Family doctors talk research, job improvements at Charlottetown conference

Family doctors got a rare chance to connect with each other at a conference in Charlottetown on Friday.

"It's a good opportunity to just be together and learn, and to be friends," said Dr. Trina Stewart, a Summerside-area family doctor who was among those in attendance.

Stewart has been in practice for 25 years at Wilmot Medical Centre. These days she's in the process of creating a patient medical home in collaboration with Sea Isle Medical Centre.

"We're kind of working as a multi-site so that we can share resources and better offer more efficient, accessible service to our patients," she said.

A widely acknowledgedlack of resources has led the P.E.I. government to encourage patient medical homes like this. Stewart said the new model will let the two practices share patients, and ensure they can be seen fasterby the type of health-care pro they need to see.

"You don't have to come to me for a straightforward nutritionist referral or a straightforward physiotherapy referral," she said. "You actually get that direct referral."

What do family doctors on P.E.I. need? Way more health-care staff

5 months ago

Duration 2:30

Staffing and health-care resources were two of the big top-of-mind topics for doctors at this week's Family Medicine Conference on P.E.I. Here is what some people working in family medicine said about their biggest needs.

Stewart said she's happy to see the evolution of practices to include patient medical homes, because the workload can be challenging at times.

"It's hard for us to say, 'We can't take you,' when we really would want to," she said. "But we also can't do a disservice to the patients we already have by taking too many."

The future of patient medical homes

Almost 100 physicians attended the conference, including some from elsewhere in the country.

"We're really working hard across the country to try and increase the supply and support for family doctors across Canada," said Dr. Mike Green, a family physician in Kingston, Ont., who is also president of the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

Green said he's heard a lot from doctors on the Island who are excited about the patient medical home model, something he expects will become the norm in five to 10 years.

"Everybody should be attached to a patient medical home," he said. "And all of those places should be places where they have learners, medical students, residents and other members of the interprofessional team like nurse practitioners, social workers, nurses."

I think the new medical school is a great idea; train your own is always helpful.Dr. Mike Green

Overall, Green said, the physicians he's spoken with are also eager to learn more about the new medical school being built on the UPEI campus in Charlottetown.

"I think the new medical school is a great idea; train your own is always helpful," he said.

But Green has also heard concerns about the lack of new recruits going into family medicine.

"We'd love to see more Canadian medical school graduates choosing family medicine first," he said, adding that many people are avoiding family medicine because of the high rate of burnout. He attributed much of that to administrative duties and paperwork.

"They did a study showing that it was taking up 19 hours a week of a family doctor's week, not seeing their patients," he said. "That's crazy, right? That's like almost half of somebody's full-time job."

Training the next generation

Recruitment is something Dalhousie University's Dr. Kath Stringer is helping with. As department head for the faculty of medicine at the Halifax university, Stringer has first-hand experience with students who are choosing where to do their residency and what to focus on.

"We've been working on this a lot over the last five years, and this year we had...51 per cent of the Dalhousie graduating medical class match to family medicine residency programs across the country," she said.Seven of those residents will come to P.E.I. tp begin their careers.

That's compared to just 25 per cent choosing family medicine in 2018.

Stringer said she'd like to see half of residents choose family medicineeveryyear, but with all students are hearing, it's sometimes a hard sell.

"There's a lot of angst in going into family medicine," she says. "Sometimes medical students learn that family medicine is the least desirable specialty.

"So we've been working hard to change that and to promote family medicine and the beauty of the specialty to our medical students, so that they feel empowered to choose that as a residency program should they wish."

Residency feels too short?

Part of the challenge is that family doctors are doing more and more, and a family physician residency lasts just two years, compared to longer times for some othermedical specialties.

"It's quite a challenge because medical students see the breadth of knowledge that is required to learn as a family physician and they have only two years to do that," Stringer said.

Because of that, Dalhousie's medical school is trying to give students more exposure to family doctors throughout their education.

The dean of UPEI's new medical school, Dr. Preston Smith, says he'd like to that approach here once the faculty opens.

"You involve family doctors in their teaching, including giving lectures and handling tutorials, so they're really exposed to family doctors who can talk about both what they like about family practice" and what they don't, he said.

Smith says that while some doctors have voiced concerns about the amount of time they would need to dedicate to teaching, there are many levels of commitment in becoming involved with the faculty of medicine at UPEI.

"There are some doctors who will take on leadership roles... but that's a small number," he said. "The vast majority of the doctors that we need to support us are going to do what we call clinical teaching. And on average that takes five per cent of your day."

Smith says that young doctors, especially family doctors, are the future of health care, and the system should be improved so they can flourish in their careers.

"We know primary care is the basis of any health-care system," he said. "So we've got to fix the primary care for the young doctors."

A chance to share research

The conference alsoincluded a chance for physicians to attend workshops and share research.

For Dr. Meghan Cameron, that meant educating others on her research into anxiety and depression rates among P.E.I. farmers.

"I grew up on a farm.I married a potato farmer. So definitely it's close to my heart," Cameron said.

Cameron worked as a paramedic and respiratory therapist before she began studying to become a doctor, and settled at a practice in Crapaud last July.

"I just wanted to keep being able to make decisions on my own and make a greater impact with my patients that I have," she said. "The interactions that I have with people every day are what really fill my cup, and I feel part of an extension of people's families."

While she admits there have been challenges, Cameron said the good days outweigh the bad.

Some people might say I'm naive, but I'm enjoying it. I like going to work every day.Dr. Meghan Cameron

"Sometimes don't have enough resources in terms of our specialists," she said. "We often have to go off-Island. So I'd say that, right now, is one of the biggest challenges that I'm facing."

But with the support of her community and her colleagues, Cameron hopes she will continue to love the profession for years to come.

"Some people might say I'm naive, but I'm enjoying it," she said. "I like going to work every day. I like seeing who I work with every day."