When Dr. Linh Nguyen told her colleagues she was moving her practice from downtown Toronto to Cochrane, Ontario, many of them asked if she was okay.
“They thought I was having some kind of crisis,” she laughs. “But honestly, it was the opposite. It was the best decision I have ever made.”
Dr. Nguyen, who had practised at a busy Toronto family health team for nine years, made the move in 2023. She now runs a solo practice that serves a catchment area stretching 80 kilometres north of Cochrane, including several small First Nations communities.
The challenges are real. She manages more acute and complex conditions than she saw in Toronto. Specialist support is hours away. The winters are long.
But the rewards are also real. She knows her patients and their families across generations. She is respected in the community. And she has found something she did not expect: time.
“I actually finish work at a reasonable hour most days,” she says. “That was unthinkable in my Toronto practice.”
Dr. Nguyen is one of dozens of physicians who have connected with OCFP’s Rural and Northern Family Medicine Network, a peer support community for physicians working in underserved settings. She now mentors medical students considering rural careers.
“The system needs more doctors in rural and northern communities,” she says. “I am living proof that you can build a satisfying, sustainable career outside the cities.”