Canada's online magazine: Politics, entertainment, technology, media, arts, books: backofthebook.ca

Politics, tech, media, culture and more, from a Canadian point-of-view

  • Politics
  • Media
  • Culture
  • Science and Tech
  • Living
  • Arts and Books
  • Features
  • The Video
You are here: Home / Living / Alberta’s doctor dilemma

Alberta’s doctor dilemma

10/06/2009 by backofthebook.ca Leave a Comment

By Jodi A. Shaw

I just wanted to go to the doctor.

Alberta has been suffering from a physician shortage for several years, but it’s become especially keen lately. With Calgary’s population just over 1,070,000 and growing, an estimated 200,000 Calgarians are currently without a family doctor. It’s a complex issue – fewer doctors are going into family practice and foreign doctors have been shut out for a variety of reasons (that’s a whole separate issue), while the constantly expanding population has placed extraordinary stress on established physicians.

I’ve lived in Lethbrige, Nanaimo, and Victoria and had a doctor in all three cities. In Victoria I simply called a clinic and asked if any doctor was taking new patients and, ta da, I had a doctor.

Not so with my first attempt to acquire a Calgary doctor – which consisted of an afternoon spent getting cozy with the yellow pages, racking up a major cellphone bill, and speaking with staff members who were too busy to answer my questions. Eventually I was referred to the Health Link website.

Managed by Alberta Health Services, Health Link provides a list of doctors taking new patients, plus 1-800 access to nurses who can provide medical information and advice on minor health issues. I checked it out, only to find my chances of securing a female doctor anywhere near my home were slim-to-none. There is currently one female doctor in my area, sort of, who is taking the_doctor_is_not_innew patients – but “neck and back pain only.” And the other female doctors are maternity specialists. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so picky, but I think we all have a right to be selective when it comes to allowing someone access to our bodies.

Instead of despairing, I decided to accept the reality of the situation and learn to deal. I began to trek down to my friendly neighbourhood medical clinic as necessary . . . and bring a book, of course. Typically the wait is two or three hours, but, given how much I love to read in cramped spaces surrounded by sick people, there’s no problem. Twice I have insisted on seeing a female doctor and taken my chances that I’ll get in to see her before the shift changes and a male doctor takes her place. Twice I have waited all afternoon and then gone home when the male doctor arrived.

But as I say, I accepted the situation. Rather than get upset or rant at the clinic staff (there’s a sign . . . no abuse, raised voices, or profanity may be used toward clinic staff . . . that’ll get you barred), I simply gave up and planned to return the next afternoon. The alternative would be to drive all over the city from walk-in to walk-in, which I’ve heard many people do, but I prefer sitting for a few hours in the clinic waiting room to spending those same few hours in the cockpit of my car.

My last visit to the doctor, however, may have marked the end of my role as the patient patient. There was nothing majorly wrong with me . . . I had an inkling that I might have tendonitis (which would render me unable to work), had some unresolved issues with my ability to breathe properly at night, and had two smaller, more private issues, all of which I planned to address with the attending physician, male or female.

A nurse came into the examination room and asked me what I was seeing the doctor for that day. I explained that I had a number of issues to address. Instead of writing said issues down on my chart and leaving the room, the nurse informed me, “The doctor does not have that kind of time. He can deal with your most pressing concern.”

I’m not known for being a pushover, and so I replied, “All my concerns are pressing.”

Not amused, the nurse reminded me that the doctor did not have time to deal with a laundry list of problems and I would have to pick one for him to examine.

“I just sat in the waiting room for three and a half hours,” I said. “I don’t have time for that.”

She did not budge.

Despite my desire to demand compensation for my prolonged wait (compensation being 15 uninterrupted minutes of the doctor’s undivided attention to deal with what I wanted to deal with), I decided to focus on the tendonitis, as it was causing me the most pain, and hope the remaining issues would rectify themselves in time. (They haven’t.) After three or four minutes with the doctor (or was it two?), he assured me I did not have tendonitis and that I was a smidge paranoid. Probably just overexerted myself. Take some ibuprofen. Everything will be fine.

And away he went. So much for that.

For the sake of curiosity, I called the 1-800 number provided on Health Link. I was connected with a nurse who addressed my concerns – all of them. I appreciated the time she took to listen to me describe my symptoms. She asked me questions and explained in moderate detail how the knee joint works, how the nasal passage functions, and so on. Finally, I was getting somewhere.

And then she delivered her advice. It was simple, yet problematic: in regard to all four of my health concerns, she suggested I go see a doctor.

I’ll go see a doctor, all right. But given the mood Alberta’s sickly health care system has left me in, I’m not so sure that doctor will be happy to see me.

Filed Under: Living Tagged With: Alberta, health, health care, medicine

Subscribe to BoB by e-mail or RSS

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Google+
  • Living
  • Politics
  • Media
  • Culture
  • Arts and Books
  • Features
  • The Video
Fire sale sign

Fort McMurray: Shopping time!

By Brady Tighe We’re now officially in the aftermath phase of the northern Alberta wildfire crisis. The fire is long gone, and everyone with a home to return to is back in its … [Read More...]

Nathan Cullen

Electoral reform: Hashtag fresh thinking

By Alison@Creekside The most interesting and innovative idea to come out of the first meeting of the all-party Special Committee on Electoral Reform, or ERRE, was Nathan Cullen's suggestion, … [Read More...]

Trudeau on quantum computing

The Trudeau gush fest is getting old

By Jim Henshaw There have been several bewildered as well as angry accounts coming out of the USA lately about how little media time has been spent covering the Democratic Presidential Primary … [Read More...]

Rick Meyers in Nanaimo Pride Parade

My friend, Rick, at the Pride Parade

By Frank Moher On this dreadful day, I don't want to write about the shootings in Orlando. I want to write about my friend, Rick. Rick lives just outside of Nanaimo, a city of about 80,000, … [Read More...]

Stephen Colbert on Late Night set

Triumph of the drama nerds

By Frank Moher Two drama nerds have recently moved into high profile positions. Before I name them (or perhaps you’ve already guessed who they are; or perhaps you’d like to scroll down and look at … [Read More...]

From “Our Rape Blog”: Shooting the Moon

Originally published on Our Rape Blog, the author's account of the aftermath of a violent sexual assault. By Mary Fraughton Have you ever played Hearts? It’s a card game. For our purposes, … [Read More...]

First Nations defending Lelu Island

The video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”

From Creekside: The B.C. provincial government is trying to green light the construction of a massive LNG terminal on Lelu Island in the Skeena Estuary -- Pacific Northwest LNG, backed by Malaysian … [Read More...]

Google

Follow Us!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

RSS CBC News



Recent Posts

  • Fort McMurray: Shopping time!
  • From “Our Rape Blog”: Shooting the Moon
  • Electoral reform: Hashtag fresh thinking
  • The fish hotel
  • Hatred on an Alberta golf course
  • The video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”
  • My friend, Rick, at the Pride Parade
  • Our selective sympathy
  • The Water Bomber, The Frogman and The Great Canadian Novelist
  • Komagata Maru: The story behind the apology

Tags

9/11 Afghanistan Alberta bad behaviour books British Columbia business Canada Canadian military Canadian politics CBC celebrity computers Conservatives crime environment family film G20 Globe and Mail internet Jason Kenney journalism Justin Trudeau law Liberals Maclean's music National Post NDP newspapers oil sands online media Ontario Quebec RCMP religion sports Stephen Harper television theatre Toronto U.S. Vancouver women

Archives

The Video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”

Pages

  • About
  • Privacy

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in