When Dr. Chris Donald arrived to practice medicine here in 1973, his original plan was “to stay for a year or two.”
Today, the New Zealand-born physician is planning for retirement next September, exactly 40 years to the month after setting up shop at the busy rural medical clinic.
After completing his “registration” (equivalent of residency) in New Zealand in 1970, Donald came to Canada, where he was attracted to Drayton by the opportunity “to use all my skills and all aspects of my training,” that comes with working in a rural practice.
For a physician seeking a varied experience, Donald had certainly come to the right place. The medical practice today known as the Mapleton Health Centre serves a wide rural area, with patients coming from across the Mapleton and Minto areas. At one point, says Donald, about 7,500 patients were registered with the clinic, served at the time by three physicians, a situation that resulted in a feature article in the Toronto Star on the challenges faced by rural Ontario physicians in an emerging doctor shortage in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
Today, after years of vigorous recruiting, the Mapleton Health Centre boasts five physicians, as well as a nurse practitioner. While a larger roster of doctors helps share the load, there are still 2,300 patients who consider Donald their family physician.
Advancements in technology have brought the biggest changes to the practice of medicine over the past four decades, says Donald. Ultra-sound technology was in its infancy when he began, he recalls, adding, “We didn’t have CT scanners, and certainly no MRIs.”
He also says advances in medical and surgical techniques have allowed medicine to become far less hospital-centred than it once was.
“It’s mostly day surgery now,” notes Donald. “It used to be if you had your gallbladder out you were in the hospital for a week,” he adds.
“There was no intervention,” Donald continues, pointing out that, today, someone suffering a heart attack is quickly transferred to the regional cardiac centre at St. Mary’s hospital in Kitchener, where, after specialized treatment, “they might be home the next day.”
“Ride my bike,” is Donald’s reply when asked about his retirement plans. He also indicated he plans to stay involved in medicine in some capacity.
“I’ll keep my license up for a while and see what happens,” he states.
New physician in town
As the veteran doctor prepares to ease out of the local practice, another new physicians joined the health team earlier this year.
Dr. Hao Sun began working out of the Mapleton Health Centre in July. A graduate of the University of Ottawa, she recently completed her residency in Hamilton.
The Toronto native’s reasons for choosing to practice rural medicine in the Minto-Mapleton area largely echo those that factored into Donald’s decision four decades ago.
“I actually did a rotation here last year and really enjoyed the work. I think you get to do a lot more learning and use a lot of different skills. That’s something you don’t always get to do as a much as a family doctor in a larger centre. Here, it’s a fuller scope of care.”
