COUNTY DOC
TALK
January 2024
Author: Adam Hambly
THE COUNTY WELCOMES
DR. BRANTON!
Dr. Sarah Branton and her partner, Niko, now call Prince Edward County home! A little about them:
Dr. Branton has taken over Dr. Arul’s practice and will be moving to a new location on Main Street. In addition to spending time with her 2 cats, she enjoys fashion, exercising, and baking.
Niko is a pilot and works in a supervisory role with PAL Airlines. Niko enjoys cooking, hockey and playing the guitar.
They look forward to checking out all The County has to offer. If you happen to see them around, you can congratulate them on their new home in Picton.
Welcome to you both!
Recruitment news
County Docs had a strong 2023 and wrapped up the year on a few high notes. Here are just a few of them:
1. Dr. Sarah Branton has agreed to take a permanent spot in The County
2. County Docs presented a deputation to County Council for renewed funding of our progam. We are pleased to announce they have approved our funding request for continued operations for 2024
3. County Docs attended the job fair for the University of Ottawa’s Family Medicine Residency program. We connected with several potential recruits who are 1 – 2 years away from entering practice
If that wasn’t enough, we’ve led two other projects this past quarter. One involves some creative ideas to support our physicians taking on more patients from the Health Care Connect wait list. The other was a research project targeted at determining what drives decision-making processes for new physicians. This provides crucial information that will help ensure our marketing strategy and employment offering aligns with the goals of new physicians entering practice.
Our recruitment calendar is looking very full for the first quarter of 2024. We are excited to be attending the Family Medicine Resident Retreat for the University of Western Ontario at the end of January. We’ll also be attending a job fair for Queens’ Family Medicine Residency program at the end of February. And finally, we’ll be in Toronto in March with a booth at the Review Course in Family Medicine as learners prepare to take their exams.
CURRENT STATE
We currently have seven physician opportunities in PEC. We had three community visits by prospective physicians this past quarter and are currently following a total of 28 leads in varying degrees of interest and readiness. We consider nine of these to be high potential and are following them very closely.
Frequently Asked Question
Q: Why are other practices being taken over by new physicians and not the older ones from previously retired physicians?
A: When a physician retires and a replacement is not found, their practice and roster of patients is dissolved. In most cases, it’s only possible to takeover existing practices, and not ones that have been previously dissolved. Patients who were once part of a practice of a retired physician need to register on Health Care Connect if they still don’t have a family doctor.
Remember to follow County Docs Physician Recruitment and Retention on Facebook.
Check us out at www.countydocs.ca