ST. PAUL - Working in a busy medical clinic, spending days in the Emergency department at the local hospital, doing rounds at that same healthcare facility, and keeping up with four kids, may not seem like a slower pace, for St. Paul's newest physician, Dr. Umarah Farrukh, moving to a small town in rural Alberta is exactly that.
Farrukh and her family, which includes her husband and four daughters between the ages of two and 12, moved to St. Paul this summer. She says she was fortunate to be able to do her assessment in Bonnyville, allowing her family to get settled in the Lakeland sooner.
Last week, Farrukh officially started seeing patients in St. Paul, working out of the St. Paul Medical Clinic, located next to Catalyst Pharmacy on St. Paul's main street. On Friday, she was already busy with a steady stream of patients.
When asked what brought her to St. Paul, Farrukh explains that she realized she had to slow life down. She had spent the past eight years in Toronto, working as a physician assistant, involved in research, and also helping other professionals prepare for Canadian exams.
Farrukh and her husband have also spent time in England, and she received her education in Pakistan. She admits there has been a lot of travelling around, and after the "roller coaster ride," she is hoping to take time to enjoy life and work.
And so, she decided to move to rural Alberta, a place she also believes will allow her to experience all the parts of her job that she loves.
"Alberta is a beautiful place," says Farrukh, from her office on Friday morning. She says her family is adjusting well to life in St. Paul. One person she says she must give credit to for helping ease her family into the community is Town of St. Paul Mayor Maureen Miller.
Farrukh says she had lots of questions about the community, schools, activities for her children, and more. But, Miller would always help answer those questions, and in the end, the transition "was so smooth."
"I had friends before I moved to Alberta," says Farrukh, with a laugh. She also gives credit to Alberta Health Services for being supportive.
For Farrukh, coming to a rural area will allow her to do many of the things she enjoys about medicine, such as working in obstetrics, working with vulnerable populations, doing preventative health, and more.
When she first came to Canada, Farrukh says she chose Toronto since she had connections in the city. But, she found it to be "very busy and hectic."
She recalls a recent day where she had to travel between work and her daughter's daycare, then back to work, and noted that it took less than 10 minutes total to do it in St. Paul. Some days, when living in the city, she would spend seven minutes simply waiting for an elevator, and doing a simple chore could take quite a bit of time.
Now, Farrukh is enjoying watching her children enjoy the community. She says they are involved in a number of activities, and St. Paul has everything her family needs.
Speaking to the services she plans to provide, Farrukh says she is planning to offer a walk-in clinic and saw a need for it early on while she was doing her assessment in Bonnyville. She hopes offering walk-in appointments will reduce the demand on local emergency departments.
She also is planning to open her clinic for a few hours on Saturdays to help meet the needs of the community. Farrukh is taking new patients, and they can call the clinic to make an appointment.
Farrukh is part of a team of seven new physicians expected to come to St. Paul over the coming months.
"It sounds hard to believe, but it's true," she says, speaking to the number of new doctors coming to town. She notes that everyone is now at some point in their assessment and people can expect a new physician in town every month, about.
She says she understands the community has been frustrated by a lack of doctors, but help is on the way, and "there are good days ahead."
Dr. Farrukh's clinic can be reached at (780) 614-3210.
