Estevan's newest physician is a veteran doctor who has practised in large emergency room settings and built a business of helping others in cities with teeming populations.
Dr. Jimi Akinsete, who joins the physician team at Estevan Medical Group, said he and his family are looking forward to establishing a new pace and lifestyle in the Energy City.
Even with years of medical practise behind him, Akinsete said the certification process that allowed him to set up in Saskatchewan was detailed and vigorous, but that was something that any physician should expect when seeking to practise in Canada.
Trained in South Africa and the United Kingdom, Akinsete has 22 years of medical service in his resume.
He received his family medicine degree and master's in medicine, specializing in family medicine, in South Africa. He received his clinical fellowship in the United Kingdom, specializing in accident and emergency trauma services.
After serving for several years in the city of Manchester, Akinsete said, "I was happy in the UK, but it's very crowded, it was almost like I was being squeezed. I like it here," he said, glancing around the open spaces adjacent to the Medical Group's parking lot next to the clinic where he was meeting members of the welcoming committee.
"Canada was our first choice, and Saskatchewan was my first choice in Canada. The people sold me on Saskatchewan as a beautiful place with a growing population. I never explored any other option."
Akinsete is residing in an apartment provided by the local physician recruitment and retention committee and will be moving into a home later this summer when his family joins him.
Akinsete and his wife, Toyin, have five children, the oldest being a 16-year-old girl and youngest being seven-year-old twins.
"They'll join me in July after school lets out in Manchester. They're all anxious to come. Well, our 16-year-old daughter wasn't that sure about it, you know, it's a big change for her and she's made her friends there. But we believe she'll get along OK once she gets here and gets settled a bit. We keep in contact daily through Skype, actually two or three times a day it seems," he said with a laugh.
Akinsete said he will be established in a family medicine practice with focus on obstetrics, so he's happy to see the local hospital equipped with ultrasound imaging. His work in the emergency medical and trauma units elsewhere has provided him with a wealth of experience in that area of service.
"What we really need here is a CT scanner though, definitely ... to work with trauma incidents, it makes a difference."
Akinsete agreed that he felt the stress factors on local physicians will be reduced somewhat now that there are 11 of them working in the city, but he knew the clinic in which he works is still looking for one more.
When he's not busy being a doctor, Akinsete said, "I'm a church man, I work with the church, and I like to play tennis."
Greg Hoffort, executive director at St. Joseph's Hospital where Akinsete will seek privileges as a matter of course, said the vigorous assessment will continue even with the announcement made by the provincial government about the SIPPA (Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment) program. Estevan is one of several communities that has now welcomed physicians under the new program.
"It would be even greater if we were consistent across the country," said Hoffort, regarding the physician skills testing systems.
Hoffort said Estevan is still seeking a family physician training program and noted that, "we have some Estevan people in medical training right now, so why couldn't we give them their residency here?"
Bridget Bittman, manager of the local recruitment team, said the SIPPA program allows the physicians to clear through their practical and theory classes for certification within three months, then close them out by taking the exams that allow them to take the next step which requires placement within a medical group. At that point they are paid a stipend and living allowances, but for someone like Akinsete, she said, "that's not very adequate, but we also understand governments insist on certain standards. We just wish there were more efficient ways. We lost a potential anesthetist because of the system."
Bittman said Akinsete has now cleared the hurdles and is accepting new patients every day.
"We have welcomed four new doctors just lately. We want them to feel comfortable, establish ties to the community. We could still use another general practitioner/surgeon and maybe another anesthetist to take some pressure off the existing system we have. We have another veteran doctor coming in September for a look at the situation. They've noticed a lot of pressure has been taken off the local emergency room now that we have more doctors set up in clinics, so that's saving everyone a lot of time and a lot of money too," Bittman said.
The SIPPA program in Saskatchewan has been under assessment since early 2011 with 25 doctors having successfully completed the requirements.
The new assessment process gives arriving doctors orientation to the Canadian practice environment prior to assessment and a larger volume of candidates can be assessed throughout the year, not just at specific times.
