COLLINS: Rural medicine needs a makeover
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THE RURAL PICTURE OF MEDICINE we see in the Hallmark movies is not the reality. Not by a longshot. And it’s not getting any better.
Attracting doctors and nurses to rural practice is difficult. It takes a special kind of person to practice in a small town. Demands are different, the stress is different, and demands on families are different. Even in somewhat larger communities like Merritt and Clearwater, the needs of the public are often unmet.
It’s not just a case of finding enough doctors and nurses, it’s about finding enough doctors and nurses who want to live in those areas. Local and provincial government policies to offer incentives are not the answer, as evidenced by a story this week about a doctor who took a $100,000 loan as an incentive to go to a rural community and then left before he did his time. I use the phrase “did his time” on purpose, because I sense that doctors and nurses who receive incentives consider this a bit of a prison term and are looking forward to the day they can move on.
That’s why I don’t think incentives are the answer. And until we find a way to make the rural lifestyle more attractive, the too-frequent closures of facilities in communities like Merritt, Clearwater, Ashcroft and Oliver will continue to plague us and create life-threatening situations.
