Hanover Medical Clinic

Dr. Tim Heerema was recruited into teaching shortly after his graduation from Western University's rural Family Medicine program, and has been excited to do so ever since. He did an elective in the Hanover Medical Clinic as a fourth year medical student and this experience solidified his passion for rural family medicine. Dr. Heerema returned to the community for an elective during his PGY-3 in Emergency Medicine, and after graduation convinced his wife to give the community a try. Ten years later, they couldn't picture living anywhere else.

Dr. Heerema enjoys the depth and breadth of being a rural generalist physician. He divides his clinical time between office based family medicine and the local Hanover and District Hospital. He works in a variety of clinical settings within the hospital including the inpatient floor, the operating room and the emergency department. He also does home visits for some of his palliative and house-bound patients.

Life is also full outside of work. His family consists of his wife Jen and their four children. They share a passion for travel and board gaming. They own and operate a retail board game store in Hanover, and Dr. Heerema designs board games in his spare time. He also plays hockey, sings and does drama productions in his local community.

TRAINING SITE/PRACTICE DESCRIPTION

The Town of Hanover, population 7500, is located in the heart of the spectacular Georgian Lakelands on the boundary of Bruce and Grey Counties. Hanover is a short drive on excellent roads to the Lake Huron shoreline (famous for its miles of natural, sand beaches and summer amusements), and a 40-minute drive to Owen Sound. Hanover is a great place to live, work and play. In addition to being convenient to schools, recreation facilities, playgrounds, parks and shopping, our pleasant neighbourhoods are an excellent place to raise a family. Hanover's location offers its residents a large variety of interesting and exciting recreational opportunities. The Saugeen River runs through Hanover and offers some of the best canoeing and fishing in the province.

The residency program is closely involved with the Hanover Family Health Team (HFHT). The HFHT is a group of specialized health care professionals working together to coordinate the highest level of patient care possible. Our dedicated team includes physicians and other allied health professionals, including a nurse practitioner, registered nurse, social worker, registered dietitian, addictions and mental health counsellor, occupational therapist, psychologist, and pharmacist working together in an interdisciplinary setting. The HFHT is locaed on the campus of the Hanover and District Hospital.

The Hanover and District Hospital is a 24-bed hospital with an annual emergency room volume around 17,000. It is primarily staffed by local family physicians, has two local general surgeons and has onsite radiology. It has a number of visiting specialists including orthopedics, urology, ophthalmology, pediatrics and endocrinology. Other local services are a dialysus unit, cardiac rehab, diabetic education, kinesiology, physiotherapy, and in patient pharmacist support. The family physicians are actively involved in all aspects of patient care and are a very collegial group who work and learn together.

Our goal for the Hanover Rural Family Medicine program is to produce competent and confident rural generalist physicians. Our record is a successful one, with the majority (80 per cent) of physicians who have graduated from our program working in rural areas of Canada.

Resident Testimonial

Dr. Timothy Heerema on what he'd say to a candidate interested in rural medicine and why the candidate should strongly consider Hanover.

• Typical rural population consisting of all ages
• Pre-natal to end of life care

INTERESTS OF FACULTY

• GP anesthesia
• Family medicine obstetrics
• Minor office procedures
• Palliative care
• Emergency medicine
• Surgical assist
• Nursing home

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

• Day hospital program – kinesiologists and physiotherapists
• Pharmacists
• Local general surgeons and radiologists
• Visiting orthopedic surgeon, pediatrics, urology, endocrinology, diabetes educator
• OR assisting
• Palliative care and geriatric care core blocks can be provided in Hanover
• Dermatology (faculty physician with Dermatology diploma will provide extensive dermatology teaching and experience)
• Problem-based learning sessions with local family physicians
• Very active OB program with an excellent track record in producing confident OB providers post-training

RESOURCES ON-SITE

In PGY1, a typical day will consist of inpatient work in the morning, followed by office into the afternoon. There will be attendance at an OB clinic staffed by local family physicians once a week. Emergency room shifts will depend on the schedule of the preceptors – usually 1-2 shifts per week.

In PGY2, the typical week is described above in the curriculum section with immense flexibility.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
08:00 - 09:30	Hospital Rounds	Hospital Rounds	Hospital Rounds	Hospital Rounds	Hospital Rounds
09:30 - 11:30	Clinic	Clinic	Academic	ER Call 7:00 – 19:00	Clinic
12:00-13:30	Lunch	Lunch & meeting	Lunch		Lunch
13:30 -16:30	Clinic		Academic Half Day		Clinic
Eve	Emergency shifts are 12 hr shifts. No clinic after nightshift (postcall).

* Home, nursing home and palliative care visits are integrated throughout. *

On-Call: