Can you tell us a bit about what you do for work?
For the last 25 years, my husband and I have worked and lived in Wawa, Ontario where we raised our two lovely children. I work as a rural generalist and I do a little bit of everything. This means that I'll do some shifts in the emergency department, look after inpatients in the hospital, administer exercise stress tests and I also have a family practice in which I work collaboratively with the Wawa Family Health Team. In addition, I work as an associate professor and co-chair section of Family Medicine at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University (NOSM U).
Working in family medicine has offered a lot of opportunities to my family. From 2012 to 2013, my husband and I had the opportunity to do a sabbatical overseas at an organization in Ethiopia. Professionally, it was incredible and it was a nice opportunity for our children to experience living and going to school in a different country and different culture.
What has been the most rewarding part of your work?
It really changes over time. When I first started practicing medicine, the things I found rewarding were managing complicated patient issues in the emergency department or doing a procedure that was a bit outside of my comfort zone.
Over time, this has changed, and it's really the relationships that I have developed with patients and families that has been the most rewarding. I think that's where the real richness of family medicine comes from—it is grounded in those relationships you build. I am glad that I've been in the same practice for 25 years, because I've developed long-standing relationships with patients.
Why did you choose to focus your career on rural medicine?
I always call myself an accidental rural physician because it wasn't something I had in mind when I first started out. It was kind of by accident, but a good accident!
When my husband and I graduated from medical school, we started doing locums in northern Ontario and rural Alberta. We were impressed with the rural doctors we met along the way and fell in love with the rural lifestyle. Eventually, we made our home in Wawa and haven't really looked back since then.
Are there any challenges to working in rural medicine compared to working in an urban area?
The challenges are also opportunities, strangely enough. When you first start out, sometimes the challenges are working in an emergency department where you might be the only one and you don't have the same kind of backup that you might have in an urban center. But that really forces you outside of your comfort zone, which I think is a great gift for family medicine. There may be challenges medically, but there are also opportunities for self-growth.
How did your studies in the Faculty of Medicine at uOttawa contribute to your career success/journey?
There were lots of opportunities available to medical students to explore rural family medicine through electives. I think it is important to have that sort of introduction to family medicine.
I did my elective in Kenora, Ontario and I remember that experience was really grounding for me and is part of the reason I chose to do locums in the rural sphere.
How did it feel to be recognized as a winner of the CFPC’s 2022 Reg L. Perkin Family Physician of the Year Award, selected from all provincial recipients of the 2022 Ontario Family Physician of the Year Award, of which you were also one?
It was a huge honor to be recognized in that way. It's a peer-nominated award so that makes it especially meaningful, to be nominated by people that you actually really admire and are inspired by.
When I reflect on this award, I think about all the people around me who have shaped me and made me who I am. Particularly all of the mentors that I've had, especially when I first started practicing in Wawa. From them, I really learned the art of being comfortable with your own discomfort. In some ways, I feel like this award is for all my colleagues.
What advice would you give students in the Faculty of Medicine who seek to be leaders in the health care sector?
Everyone's journey is really their own and everyone's journey is unique. Overall, I would tell students to not to shy away from opportunities and to take risks even if they fall outside of your comfort zone. I also think it is important to surround yourself with people who inspire you, that's really helped me a lot.
All photos: Dr. Anjali Oberai