I love rural practice because
- I can bicycle to work
- I can practice to the extent of my training
- I meet a real need in the community
- I and my family are part of the community
- My patients bring me cookies and date squares moose meat and fish
- It is never boring with constant variety of nursing home, lumps and
bumps surgery at the hospital, stress testing, OB, ER, inpatients, ICU
and office (I can't imagine being stuck in any of those day in day out,
never mind a dermatology caseload of zits every day)
- I have reasonable control over my life (I am only perpetually on call
for OB but have a guilt free sign out system for when I am out on the
boat, out of town etc) so I make ALL my family commitments
- Did I say that I have a view of the lake from the office (and my sail
boat is walking distance!)

--
Peter Hutten-Czapski, Haileybury Ontario
President Ontario Society of Rural Physicians
http://www.srpc.ca

Most rural communities have large populations of older people and children, with relatively small populations of people of working age
-Ministerial Advisory Council on Rural Health 2002