Last week I may have answered the question/s around how we ended up in Canada, but I left y’all wondering how we ended up in northern Alberta in particular. Namely, near a city called Grande Prairie, a full 55° north. It’s reasonably far north. It’s on the same latitude as Moscow, or Derry, or Newcastle upon Tyne. It’s also fairly remote – it’s 4.5 hours, by road, from Edmonton, and about 7.5 hours from Calgary, and more like 14 hours to Vancouver in British Columbia. So, you ask again, how did we end up here?
Well like most good stories, it’s starts with the desire for adventure. And for earning a living and having housing, food, and transport. Okay, mostly the latter, but also adventure is somewhere in there. Anyway. Like I mentioned last week, Canada is one of the few countries in the world where South African GPs have a straightforward process to gaining a license to practice medicine, and which doesn’t require redoing internship/residency. I did lie a little bit, by omission, in that statement. Within Canada, South African GPs only really have a straightforward path to practicing in three provinces – Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia.
Since Canada follows a federal system of government, each province has it’s own medical council (unlike South Africa which just has the Health Professions Council of South Africa). These medical councils set the rules for licensure for the various medical specialties within the province, including ‘general practitioners’. Except in Canada, there is no ‘general practitioner’ concept, as all family doctors are specialists called Family Physicians. So South African GPs have to first specialise, before becoming fully licensed Family Physicians able to practice in any province in Canada.
With that in mind, British Columbia, Saskatchewan but especially Alberta have provided a way for experienced GPs – called ‘international medical graduates’ – to practice medicine and earn an income whilst working towards becoming fully licensed Family Physicians. Of the three, Alberta has by far the most straightforward process. Once you’ve satisfied all the exams, and a myriad of other requirements, the main requirement to follow this path to licensure in the three provinces is that you commit to practice medicine in a (typically under-served) rural community for several years whilst obtaining your specialisation. This is called a ‘Return of Service’ agreement.
And so, dear readers, that’s how we come to where we are in the world. Understandably CF wants to earn a living and not re-do internship. And she’s extra fortunate in knowing another South African GP – and friend – who followed a nearly identical path to this part of the world. It made our decision to look at jobs for her in this area a lot easier. Having a (small) network of people you know is incredibly important in helping you settle in a new part of the world. And it means you have someone to ask questions of of your local area, like explaining which stores are the nicest in town, and where to get furniture, and how to apply for drivers licenses. You get the point.
So we’ve committed to at least five years in a small community near Grande Prairie (you honestly thought I’d tell you exactly where we lived? Hah, funny one). CF has passed all her initial assessments and is practicing as a doctor in a clinic and the local emergency department. We’ve met a whole bunch of incredible, friendly, welcoming people in the local community who’ve helped us immensely in settling in. We’re in the process of buying a house. We’re slowly adapting to the local way of life. And although I buried the lede better than a doggo buries a bone, now you know how we landed where we are. Necessity, circumstance, friends and sheer good fortune.
PS.
As is becoming a trend in my posts, here are some photos of the world around Grande Prairie, taken in the small adventures we’ve been on so far.
