Thread by @TRexMD780

Everyone's talking about the closed beds at the Royal Alex & the multiple rural ER departments being unable to open due to lack of physician & nurse staffing.

Let me tell you a story, as a former rural Alberta doc who worked ER

Thread 🧵👇 #ableg #abpoli #abhealth 1/x

A few years ago, still within our recent memory, I worked in small town #Alberta. I did all the things a rural GP did - clinic, hospital work and ER shifts.

But working ER shifts solo was *really* stressful. People are very sick & to have no back up for kms was terrifying. 2/x

So at the time, I decided I would "buddy shift" with another doc in town. All this meant was that we had 2 doctors working ER at the same time.

The nurses & staff LOVED it. We were FAST. We were EFFICIENT. Our times for strokes & MIs were top notch.

3/x

But my buddy ER doc couldn't do as many shifts as needed in town. I had the time. So I asked AHS to allow me to pair up with new Family Med graduates who I had trained in my rural ER. They were keen. They were smart. But they also didn't want to do a solo rural ER shift.

4/x

AHS said no. In fact, everyone above us said no and completely banned the new grads from working in our ER. We were told "WORK A SOLO SHIFT, OR NOTHING"

The new grads walked away. They're now excellent GPs and professors in Edmonton (not working in rural AB).

5/x

For this, and many other reasons, I ended up leaving this town. I felt belittled. I felt unheard. I felt unsupported. I didn't want to work for the unrealistic demands AHS expected of me as a rural Alberta doctor. I didn't want to practice dangerous "cowboy" solo ER med

6/x

I heard that town had major ER physician shortages later. I'm not surprised.

#Alberta has not provided a supportive environment for most rural ER doctors in years, maybe even decades.

All it took was a moronic UCP govt & a pandemic to topple the house of cards.

7/x

This domino effect has been waiting to happen since the Klein Era.

So dear #Alberta - if your small town doesn't have enough doctors, then stop voting for people that don't care about public healthcare. You voted in your own catastrophe.

8/Fin.