Despite the truth the calendar flaunts, the fact that a year has elapsed since our arrival in Canada is surreal. In fact, it was only when I was answering a question about how long I have been on the island that the realization of times passage hit home.“One year, as of today”
Granted, a few days has passed since that statement brought me to a stop in my tracks, but the time has allowed for reflection of the year passed and with that reflection comes today’s post.
Nancy asked me what I had learned in the last year. The easy answer was the use of standardized units for lab values (different from the US system), as well as the odd names for all those drugs that I spent time learning, plus a whole bevy of new ones that are not approved in the United States. However, that answer would not really get to the truth of the last year and while placating some, would not be satisfying.
Universal health care is good for people. I have come to more firmly believe in this over the past year. It is not perfect by any stretch, and I am sure there are other places that do this better than Canada, but the Canadian model of care, providing some baseline level of care for everyone is better than the system I came from. The Canadians value the community, and therefore they value coverage for everyone, even if it means that you pay more to cover someone else. They accept this fact and feel that the end result is worth the price. The end result is that people can be seen and treated before things get very bad. Now, the downside is that not everyone has a Family Physician or NP looking after them because there are doctor and nurse shortages here as there are everywhere else. However, you can be seen without worrying that it will break the bank, and you know that if you get sick, the cost of your recovery will not leave you in poverty before you are ever well. Things do not move at the speed of light, but that also means that the doctor or NP has to think twice about ordering some expensive test with a waiting list. Not everyone who has a migraine headache gets an MRI to rule out a cancer.
Universal health care is good for people. I have come to more firmly believe in this over the past year. It is not perfect by any stretch, and I am sure there are other places that do this better than Canada, but the Canadian model of care, providing some baseline level of care for everyone is better than the system I came from. The Canadians value the community, and therefore they value coverage for everyone, even if it means that you pay more to cover someone else. They accept this fact and feel that the end result is worth the price. The end result is that people can be seen and treated before things get very bad. Now, the downside is that not everyone has a Family Physician or NP looking after them because there are doctor and nurse shortages here as there are everywhere else. However, you can be seen without worrying that it will break the bank, and you know that if you get sick, the cost of your recovery will not leave you in poverty before you are ever well. Things do not move at the speed of light, but that also means that the doctor or NP has to think twice about ordering some expensive test with a waiting list. Not everyone who has a migraine headache gets an MRI to rule out a cancer.Practicing medicine is fun. With the removal of the bountiful paperwork that seemed t
o reproduce on my desktop in Texas, I have re-discovered that I enjoy practicing medicine and taking care of patients and their families. It is the same joyous feeling I had when I practiced in Dugway Utah, that feeling of connecting with and helping out patients every day I went to work. I do not feel like an overpriced administrator, and I certainly do not feel that I am being given paperwork as a way to discourage ordering a test/study. I get to sit down and talk with my patients, listen to their stories, and take care of their needs. The fact that my panel is stable means that I am seeing the same people over time, therefore, once I get them caught up on their prevention, I have additional free time to chat about other important things like their kids and grandkids, the state of their farm, the lobster catch, and of course commodity prices. This provides a great deal of insight into the inner working of the island world, and with that comes a deeper understanding of the inherent worries of the lives of the islanders. This knowledge allows me to understand them in ways I was never able in my previous practice. It has brought the joy back to my practice and that is invaluable beyond measure.
o reproduce on my desktop in Texas, I have re-discovered that I enjoy practicing medicine and taking care of patients and their families. It is the same joyous feeling I had when I practiced in Dugway Utah, that feeling of connecting with and helping out patients every day I went to work. I do not feel like an overpriced administrator, and I certainly do not feel that I am being given paperwork as a way to discourage ordering a test/study. I get to sit down and talk with my patients, listen to their stories, and take care of their needs. The fact that my panel is stable means that I am seeing the same people over time, therefore, once I get them caught up on their prevention, I have additional free time to chat about other important things like their kids and grandkids, the state of their farm, the lobster catch, and of course commodity prices. This provides a great deal of insight into the inner working of the island world, and with that comes a deeper understanding of the inherent worries of the lives of the islanders. This knowledge allows me to understand them in ways I was never able in my previous practice. It has brought the joy back to my practice and that is invaluable beyond measure.Life outside of medicin
e is important. The change in pace over the last year has been the most surprising thing on this journey. When we arrived last year we did not understand how people could spend all their time ‘Up West’ and rarely venture to Summerside or Charlottetown. The idea that you had everything that you needed ‘Up West’ seemed ludicrous when we arrived, after all, how anyplace could ever have ‘everything you needed’. The interesting thing about needs and wants is that once you have taken away the drumbeat of advertising, slowed down enough that you notice the change of the seasons, the number of things that require travel to obtain reduces on its own like a neglected garden. It is the deceleration of time which allows you to look beyond the demands of tomorrow to see the glories of today. As time slows, you can see the world, listen to the wind, and connect with the earth in a way that cannot be rushed. This modifies you sense of need, and provides a deep sense of fulfillment in your routine life that no longer has room for the unnecessary. You begin to live each day with joy and purpose, that is, you begin to look at your day differently. You ask yourself if the things you are doing are really worth spending one of your precious days upon the task, or if the time would not be better spent on something more important. These changes percolate into the way you work so that you begin to ask the same questions of the tedium that intrudes upon you day. Your realization of what is and is not important allows you to put medicine into a place in your life, no longer the shadow over your life.
e is important. The change in pace over the last year has been the most surprising thing on this journey. When we arrived last year we did not understand how people could spend all their time ‘Up West’ and rarely venture to Summerside or Charlottetown. The idea that you had everything that you needed ‘Up West’ seemed ludicrous when we arrived, after all, how anyplace could ever have ‘everything you needed’. The interesting thing about needs and wants is that once you have taken away the drumbeat of advertising, slowed down enough that you notice the change of the seasons, the number of things that require travel to obtain reduces on its own like a neglected garden. It is the deceleration of time which allows you to look beyond the demands of tomorrow to see the glories of today. As time slows, you can see the world, listen to the wind, and connect with the earth in a way that cannot be rushed. This modifies you sense of need, and provides a deep sense of fulfillment in your routine life that no longer has room for the unnecessary. You begin to live each day with joy and purpose, that is, you begin to look at your day differently. You ask yourself if the things you are doing are really worth spending one of your precious days upon the task, or if the time would not be better spent on something more important. These changes percolate into the way you work so that you begin to ask the same questions of the tedium that intrudes upon you day. Your realization of what is and is not important allows you to put medicine into a place in your life, no longer the shadow over your life.The year has taught us many things, has slowed us down enough to look beyond the ordinary to see it for what it truly is, wondrous beyond the imagination. So much in such a short time, makes you wonder what we will discover next!
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