The Beginning of the End

Hey everybody. This is the post that I (and, I think, many of you) have been waiting for. Last week as I was walking down a loading ramp at Halifax Airport I received a call from the CPSO. I heard the familiar voice of the coordinator of the Registration Committee and she told me that they had reached a decision and approved my license to practice medicine in Ontario!

Needless to say, this news was well-timed and my family was pretty happy to hear it. As for myself, I suppose I have mixed feelings about it. It's a bit complicated and there are many reasons -- not the least of which is the fact that I do enjoy working here. When I made the decision to come to Newfoundland it was with the expectation that I could spend the rest of my career working here and that it may take a minimum of 5 years before I could return to Ontario (if at all). In retrospect, it's surprising how quickly I was able to come home.

As I mentioned in my previous post, this first step may very well end up being the easiest. The hard part is to find a job and the Anesthesia job market is very poor at the moment. I was contemplating taking a chance and jumping feet first into the Ontario locum market without the security of a permanent job offer. But, I've decided against it for the following reasons:

• The locum market seems to be just as bad as the permanent job market in Ontario. It is doubtful that I'll be able to successfully string together enough locums to last a full year.
• The Gov't of Nfld. just caved in to the NLMA's demands and doctors here will, on average, earn the same as other doctors in Atlantic Canada. (Translation: big pay raise).
  
• My position here in St. Anthony is not as secure as I thought it was. I don't have the space here to explain but thanks to a wishy-washy anesthetist elsewhere in the region, a 4th Anesthesia spot was created here in St. Anthony when, technically, there are only 3 on the books. If I resign and then say "oops", the 4th spot will likely vanish and no longer be available. (There goes Plan B).
  
• The Anesthesia job market in Nfld., which was fairly open as little as a year ago, has tightened up considerably. Chronic shortages are being filled and, I've heard, there may be an influx of Irish doctors fleeing the economic problems of Ireland and Nfld. may be attractive given the pre-existing contingent of Irish-trained doctors here. (There goes Plan C).
  
• I'm an anesthetist -- I don't take impulsive risks except under extreme duress. :)

So, I've decided on my job search strategy: I won't quit my position here in St. Anthony until I manage to secure a permanent job offer from Ontario. I'm going to start working on my CV and cover letter this weekend and I'll start making inquiries in earnest in the new year.

My travel plans are starting to shape up as well. I'll be going to Banff for a conference and to Winnipeg to visit a friend near the end of January. Then it'll be back to Toronto for Chinese New Year and then to Ottawa for another conference in early February. In early May I'll be travelling to Tibet and China with my parents.

Things are starting to fall into place!

...Or Not. (Watchful Waiting)

Yikes, no update since March. This is largely a combination of (in no particular order):

1) Laziness.
2) Life's now a routine.
3) Anticipation.

#3 in particular was causing me to hold back just in case the "big news" came in so I would have something noteworthy to write about. I am referring to my application for licensure with the CPSO in Ontario. Unfortunately, my case keeps getting deferred as they ask me to provide more information. I'm actually not surprised by this but given the infrequent (every 6 weeks) meetings of the Registration Committee and the minimum time requirement for submissions, every deferral results in a minimum 2 month delay. What should have been a 4-6 month process which was started in February has now dragged into October. They just met last week and they say it could take them up to 4 days to contact me if my application was approved. I have a sinking feeling that they're going to ask for even more information which means another 2 month delay. That or they may reject me. I'm actually not sure what my chances of getting the license are which is probably why I'm feeling like I'm in limbo right now. If it's approved then a whole bunch of things need to get done and organized. If it's rejected then that means I can move on to the next step -- apply elsewhere and contemplate a nice 2 week vacation somewhere for next year.

So my future is on hold at the moment and life goes on. Back in June I went to Montreal for the annual Anesthesia meeting and in July/August I spent 3 weeks up in Goose Bay providing locum coverage. In September I returned to Toronto for a conference and for the Mid-Autumn Festival with the family. I also managed to visit Victoria/Vancouver for 4 days to catch up with some friends on the West Coast.

This month I'll be driving down to the Burin peninsula for two short locums. My first locum was just after hurricane Igor hit. While I didn't personally visit any devastated towns I was able to see first hand the damage to the province's highways. Like the Northern peninsula where I'm currently living, the Burin peninsula has only a single road access off the Trans Canada. When Igor hit it took out two bridges on this highway and cut it off from the rest of the province. At one point they had use one of the ferry's to deliver much needed supplies to the area. One colleague tells me that when he arrived in St. John's at the start of his locum he was personally flown into Burin Hospital by helicopter. Nice!

Things in St. Anthony have been fairly slow work-wise. Even though all my Anesthesia colleagues are taking advantage of their vacation time (probably in anticipation of my likely departure), the pace has been even slower than usual given the absences of various surgeons. Believe it or not, I'm actually going to complain about not being busy enough. My boss commented that St. Anthony was a great place to retire in that you can earn a decent wage and yet not be put through the wringer of a larger center. Unfortunately, it will be at least 15 more years before I can even contemplate an early retirement. Plus, it is often said that even after you pass your exams, you've still got about 5 more years of self training ahead of you before you truly master your field. So, I do feel that I should be busier both from professional and financial standpoints which is why I'm going to leave St. Anthony despite the fact that I'm otherwise happy here. Of course, my Dad wants me back in Ontario no matter what (job or no job) and he wants me to quit as soon as my license is issued -- even if I haven't secured a new job yet!

If you're still reading this blog then I thank you for your interest. I've recently acquired a webcam and for those of you on MSN Messenger or Skype you can look me up. Email me if you want more instructions.

I'll keep you posted!