“The government’s plans to micro-manage us even more than they already have micro-management have worked for many of us,” said Feldman, now 68. “We worked like dogs for most of the pandemic.”
Many others feel the same way.
Last year, 275 doctors either retired or informed the Provincial Health Council, the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ), of their intention to retire within the next two years.
That number has skyrocketed since 2017, when 145 announced their intention to leave.
At least 1,000 family doctors are urgently needed in the province, said Dr. Marc-André Amyot, President of the Association of General Practitioners, Federation of Physicians omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ).
“In the next five to 10 years we will have a significant wave of retirements,” he said.
Age is part of it. Amyot points out that about 25 percent of family doctors in Quebec are over 60 years old.
The area with the highest number of possible retirements is Montreal, where 44 doctors said they planned to leave. More than 30 family doctors have retired or will soon retire in both Quebec City and Montérégie.
The average retirement age was 68 in Montreal and 65 in Quebec City and the Montérégie region.
It’s a blow to the 945,000 Quebec residents who are still on the waiting list for a family doctor, according to official estimates. The actual number may be closer to 1.5 million.
Dr. Michel Minh Tri Tran is a family physician at Ahuntsic. (Rowan Kennedy / CBC)
Last year, the Legault government proposed setting a quota of 1,000 patients for each GP with sanctions proposed for those who fail to meet the requirements, something they have since done.
At the height of her career, Feldman says she had about 1,500 patients, whom she cared for from a “womb to a grave.”
“Doing everything and expecting to do more”
Dr Michel Minh Tri Tran says young doctors are already facing a heavy workload.
Trin, who works at Ahuntsic, already serves about 1,000 patients as a family doctor. He points out that doctors are required to work extra hours in ER hospitals or CLSC clinics.
“We are just doing everything and we are expected to do more,” said Minh Tri Tran.
“If we try to force it, we start to feel pressured to deliver fast-food medicines.”
Minh Tri Tran says he wants to see the province do more to train and accredit foreign doctors to meet shortages.
The province has announced its intention to intensify alternatives to caregiving nurses, paramedics and pharmacists more power to treat patients.
The county has also promised to provide a telephone service where a nurse can refer patients without a doctor to the medical services they need.
Health Minister Christian Dubé said he hoped most people without a family doctor would be able to access the service by the end of the summer. It was initially supposed to be in place throughout the province by March 31st.
While announcing health care reforms in late March, Health Minister Christian Dubé said he hoped most people without a family doctor would be able to access the service by the end of the summer. (Paul Chiasson / The Canadian Press)
The hotline has already been made available in the Lower Saint-Lawrence area through a pilot program.
The telephone service is a move in the right direction to reduce the workload of doctors, but more needs to be done to attract medical graduates to family medicine, Amyot said.
Last year, 75 residencies in family medicine were left vacant in Quebec as fewer graduates chose family practice. Over the years, that has risen to 400 fewer family professionals in the province, he said.
“Imagine what we could do if we had 400 more family doctors in 2022?” said Amyot.
The Quebec Ministry of Health has said it is difficult to give an exact figure for how many GPs are “missing” in Quebec, as not all of them work full time throughout their careers.
“Admissions to medical schools are increasing and steps have also been taken to better promote family medicine,” a ministry spokesman said.
title: “Exhausted And Dreading New Government Rules More Quebec Doctors Are Eyeing Retirement " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-11” author: “Randall Ogg”
“The government’s plans to micro-manage us even more than they already have micro-management have worked for many of us,” said Feldman, now 68. “We worked like dogs for most of the pandemic.”
Many others feel the same way.
Last year, 275 doctors either retired or informed the Provincial Health Council, the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ), of their intention to retire within the next two years.
That number has skyrocketed since 2017, when 145 announced their intention to leave.
At least 1,000 family doctors are urgently needed in the province, said Dr. Marc-André Amyot, President of the Association of General Practitioners, Federation of Physicians omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ).
“In the next five to 10 years we will have a significant wave of retirements,” he said.
Age is part of it. Amyot points out that about 25 percent of family doctors in Quebec are over 60 years old.
The area with the highest number of possible retirements is Montreal, where 44 doctors said they planned to leave. More than 30 family doctors have retired or will soon retire in both Quebec City and Montérégie.
The average retirement age was 68 in Montreal and 65 in Quebec City and the Montérégie region.
It’s a blow to the 945,000 Quebec residents who are still on the waiting list for a family doctor, according to official estimates. The actual number may be closer to 1.5 million.
Dr. Michel Minh Tri Tran is a family physician at Ahuntsic. (Rowan Kennedy / CBC)
Last year, the Legault government proposed setting a quota of 1,000 patients for each GP with sanctions proposed for those who fail to meet the requirements, something they have since done.
At the height of her career, Feldman says she had about 1,500 patients, whom she cared for from a “womb to a grave.”
“Doing everything and expecting to do more”
Dr Michel Minh Tri Tran says young doctors are already facing a heavy workload.
Trin, who works at Ahuntsic, already serves about 1,000 patients as a family doctor. He points out that doctors are required to work extra hours in ER hospitals or CLSC clinics.
“We are just doing everything and we are expected to do more,” said Minh Tri Tran.
“If we try to force it, we start to feel pressured to deliver fast-food medicines.”
Minh Tri Tran says he wants to see the province do more to train and accredit foreign doctors to meet shortages.
The province has announced its intention to intensify alternatives to caregiving nurses, paramedics and pharmacists more power to treat patients.
The county has also promised to provide a telephone service where a nurse can refer patients without a doctor to the medical services they need.
Health Minister Christian Dubé said he hoped most people without a family doctor would be able to access the service by the end of the summer. It was initially supposed to be in place throughout the province by March 31st.
While announcing health care reforms in late March, Health Minister Christian Dubé said he hoped most people without a family doctor would be able to access the service by the end of the summer. (Paul Chiasson / The Canadian Press)
The hotline has already been made available in the Lower Saint-Lawrence area through a pilot program.
The telephone service is a move in the right direction to reduce the workload of doctors, but more needs to be done to attract medical graduates to family medicine, Amyot said.
Last year, 75 residencies in family medicine were left vacant in Quebec as fewer graduates chose family practice. Over the years, that has risen to 400 fewer family professionals in the province, he said.
“Imagine what we could do if we had 400 more family doctors in 2022?” said Amyot.
The Quebec Ministry of Health has said it is difficult to give an exact figure for how many GPs are “missing” in Quebec, as not all of them work full time throughout their careers.
“Admissions to medical schools are increasing and steps have also been taken to better promote family medicine,” a ministry spokesman said.
