Nigel Flook MD CCFP FCFP

William M. Glenn

In 1974, Dr Nigel Flook finished medical school at the University of Alberta. He received his Certification in family medicine 2 years later, and for the next 38 years oversaw an active practice with Family Physicians Associates in Edmonton. “I’m not an ‘asthma guy’ or a ‘guts guy’ or a ‘bone-and-joint’ guy,” says Dr Flook. “I am a family doc.”

But Dr Flook wears many hats. He’s also Clinical Professor with the U of A’s Department of Family Medicine, as well as Chief of Family Medicine and Women’s Health at the community-based University Hospital family medicine clinic and, the “big job” he’s taken on most recently, Director of Practice Improvement for the Physician Achievement Review program under the auspices of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta.

“I love family medicine and it’s a big part of what I am,” says Dr Flook. “That’s because there is always something new to learn—from my residents, from my colleagues, from my patients. There are always exciting new challenges to explore.”

For example, uncertain how to help patients struggling with domestic violence, he helped establish DOVE—Doctors Opposing Violence Everywhere. “We’ve helped define the features and mechanisms that underlie bullying, stalking, and other forms of violence,” he says, “so that we can better recognize it in our practices.”

Convinced that there was a better way to track the myriad drugs some patients were being prescribed, he spent 12 years “working with a lot of bright dedicated people” setting up Alberta’s Pharmaceutical Information Network. “I really liked the idea and got involved at the grassroots level. Today, many doctors don’t know how they could operate without it,” he says.

And because of concern that many HIV patients and others with high health needs in the community didn’t have access to family doctors, U of A’s clinic is working to provide after-hours family medicine services to at-risk individuals who would otherwise rely on walk-in clinics or emergency wards. “We plan to involve students and family medicine residents in the model for this care and are very excited about the opportunities,” he says.

“Each new project adds something to your capacity and your abilities, hopefully making you a better doctor,” says Dr Flook. “I still feel strong, lots of steam, lots of things I want to do. After 38 years in practice, I may not keep up the same pace, but I can’t see myself retiring yet.”

“There are always exciting new challenges to explore”

PHOTOS (RIGHT): Dr Flook (above) with his wife, Maureen, and children (left to right) Robert, Adam, and Claire, along with their beloved family horse Marie (family photo submitted by Dr Flook). Highly valued office assistant Melanie Ochitwa and Dr Flook plan the busy day ahead (left). Patient Darlene Meier shares a light moment with Dr Flook and his son Robert (bottom).

PHOTOS (LEFT): Dr Flook (top) in conversation with a patient who has received care in his family practice for more than 35 years. Dr Flook (far left) supervises the work of resident Dr Stephanie Liu during a procedure, and offers words of encouragement to Dr Liu before the procedure. Dr Flook (bottom) with his son Dr Robert Flook, who is in his final year of family medicine residency.

Footnotes

Dr Flook is Clinical Professor and Chief of Family Medicine at the University Hospital and Kaye Edmonton Clinic in Edmonton, Alta.
THE COVER PROJECT Canadian Family Physician has embarked on a project to assemble the portrait of family medicine in Canada. Each cover of the journal features a family physician chosen at random from our membership list, along with a short essay—a brief glimpse of the person and the practice. Over time, the randomness will become representative and the differences, taken together, will define what it is that all family physicians have in common.