“As a rural family doctor, I care for people from cradle to grave. My colleagues and I do the entire gamut – working in the emergency room, caring for patients in hospital and working normal hours in the clinic,” says Dr. Gavin Parker, a family physician in Pincher Creek.
“I also do anesthesia for low-risk surgical patients. There was a need for an anesthesiologist here in Pincher Creek, so I did a year-long fellowship. We also do a lot of teaching at my clinic, and there’s always a resident or student working with us.”
“I golf a lot. When you golf with people who are better than you, you get better. Working with other doctors in my clinic is a lot like that. I’ve had to rise to their level.”
He says choosing to practice rural medicine was a natural choice for him.
“Like a lot of physicians who practice rurally, it was the diversity of experience that attracted me. You get both the exciting interactions that often happen in the Emergency Department, but you also get to build long-term relationships with patients and their families,” he says.
“My wife is a French immersion teacher, and Pincher Creek had good work prospects for her and my three kids. It was a natural fit.”
When he’s not in clinic or on the golf course, Dr. Parker can be found throwing people in the air at the judo club he opened with his wife several years ago.
“The community has been welcoming and supportive,” he says. “It’s got a little something for everyone.”