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LetterLetters

A rural physician relates

Lewis Draper
Canadian Family Physician December 2018, 64 (12) 878;
Lewis Draper
Lumsden, Sask
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I read the August 2018 issue of Canadian Family Physician1–3 with particular interest, as I was a rural physician for 27 years—for 9 years in Lafleche, Sask, and then for a further 18 years in Gravelbourg, Sask. The cover photograph reminded me of a hayfield my wife and I own that looks just like it, on which we built a Swiss-style chalet for weekends and retirement. Unfortunately, at age 83, it is no longer possible for us to live there in the winter, so we bought a condo in Regina, Sask, and visit the chalet at weekends.

My wife, our 2 children, and I arrived in Saskatoon, Sask, on Monday, December 19, 1966, and fell in love with rural Saskatchewan the following day as we were driven to Wadena, Sask, to join 2 other British physicians. I have recently written and published 2 books of anecdotes of our experiences there.4,5 The first, Prairie Doctor, sold out within a month or two. I didn’t actually sell the books; rather, people asked to buy them! Quite a difference. I also had an essay published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 1976, “The joys of rural practice.”6

In addition to enjoying the rural medicine content of the August issue, I appreciated Dr Ladouceur’s editorial, “The cannabis paradox,” from the February 2018 issue.7 A patient with multiple sclerosis asked me for a prescription for medical marijuana and I thought, “Why not?” I gave her a prescription and at her next visit she brought in a friend who had fibromyalgia. This friend, in turn, sent in a friend who had migraines—the prescriptions mushroomed! These are mostly people in their 40s and 50s who want cannabidiol oil and are non-smokers. What Dr Ladouceur says is certainly true: “Regardless of what the science tells us, people will continue to consume cannabis.”7 Familiarizing myself with cannabinoids deepened my engagement with patients with chronic pain.

Footnotes

  • Competing interests

    None declared

  • Copyright© the College of Family Physicians of Canada

References

  1. 1.↵
    1. Mitra G,
    2. Gowans M,
    3. Wright B,
    4. Brenneis F,
    5. Scott I
    . Predictors of rural family medicine practice in Canada. Can Fam Physician 2018;64:588-96.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  2. 2.
    1. Charbonneau G
    . Recruiting physicians to practise in rural communities. Can Fam Physician 2018;64:621. (Eng), 622 (Fr).
    OpenUrlFREE Full Text
  3. 3.↵
    1. Reyes RR,
    2. Parker G,
    3. Garies S,
    4. Dolan C,
    5. Gerber S,
    6. Burton B,
    7. et al
    . Team-based co-management of diabetes in rural primary care. Can Fam Physician 2018;64:e346-53. Available from: www.cfp.ca/content/cfp/64/8/e346.full.pdf. Accessed 2018 Nov 6.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  4. 4.↵
    1. Draper L
    . Prairie doctor. Lumsden, SK: High Hill House Publishers; 2010.
  5. 5.↵
    1. Draper L
    . More prairie doctor. Lumsden, SK: High Hill House Publishers; 2015.
  6. 6.↵
    1. Draper CLW
    . The joys of rural practice. Can Med Assoc J 1976;114(5):413, 428.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  7. 7.↵
    1. Ladouceur R
    . The cannabis paradox. Can Fam Physician 2018;64:86. (Eng), 87 (Fr).
    OpenUrlFREE Full Text
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Canadian Family Physician: 64 (12)
Canadian Family Physician
Vol. 64, Issue 12
1 Dec 2018
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