Hunting for a doctor

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An Enderby city councillor is taking part in the hunt for a new doctor for the community.

Brian Schreiner has joined Interior Health officials for interviews with five prospective candidates, all from the foreign doctor program. Interviews began Tuesday.

It is hoped Schreiner's involvement will help sell Enderby as a great place to work and live said Mayor Greg McCune.

“What we asked was to be part of that process to give us the ability to learn something about the doctor and have them learn about our community,” said McCune. “When you have these types of rural training programs, typically they're a foreign doctor, they're at an age where they have family started so it's trying to come up with everything that would make the community suitable.”

“It's just such a struggle,” McCune admitted. “Doctors want to come here for part of their training, but just want to get back to the large centres.”

During a presentation to council Monday, Interior Health doctors explained many doctors looking for a place to practice are not always interested in money.

“One of our doctors who just recently left, when she was placed here two years ago, her No. 1 thing was to have her children go through a French immersion program which Enderby doesn't offer, so they still chose to put her here,” complained McCune. “They knew that would be a challenge for her since she had to live in Vernon to get her kids to the school she wanted them to go to.”

Under the foreign doctor program, physicians moving from another country must agree to work three years in a rural community in order to receive a certificate to practice in Canada.

Another option is to have a new doctor work part-time in Enderby and part-time at the Splatsin First Nation medical facility.

“We're going to pursue that,” said McCune. “They're struggling to find people as they don't have the volume of (patients). It could be a win-win for both communities.”

Meanwhile, interviews are underway and fingers are crossed in hope Schreiner can sell the community and what it has to offer.

The mayor pointed to M.V. Beattie elementary which opened in 2012.

“It has been very popular. We've seen a lot of young families move here for that reason so, again, it is trying to match the doctor to the community and hopefully he or she will want to stay here.”

McCune said Enderby is close to ski hills around Vernon, Kelowna and Kamloops which he hoped would be another positive feature.

A doctor chosen from the program would not take their place in Enderby until September, 2016, said McCune.