A family affair: Study finds rural physicians frustrated by lack of opportunities for their spouses

Healthcare professionals in northwestern Ontario have found in their research that a lack of career opportunities for physician spouses is a leading factor prompting doctors to leave small towns. In their paper, Why They Leave: Small town rural realities of northern physician turnover, Drs. Jilayne Jolicoeur, Eliseo Orrantia and Lily DeMiglio and kinesiologist Lindsay Nutbrown found that while access to nature and outdoor activities were advantages calling doctors to more rural settings, there were disadvantages for their families. "People who had children who were approaching high school age were looking for opportunities for their children that didn't … exist in the community, so [in] some of the communities, organized sports for their children to participate in or certain types of classes at the high school that weren't offered," Dr. Jolicoer told CBC News. Read: COVID-19 diagnosis leads to decline in mobility and functioning in older adults The researchers spoke with 12 doctors who’d practices in small northern communities in the past five years, but who’d since decided to close up shop and leave. "Some of them did really struggle, depending on what sort of area of work their spouse was in, in gaining that community integration piece," Dr. Jolicoeur said. One doctor from the study noted the northern community didn’t prioritize helping to her spouse find a suitable job. "He is a very skilled worker. He has two degrees in university with significant job experience, and the community was unable to ever find job opportunities that would fit for him. Even when there [were] opportunities that came up, they were never offered," she said in the paper. Read: Case report: ‘I’m allergic to everything’

A family affair: Study finds rural physicians frustrated by lack of opportunities for their spouses

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