“I’m a family doctor in my mid-70s. If this replacement hadn’t worked out, I would have closed my practice”

I grew up in the west end of Toronto and went to U of T for medical school. In 1981, I moved to Lindsay, about 90 minutes northeast of the city. I relocated here with my wife and opened up a general practice with another family doctor.

I had always planned to retire in my early 70s. My practice partner retired a decade ago and was able to find someone to replace her fairly quickly. I figured that, when my turn came, it would be just as easy.

In 2022, after a planned replacement fell through, I reached out to a recruiter who works in the area to find family doctors. I thought it would take six months, maybe a year. But, well into 2023, nothing. I started to worry. Work was taking a toll—I don’t have as much energy as I did in my 40s and 50s. Paperwork, like reviewing lab results and writing referral letters, takes me longer than it did previously—but that may also be because there’s more of it. Usually, I work a full day, come home for dinner, then hop on the computer for a few hours of paperwork. Sometimes I work on the weekend to be ready for Monday’s patients. Read more: Dispatches from Ontario’s broken health care system

It used to be that, when family doctors wanted to retire, other doctors in their practice could absorb their patients. But, now, everyone is fully rostered, and medical care is more complex. At its peak, the greater Lindsay area had 32 doctors, but today we’re down to 18.

Near the end of 2022, the recruiter and I decided to hire locums: temporary doctors who can cover a practice for a couple of months at a time. I started using them as much as possible to get more time off and in the hopes that one of them would take over my roster. Sometimes locums can work only on certain days, so I’d take on some of the workload, which meant I couldn’t fully step away. When I did find a locum who could work full time, my wife and I would travel—we went to Turks and Caicos in ­February—and spend time with our grandchildren.

Whenever a new locum arrived, I’d introduce them to my wife and take them out to dinner. I invited some of them to take over my practice, but no one took me up on the offer. Based on our exit interviews, they didn’t have issues with my office or my practice—they just weren’t interested in taking over ­permanently. I think it’s because becoming a family doctor isn’t as attractive as it used to be. We operate as small business­es that have to pay for office space and staff, yet our fees are set by medical associations and the government.

I live in a small community. Many of my patients are acquaintances, and I see them often. I felt a personal responsibility to find someone to replace me. My roster is sitting at about 1,100 people. I have a handful of patients who moved away to Oshawa or Toronto but still come to see me because they can’t find physicians in their new locations. I considered quitting and letting my patients fend for themselves. My own family doctor, who is in his 60s, did that earlier this year. I got a letter explaining that he was retiring and I’d have to find someone new. I don’t fault him—he has a right to retire when he wants to.

Thankfully, after almost two years of searching, the recruiter recently found my replacement. She did her residency at Western University, and she starts this fall. It’s great news, but it was down to the wire: I’m in my mid-70s­. If this replacement hadn’t worked out, I would have closed my practice.

For a long time, my patients said they wanted me to wait until they died to retire. Since I sent the letter notifying them of my departure, I’ve gotten thank-you cards and congratulations. My patients seem grateful for my years of service.