Thread by @DocSchmadia

We are on the cusp of another #familydoctor crisis.

The work is hard and complex. It is under-appreciated by many, including other healthcare providers. You are made to feel like you are replaceable by mid-level providers or worse, Dr. Google. thestar.com/news/canada/20…

There is less and less interest in pursuing a career in family medicine. I’ve seen it over the ten years I’ve been practicing.

This, even though research and reality both show: family doctors are the foundation of a healthy population and a good healthcare system.

I love being a #familydoctor.

I get to follow a patient’s story from start to finish. My day is full of variety as I deal with prenatal care, palliative care, chronic disease management, pediatrics, geriatrics, minor procedures and everything in between.

It means though that I have to work hard to keep up to date with a wide scope of subjects.

It means that I have to be able to multitask.

It means that I treat all of the patient, juggling not just their social or educational issues but also their multi system medical issues.

It is incredibly rewarding. I will never be rich - that much is clear.

Instead I have watched my teenage patients grow into amazing adults with kids of their own.

I have stood with patients in their first moments of life and as they take their last breath.

I have helped patients navigate life transitions like divorce, child-bearing, menopause, death.

My elderly patients have chosen me as their Valentine.

I have done countless housecalls to better understand the frailty many elderly patients live with.

I am a master of undifferentiated disease. Because there are patients whose symptoms do not fit into any sort of box.

Where specialists hunt for a diagnosis.

Where the patient lives on the edge of uncertainty.

Where what I offer is symptom management, time and compassion.

But being a #familydoctor is hard work.

It is true that nobody really gets what you do. So by and large, your work is unappreciated and misunderstood.

People will say all we deal with are coughs and colds when the reality is that coughs and colds occupy maybe 10% of my time.

People say that we don’t have depth of knowledge.

The reality is, we are specialists in a patient’s entire life — from cradle to grave.

Our scope is broad because it has to be. We don’t just look at the heart or the kidney. We look at the patient in their community.

The paperwork is drudgery. The electronic medical records are as annoying as they are necessary. The complexity can be overwhelming. The slights eat away at us.

But, I stay a #familydoctor because of the relationships. It is extraordinary, heart-warming and heart-rending work.

For family medicine to be a priority, patients must speak up.

They need to understand the differences between what family doctors do and what others do.

They need to show government that we all need a #familydoctor. The government pays attention to their voices, their votes.