I’m a rural emergency room doctor — and I feel the need to publicly apologize.
I’m sorry that many of you are often not receiving the health care you need, in the right place or at the right time. And I’m sorry that many of you don’t have a primary care provider, that wait times are so long and that I sometimes see you in the hallway where you have little privacy. While this happening in our rural hospital in Kenora, Ont., I’ve seen similar experiences reflected in emergency rooms across the country.
So, I need you to believe me when I say that my colleagues and I cannot fix these problems ourselves. In fact, trying to fix the problem has pushed some of us to the point of leaving the profession — and the effort to look after ourselves may worsen services.
As a rural physician spouse, your family thanks you.
It is not one bit your fault. Incompetent government and educational institutions could see this coming for decades, but chose, and continue to choose to do nothing.
Boomers retiring and population growth are pretty obvious needs for more healthcare resources, not to mention not doing anything to help homelessness and addictions. Combined with that, med school faculty, at least in my home province, actively dissuade students from entering family medicine, and the university hasn’t increased its intake volume in years.
Everyone in rural medicine feels this pressure. The responsible thing is to keep the balance that keeps you healthy, for a physician who is there working the hours a typical worker might work is still providing far better service than if they weren’t there at all.