After moving to High Level about five years ago from northern British Columbia, Dr. Heinrich Brussow, and two other physicians, had to work extremely hard to keep up with the demands of rural and First Nations practice.
“Initially it was challenging,” says Brussow, “but then you get the guys in and the people in that will work, and our last two years, every resident that was here would have wanted to have come back, if we’d had a spot for them.”
According to Brussow, the personal touch makes the biggest difference in bringing health professionals to northern communities.
“[I]t’s not everybody that likes rural medicine, but it’s horses for courses you know, and most of the good recruiting is done by word of mouth, it’s a physician knowing somebody that he wants to bring in. I think another thing that has really helped a lot is the resident program, because people come out here and they see that it’s not so scary, and it’s actually very nice.”
Also see:
- High Level region to welcome future healthcare professionals
- (Video) Dr. Paul Jordaan: Practising in Rural Alberta is “an unbelievable experience”
- (Video) Coming to Rural Alberta: Dr. Heinrich Brussow of High Level
- (Video) 2011 Northern Skills Weekend: High Level and La Crete welcome medical students