Video: Four benefits of practising in a rural area

Do you want to be in rural medicine? Many correlate a career in medicine with living in urban areas. We spoke with Dr. Rithesh Ram, a rural generalist based in Drumheller, Alta. to learn more about the assets of running a rural practice. You can see his comments via video or the transcript below. TRANSCRIPT Dr. Ram speaking: I’m Dr Ram, I'm a rural generalist living currently out in Drumheller but I was born and raised in Camrose, Alberta and did all my training in Alberta as well. So I'm a fully Albertan born and bred, I have a full scope practice out in Drumheller. I also had a degree in electrical engineering as well as a PhD in epidemiology before settling out here. I have a family of three kids, two girls and a boy. My wife's also in medicine. She is the one other rural generalist that works out of our clinic and does full scope practice in Drumheller, as well. I got drawn to coming to Drumheller and doing rural medicine because it's something that's so incredibly fulfilling, and something that I love, and I'm passionate to do. And the community has embraced us fully and I'm very happy and proud to be in Drumheller. 1. You can utilize more of your knowledge from medical school I did a lot of training, we learn a lot of things when we go through med school. And we go through our clerkship by residency and any other specific other training we have afterwards. But as you stay in the city, you compartmentalize yourself into certain specialties, even in family medicine, you'll be in the city, and you might decide that you want to narrow your focus on mental health for the majority of your practice or an OB GYN majority of your practice. Whereas when you're in a rural area, you can always try to do that. But the benefit is that you get to be a full scope, what we call rural generalist, where you have your your patients that you see from from birth to death, actually, so you can deliver them and then see them as they as they grow up into their teenage years, you can have multi generational families that you've that you've managed and helped through along the way. 2. You can feel like an important part of the community at large You get to be really integrated into the community. It's silly, but back in the day there was this general respect for physicians because you always kind of knew who your doctor was. And they were in the towns and in the cities. That still exists in rural areas. And with that comes obviously that responsibility that you will see your patients. When you go out you will see your patients when you're in the grocery store. And the thought in the city is that well, I don't want that because I don't want them asking me about this rash as I'm walking down the food aisle, but that doesn't happen. It's just more of a general Hi, Doctor, how are you doing? You know, everything's going well. Whereas in the city, you're just another face. And maybe for some individuals, that's fine. But I think it really adds more benefit to you, your family, your character and the community to have that special bond that is unique in rural and remote areas. 3. You can develop a special bond with your patients And it also coincidentally can help within your clinical practice as well. Because the community knows about each other, the more tight knit you might see your patients out and about. It's not that you might become the doctor when you're out and criticize them for eating things they shouldn't have or not monitoring things they should have. But it is something that you get to bring back when you do see them. And it helps to foster that relationship because medicine especially now more than ever is about having that physician patient relationship. And I think that's better fostered in rural and remote areas. 4. It can be easier to maintain a work-life balance The reality is, especially for people with kids and family, it's significantly easier to coordinate life and have that balance in rural areas. Because number one, probably one of the most important things, we have no traffic. So you're not fighting some of those practicalities to actually consider yourself having balance in your day to day work. You can have your clinic, you can see all your patients in the multiple areas that I mentioned, and still be able to take your kid to their piano recital or be there for it and still be able to have one in two different sports in two different parts of the town because they're either next door they're just you know, like a kilometer or two apart. Whereas in the city you have to decide as a family. If you have multiple kids, you have to make those decisions for them. Well, sorry, Johnny, you can't do soccer and that's how it is. I remember soccer and football because they're in two different parts of the city and you have to split your time and only one can do it. There's not really those kinds of decisions that need to be made necessarily in rural areas.

Video: Four benefits of practising in a rural area

Register for free access or login.

Related Topics