She is a role model to young female medical students, residents, and junior faculty. To many,
she is a friend, a colleague, a mentor, an inspiration, and exemplifies the spirit of volunteerism. Dr. Candib, a graduate of the Harvard Medical School, Boston, is board-certified in family medicine and has been a member of the MMS for 27 years.
The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is the statewide professional association for physicians and medical students, supporting 25,000 members. We are dedicated to educating and advocating for the physicians of Massachusetts and patients locally and nationally. A leadership voice in health care, the MMS contributes physician and patient perspectives to influence health-related legislation at the state and federal levels, works in support of public health, provides expert advice on physician practice management, and addresses issues of physician well-being. Under the auspices of the NEJM Group, the MMS extends our mission globally by advancing medical knowledge from research to patient care through the New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM Catalyst, and the NEJM Journal Watch family of specialty publications, and through our education products for health care professionals: NEJM Knowledge+, NEJM Resident 360, and our accredited and comprehensive continuing medical education programs.
