Testimonials

Be the Doctor You’ve Always Dreamed of.
Dr. Grace Simmons, GP
Dr. Glen Sykes, GP
Dr. Hugh Hindle, Emergency Physician
Dr. David Hanton, GP – Castor, Alberta
Dr Joy McLean, GP – Banff, Alberta
Dr. Peter Senior, Assistant Professor, University of Alberta
Dr Keith Wycliffe-Jones, GP - Calgary, Alberta

Dr. David Hanton, GP – Castor, Alberta

Dr. David Hanton chose to relocate to Alberta from Scotland because the Canadian province offers a great life for doctors and healthcare professionals. Having been on holiday to Canada and with his father having already re-located there, David knew that Alberta offered life with style.

The process of Emigration took David about a year after accepting his job. He had to complete the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Exam. David’s Work Visa was expedited and assistance was given by the local hospital board.

David chose to relocate to Castor in east Central Alberta. Castor is about a one and a half hour car trip from Red Deer, two and a half hours from Calgary in the south and the same distance to Edmonton in the north. It’s a farming community with a population of approximately 1,000 in the flatlands of the prairies. The main employers are in the farming and oil service industries.

His work allows him ample time to enjoy the wide variety of leisure activities available in Alberta where local communities are particularly friendly in nature. In the winter, skating, hockey, snow shoeing, cross–country skiing, snow mobiling and skiing are all easily available.  In the hot summer, David can golf, fish, swim, camp and bike etc. All these hobbies are readily accessible and fairly inexpensive.

“I work as my own boss and I’m able to use all the skills I’ve learnt in SHO jobs and GP rotation.”

Castor has a small community hospital and David works there with a varied workload. He feels this variety keeps his life interesting and is a definite advantage. On call, he covers A & E and works in the clinics and surgeries. David carries out minor procedures, as well as admitting and caring for patients.

He comments: “I have the autonomy to make my own decisions, without bureaucracy from the government. I work as my own boss and I’m able to use all the skills I’ve learnt in SHO jobs and GP rotation.”

The more David works the more he can earn under the provincial government fee for service payment method.

Working as a doctor in the small rural community of Castor also offers many professional advantages. As a doctor, David has always been shown great respect in Castor and has become familiar with a large number of individual families.

There are two schools in Castor, offering education from preschool to University entrance level. A wide variety of courses are offered and there is a significant amount of “one on one” attention as class sizes tend to be relatively small.

David’s father and brother practice as doctors in the Bragg Creek and Killam regions of rural Alberta respectively. Killam is a similar type of community as Castor. It’s located 70 kilometres north of Castor and enjoys the same benefits as Castor. Bragg Creek, where David’s father works, is a little different. It’s a smaller community located close to Calgary and so has the amenities of the large city nearby. In the foothills of the Rockies, it has the benefit of the leisure activities the mountains offer.

David feels the advantages of working in Rural Alberta in comparison to Scotland are many. Professionally, there is much less regulatory interference and better remuneration. David is able to use more of his skills, as opposed to having a limited managerial role in the NHS. There is also an extensive, continued education programme funded through the Alberta government. There are opportunities for specialised funded training after 5 years of service in a rural community. In Alberta, David has been able to use his autonomy to investigate patients without specialist referral. There are also shorter patient waiting lists for tests and investigations.

David’s family partake in the many affordable, easily accessible leisure activities Alberta offers and enjoy eating out cheaply too. They live in an attractive detached house and drive new cars.  “Having financial freedom and being able to afford to do the hobbies and leisure activities I like, are real benefits gained from living and working in rural Alberta. I can eat out regularly, take holidays and I afford nice housing and transportation. The nice climate allows me to enjoy a variety of outdoor activities.”

Canada has the highest standard of living in the world, of which David has first hand experience. He says: “If you’re interested in spreading your work horizons (and escaping the limits the NHS imposes on GP’s), improving your remuneration for work and greatly improving your standard of living, while avoiding the swirling mist and rain of the UK – give Alberta a try!”   

Dr Joy McLean, GP – Banff, Alberta

After 25 years as a GP in the UK, Dr. Joy McLean now lives in a wonderful home in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada. She loves watching the wildlife walk past her back garden, hiking and kayaking in the summer and skiing and boarding in the winter.

Still working as a GP in a lovely clinic with two other doctors in Banff and surrounded by the mountains, Joy is thoroughly enjoying her professional and family life.  At home, her family are absolutely loving the Alberta lifestyle too: “My husband and two teenagers all enjoy the wonderful outdoor opportunities, the standard of living and the general quality of life. Overall, things are much cheaper here and are of better quality”.

“If you leave your front door open, you don’t worry about being robbed, the roads are not busy and you can ride a bike safely! Children are respected here; they are not repressed or put down. It is important to us that our children have a safe place to live and they have blossomed in confidence within a much more positive educational system than the UK. My daughter thinks it’s great to have mountain biking as one of her lesson choices!”

Clearly, the lifestyle opportunities for her children played an important part in Joy’s decision to re-locate to Alberta. She adds: “The education system progresses children in many ways. They are encouraged to talk and give opinions and they follow two streams in high school – one academic, one more practical. The local school has two cars for the boys to practice mechanics and students run the canteen thus learning business as well as cooking skills. On leaving high school, there is even a cap and gown ceremony and a graduation ball.”

During his education in Alberta, Joy’s 17 year old son developed enough confidence to train as a tennis pro in the U.S. “ He would never have been given that confidence in the UK – all aspects of the child are encouraged here, not just academic” adds Joy, who hopes her own parents will join her as they also love Alberta.

In the spirit of positivity that exists in Alberta, Joy and her husband opened a bookshop in Banff which has made the whole family even more part of the community, something which Joy says “has been lost in all but the small UK villages”.

Joy enjoys more autonomy as a doctor than she did in the UK: “We can order CT scans, bone scans and MRIs without specialist input”.

So, how has Joy’s professional life as a doctor worked out? Apparently, the advantages in Alberta, compared with her UK past, are numerous. “I can choose to do as many hours as I wish, being paid per consultation” says Joy. “I do a lot more hands on work here. I’m once again removing stitches and giving injections and I love being able to do antenatal, postnatal and baby care again.” Most patients call her “Joy” and she welcomes this informality. “People are helpful and pleasant and, although we’ve been really busy, our stress levels are much lower than they were in the UK”.

Banff, where Joy’s clinic is located, is a small tourist town and ski resort with a mixed population of transient youngsters and stable local people. It has a small hospital which is just one hour away from large medical facilities. “As you can imagine, we see a lot of ski injuries and are much more involved in all aspects of care. As we are a distance from the large hospitals, I do a lot of consults with specialists over the phone”.

Joy enjoys more autonomy as a doctor than she did in the UK: “We can order CT scans, bone scans and MRIs without specialist input”. She also reveals that waiting times are better than in the UK with, for example, family doctors able to arrange a non-urgent ultrasound in two weeks and urgent CTs the same day.

 Patience in working steadily through the entry administration processes, including the Canadian certifications and medical examinations is “worth the wait” says Joy. “The healthcare system is great. I love it here and so do other British doctors I know – none of us would think of going back”.

But what is the downside?  Apart from the wait while all necessary procedures are carefully followed - Joy advises going over, initially, on a work permit - the only downside is, apparently, the possibility of “meeting a bear on a forest walk!!” 

Here are some helpful tips from Dr. Joy McLean:

•  “I contacted Sam Sussman at Physicians Canada and he sent out my CV and I had numerous responses!!
•  Come over, travel around and decide where you want to be – drop into a few clinics and leave your CV. I did that – and one doctor I visited passed my CV to the clinic I am now working in.
• Get the job offer, once you have the job offer, the clinic will have to apply for a HRDC labour market opinion and once this is granted you can get a work permit very quickly via London. Sit the MCCEE over here, come over on the work permit and then apply for Landed Immigration once here if you want to stay.” 

Dr. Peter Senior, Assistant Professor, University of Alberta

Dr. Peter Senior, assistant professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, is enjoying a much improved professional and social lifestyle since emigrating from the UK.

Peter, his wife and three young daughters have settled into a community in Alberta which highly respects doctors and which is safe, family friendly and has excellent public schools. As Peter says: “No more worrying about keeping up with the Jones’, affording the mortgage, living in the right area to get a good school and we’re only a three hour drive to the Rockies”.

Peter describes his region in Alberta as, “A large North American-type city but with a small town feel, friendly, spacious and laid back – no traffic jams or congestion and with easy parking!”

The benefits, compared with his life in the UK, are summed up succinctly by Peter when he says, “There are many advantages here – career progression, scenery, lifestyle, people, climate, general atmosphere, ambience and the education system.”

Peter feels that for the “90% of life which is taken up with job, family, kids to school, grocery shopping etc. life is better, easier and more fulfilling in Alberta. For the other 10% of life, Peter and his family “take advantages of the unique opportunities such as skiing, skating, running, walking, hiking, canoeing and travel. The kids are thriving at school and enjoy the open space and friendly environment”.

“There is lots of scope for autonomy and determining your own practice pattern”.   

Professionally, Peter says that doctors in Alberta benefit from ample resources, easy access to investigations and specialists, while enjoying, as Peter puts it, “a high status in the community”. There is, he says, “lots of scope for autonomy and determining your own practice pattern”.

Peter initially arrived in Alberta on a work permit before transferring to permanent residency. His more fulfilled life since emigrating has led him to share his experiences to encourage other healthcare workers who may be considering a new life in Alberta.

“Think of Alberta as America-lite”, Peter enthuses, “many of the benefits you would enjoy if living in the US – but with a much more reserved and respectful population. The people, culture and legal system are far more similar to the UK than the US – they even have the Queen on the money!”

Here are some helpful tips from Dr. Peter Senior:

• “Start early - it will likely take longer than you think.
• Gather all of your professional certificates, degrees, GMC, medical defence membership. You may need two or three references.
• Think about your spouses’ employment - explore whether their qualifications will be valid - it may be easier to apply now - even if they aren't planning to work straight away.
• Bring school reports and vaccination records for your kids.
• Kids start school later here. Your kids may find the work too easy and may need to be moved up a grade - or else have an easy time the first year and they can concentrate on making new friends.
• If you have teenagers you may want to consider registering them at a school that offers the International Baccalaureate - this might make studying at a UK university easier.
• Talk to the tax office. They will likely want to send you a tax return for at least the first year. Writing may stop them continuing to send you them year after year. If you maintain assets (especially property) in the UK you probably need professional tax advice. The tax year in Canada follows the calendar year. Keeping track of international income with two different tax years can be a headache.
• Leave your NHS pension in the UK - they will pay out no matter where you live. Invest in RRSPs in Canada. Get good advice. The Alberta Medical Association has a business arm with financial advisers.
• Removal expenses hopefully should be covered. A container will take about 6 weeks to get here. Get a removal company with experience in international moves. They will pack and make an inventory which is required for customs. You will likely have to scrub garden tools and the wheels of your bikes to comply with fears of foot and mouth disease.
• It's probably not worth importing cars from the UK.
• Car - bring a letter indicating no claims bonus (insurance) - shop around it may be recognised.
• Passports - make sure you have a few years on your passport
• Make a will when you get here. This would certainly make custody of children a lot easier - otherwise orphaned kids would be a ward of the province and not allowed to leave the country until legal custody was determined.
• Banks - you'll pay for a current account, but the service is likely better. Hours at TD Canada Trust are very good.”

Dr Keith Wycliffe-Jones, GP - Calgary, Alberta

Dr Keith Wycliffe–Jones, senior GP, Clinical Senior Lecturer with the University of Aberdeen and Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners left his full time practice in Inverness, Scotland, after a year’s sabbatical in the Canadian province of Alberta led him to a lifestyle transformation.

He and his family have now permanently re-located to Calgary to enjoy, as Keith puts it, “a growing city with a very attractive lifestyle, a very dry climate, a positive ambience and better professional flexibility with opportunities and freedom to balance my clinical and academic work”.

Keith accepted the offer of his job in January 2005 and his family arrived in Alberta in October 2005 with their permanent residency completed in June 2006. They are obviously delighted with the way things have turned out. 

 Calgary, a boom town of over a million people, has a very positive economy largely due to oil and gas production and enjoys the beautiful scenery of the nearby Rockies. This provides Keith and his family with a wide range of year round activities and the opportunity of “6 months skiing in Banff from early November right through till the end of May, every weekend, every year”.
As Keith says, “because Calgary has a very dry climate (unlike Scotland!), so many days during the winter months are sunny with blue sky. Calgary also enjoys occasional warming Chinook Winds which warm everyone up, even in the middle of winter”.

There are many reasons why an increasing number of professional clinicians are opting for the Albertan style. Socially, as Dr Wycliffe-Jones informs, “the people here are great . .  . very positive about anything and everything you do.

People are hard working but this is balanced by limitless opportunities for outdoor and indoor activities, all year round. This means the kids (and adults!) are never bored”.
“The schools are active partners in the communities and I have been really impressed with how our kids have grown in their schools.”  Dr Keith Wycliffe-Jones points to the “Citizenship awards” given by schools as an example of the emphasis on social responsibility as well as skills. As Keith says “Calgary has many different types of schools and approaches – public, semi-private and private with a very positive learning environment for kids at elementary and High school levels”.

“Sport is huge and the kids can take part in whatever they want . . . soccer is massive in Calgary during the Summer and Ice Hockey takes over in the winter. Then, of course, there’s the ski-ing”. Keith’s family love “the outdoor activities, summer and winter” along with the opportunities for travel to other parts of Canada and the western States of America, including Washington, Idaho and Montana.

Dr Wycliffe-Jones’ experiences as a UK GP are highly valued and his opinions and views relating to health care are requested and respected. He enjoys the advantages of working in an academic post in the Department of Family Medicine in Calgary and a reduced clinical workload compared with that which he encountered in Scotland. He now has adequate time for his academic work which, as he says,  “I had struggled to include with my full time GP position in the UK. The two academic departments in Alberta are small compared with some other Canadian and UK centres and this appeals to me . . . it’s easy to get to know people and to generate collaborations and friendships”. 

Keith is now Associate Professor in Family Medicine at the University of Calgary, a Residency Training Preceptor for Family Medicine, Interim Clerkship Director of Family Medicine and also operates a clinical workload for 4 half days per week. 

He clearly feels a sense of development and of “being on the edge” as Family Medicine moves over ground, perhaps already covered in the UK. He feels that “this is an exciting time for Family Medicine and, as such, an exciting and dynamic time to be involved in academic work in Alberta”. He and his family have settled quickly and have a very strong affinity with the high quality lifestyle and the professional and social environment of Alberta. As Keith points out, if you enjoy winter, “Alberta is a beautiful province with stunning mountains, glacier fed lakes, forests, rivers and rolling foot-hills with ranches and great, great beef.”  Good idea - that sabbatical in 2003!  

Here are some comments from Dr. Wycliffe-Jones, regarding his experience of the immigration process:

• “Patience is important. It felt like a long time. I accepted the job offer in January 2005 and had the necessary work permits for myself and my wife by September 2005.
• Be prepared for a lot of collating and collecting of documents, police checks etc. and I had minimal interaction back from Immigration Canada in the UK.
• At the same time as applying for work permits to allow me to take up my post, I also applied for permanent residency.
• We arrived in Canada at the end of October 2005 and had our permanent residency completed in June 2006, having submitted our application in early 2005. I have to say I can’t think there were any positive aspects of this process.
• The Alberta government did contact me in the Spring of 2006 to indicate they would support me as a “preferred person” or a term similar to this but as our Permanent Residency was imminent, and this would have involved resubmitting yet more documents, we chose to just stick with our original application.
• I think you have to like winter and especially winter activities, to come here. Alberta is a beautiful province . . . stunning mountains, glacier fed lakes, forests, rivers and rolling foot-hills with ranches and great, great beef!”

Dr. Grace Simmons, GP

Dr. Glen Sykes, GP

Dr. Hugh Hindle, Emergency Physician

Be the Doctor You’ve Always Dreamed of.