Every year, dozens of family medicine positions go unfilled in Quebec, a phenomenon that worries medical associations. How can this lack of interest be explained? And above all, how can we attract more troops? To see things more clearly, The Press gives students a voice.
Yousra Arab
- City of study: Sherbrooke
- Family medicine resident in Longueuil
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Yousra Arab
Why did you choose family medicine?
I didn’t think I would go into family medicine when I started my journey. I was convinced that I would go into internal medicine. A month before applying for residency, I did an internship in family medicine that I really enjoyed. It made me discover how much flexibility and versatility the practice offered, aspects that were very important to me.
How to recruit more students?
We should be put in touch with family doctors early in our medical studies and have internship days in the field. This would allow us to highlight all aspects of family medicine, including care for the elderly and palliative care, which I had seen less of in my career. We need to show students how interesting it is and show them that it will benefit them.
Jacob Desnoyers-Lalonde
- City of study: Montreal
- First year medical student at the University of Montreal
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Jacob Desnoyers-Lalonde
What medical specialty are you considering?
I am mainly interested in emergency medicine, followed by neurology and family medicine. I am still open and will wait to see the observation days to confirm my choice. In recent years, I worked in a veterinary hospital and I particularly enjoyed the urgent cases where we were the first responders. The emergency, with the seriousness of the cases such as trauma and fractures, therefore attracts me a lot.
How to recruit more students?
We need to stop the harmful discourse about family doctors. In recent years, family doctors were sometimes perceived as those who had not completely succeeded in their medicine. When students confided to doctors or professors their intention to become a family doctor, they were often told: “Oh yeah? But you’re smart. You should do a specialty.” We still sometimes hear these comments, but work has been done to change the perception.
Florence Ruel-Ricard
- City of study: Trois-Rivières
- Family medicine resident in Longueuil
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Florence Ruel-Ricard
Why did you choose family medicine?
I always felt that my family doctor truly loved his job. I was lucky enough to be followed by him since I was 12 years old, and, having had some health problems, I was often in his office. I always felt welcome there. I particularly appreciate the long-term follow-up of patients and the social approach specific to family medicine.
How to recruit more students?
I was fortunate during my externship to follow my own patients in family medicine between my specialty rotations. I think this program allowed me to have a more enjoyable experience in family medicine than my friends who were in the regular program and had to do a single six-week rotation in family medicine.
Noemie Payette
- City of study: Montreal
- Family medicine resident in Longueuil
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Noemie Payette
Why did you choose family medicine?
I only did one internship in family medicine and I really liked the versatility of the field. But I wanted to keep my horizons open before deciding. After completing all my internships, I chose to do my residency at GMF-U des Montérégiennes, since it is a new center and I come from the South Shore of Montreal.
How to recruit more students?
Family medicine is undervalued, partly because of the news in the newspapers. It is well known that family medicine involves bureaucracy, with a lot of administrative tasks and paperwork. Reducing these tasks could help to increase the value of the field.
Elise Senay
- City of study: Trois-Rivières
- Family medicine resident in Mont-Laurier
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ELISE SENAY
Elise Senay
Why did you choose family medicine?
I wanted to keep all doors open and discover what I liked best during my journey. In my internships, I liked all environments and I wanted to continue to touch on everything and work as much with children as adults.
How to recruit more students?
For some students, family medicine is seen as a second choice if they don’t get the job they want in a specialty. It’s generally easier to get into family medicine than other specialties because of the high demand. So early in medical school, students could be encouraged to consider family medicine as a great first option.
Julien Senechal
- City of study: Montreal
- Family medicine resident in Longueuil
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Julien Senechal
Why did you choose family medicine?
Family medicine has always been my first choice since I was little. I come from Gaspé and my karate coach was a family doctor. He was a role model for a long time and I liked the versatility of his practice, so that influenced my choice.
How to recruit more students?
Most of my teachers practiced in specialties other than family medicine. In my opinion, it would be interesting to have more family doctors as teaching models. It could be a way to revalue the practice.
*Questions and answers have been edited for brevity.
Read the article “Should we mourn the loss of “our” family doctor?”