For the past year, Estevan has been fortunate to be part of a program named the longitudinal integrated clinical (LIC) clerkship program.
It brought Lindsay Richels, a third-year medical student from the College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, to Estevan to learn more about the medical profession.
Obviously, the information she gleamed and the lessons she learned from Estevan’s group of physicians gave her a greater experience than any classroom could ever provide. And because she was in Estevan for a year, it allowed her to get to know the community, the physicians, the hospital, the patients and the hospital staff in a way that she wouldn’t have if she would have been here for a few weeks.
All in all, her year spent in the community appears to have been time well spent. She gained a lot from it. She and her family enjoyed their time in the community. And this LIC program gave her an opportunity she wouldn’t have had otherwise.
We hope it’s not the last that this city has seen of Richels as far as providing care at St. Joseph’s Hospital. She would be a great fit year for the long-term.
It’s no secret that Estevan has had a recurring physician shortage. We’ve had times in which we’ve been good for a few years, but our numbers will gradually dwindle, and we’ll find ourselves in a situation in which there isn’t enough medical doctors in the community to meet our population’s needs, because the physicians already have a full patient load.
We’re down to 10 family physicians and a specialist in Estevan. Most will tell you that’s not enough; they’d like to see more. And they like to see one or two more with a speciality, with an anesthesiologist being the top priority.
If our physicians feel overworked, if they don’t have enough time with their families, or if they don’t feel they have attained that coveted work-life balance, then they will look elsewhere.
(Believe us, there are no shortage of communities who would love to have the doctors we have here).
And while we are very fortunate to have some doctors who have dedicated the bulk of their long medical careers to Estevan, it’s rare to see a doctor stay in a community of this size for 20-30 years.
Also, sometimes we’re guilty of selling ourselves short when it comes to what we have to offer for physicians. In addition to St. Joseph’s Hospital, we have excellent schools; sports, recreation and culture facilities; outdoor amenities; and much more.
And we have great people, too.
We’re close to the Canada-U.S. border. And while some people covet big-city life and all that it offers, there’s a lot to be said about living in a small city, and not having to contend with the long commute, the traffic or the long lineups associated with big centres.
The LIC was essentially created for Estevan, after local efforts to bring a physician residency program to the community did not materialize. The residency has proven to be a success in other small communities in the province, but when it was rolled out a few years ago, we were snubbed.
The LIC and medical residency can play a big role when it comes time to recruit new physicians. If that physician has spent time in a community, they’re more likely to come back here once they’re finished their medical studies.
Physician recruitment has become very competitive in Canada. There are a lot of communities in need of medical doctors. We’re not the only city in the country to have experience a physician shortage in the last few years; some people might have a hard time believing this statement, but it’s been even tougher on some communities than Estevan.
If they have spent time in our city and our hospital, have found mentors in experienced physicians, and have built up relationships with people in the region, then we have an advantage.
The LIC proved to be a nice alternative, and we can only hope that the two new aspiring physicians prove to be as proficient as Richels.
And hopefully the hospital hasn’t given up on a residency program coming to Estevan.
