COUNCIL AWARD
As a newly graduated doctor with urban roots,
what prompted you to make a life and career in
rural Ontario?
When I was in medical school, I received a bursary from
the government and a requirement of the bursary was
that I spend two years in an underserviced area. My wife
and I really liked the community when we visited, but to
be honest, I thought we’d leave after two years. But as the
practice started up, it got busy very quickly and I began
to enjoy it. I always wanted to be a country doctor where
I could get to know people and be part of a community.
Comber just fit. You’ve kept up a busy pace for 40 years. When
do you plan to retire?
I hope to turn my practice over to a new doctor soon so I
can slow down a bit, maybe work part-time for the next
2-4 years. I am looking forward to eventually retiring, to
spend time with my grandchildren, putter around my
property and, here’s the big one – finally finish building
the model railroad I started a few years ago!
What drives you to work so hard for your patients?
To me, being a small town doctor means being available.
I also think it is partly my generation’s attitude – you put
medicine at the top of things and you understood that’s
how you do it. I remember one doctor friend of mine What advice will you give to the physician who
eventually takes over your practice?
Take the time to listen and get to know your patients.
There’s nothing better than talking to get to the heart of
people’s concerns.
would put a coverall over his suit to mow the lawn when
he was on call, so he could leave quickly to see patients if
he had to! That attitude rubbed off on me.
MD
Two New Medical Advisors at College
Dr. Benjamin Chen
Dr. Chen has been a practising
General Internist for more than 20
years. He has a breadth of experi-
ence, having worked in academia,
private practice, urban and rural
settings, and intensive care and
rehabilitation. He is currently a
consultant general internist in
Napanee, a medical director at the Lennox and Addington
County General Hospital, an adjunct associate profes-
sor at Queen’s University, and a member of the Internal
Medicine Examination Board of the Royal College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. At the CPSO, he has
provided independent opinions for public complaints, been
a medical inspector for Registrar’s investigations, and has
completed reassessments for compliance monitoring.
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DIALOGUE ISSUE 4, 2018
Dr. David Finkelstein
Dr. Finkelstein has practised Oto-
laryngology/Head and Neck Sur-
gery at Southlake Regional Health
Centre in Newmarket for more
than 20 years. As Chief of Surgery
for many of those 20 years, Dr.
Finkelstein developed an interest
in various forms of administrative
medicine related to quality and patient safety. In pursuit
of this interest, Dr. Finkelstein is currently the Lead As-
sessor for Head and Neck Surgery in the College’s Quality
Management Division and has completed numerous peer
assessments over the last 10 years.