Posted: August 20, 2024
By: Elizabeth Conrad
Gary Ernest (MD‘80) is back in school to tackle physician burnout. After more than four decades of practicing family medicine in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, he knows a thing or two about building and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
In 2023, Dr. Ernest was honoured with the prestigious Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for his service to physicians and the public as President of Doctors Nova Scotia in the pre-pandemic and early pandemic periods. Now, he’s channeling his professional experiences into an Executive Doctorate in Business Administration (EDBA) program to help address the challenges facing the strained medical system across the country and to find solutions that will help transform health care for both providers and patients.
East Coast calling
Originally from Montreal, Dr. Ernest found his way to Halifax after visiting a friend who was in his first year at Dalhousie Medical School. He attributes a warm Maritime welcome to his decision to study at Dalhousie. “I was fortunate in that I was accepted to more than one med school,” recalls Dr. Ernest. “The people that I would encounter were just so friendly. I thought, this would be a really nice place to come.”
Dr. Ernest’s fondest memories of his time at Dalhousie Medical School include Euphoria!, intramural sports, and—most importantly—meeting his wife. But the overall comradery with his classmates is what sticks out for him the most.
“It was a group of people where everybody was very friendly,” recalls Ernest. “Everyone accepted each other readily and were mutually supportive.”
He graduated with the MD Class of 1980, completed his family medicine residency in 1982, and moved to Liverpool where he has practised ever since. He has held various leadership roles in healthcare organizations, including Doctors Nova Scotia, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia, and the Canadian Medical Association.
Dr. Gary Ernest graduated with the Dalhousie MD Class of 1980.
An advocate for family medicine
These days, Dr. Ernest is practicing three days a week at Queens Family Health as part of a collaborative team consisting of seven family physicians, three family practice nurses, two nurse practitioners, one pharmacist, and one social worker. This dynamic clinic provides the opportunity to include in-hospital care and emergency department shifts at Queens General Hospital into his practice.
Queens Family Health is also a Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine Distributed Learning Site, and Dr. Ernest recognizes the value of teaching medical students and family practice residents at the clinic.
“The quality of teaching they get is excellent because you’ve got a group of family doctors who are tremendous and are vey committed to teaching,” explains Ernest. “And they are very committed to the welfare of the learners.”
While being a rural family doctor presents challenges, Dr. Ernest ultimately believes that it is a very rewarding type of practice. He says that his career in Liverpool has given him a breadth of experience and has allowed him to be fully engaged in all facets of his patient’s lives, something that he considers a privilege.
“It’s so rewarding, plus it also helps you to do your job better,” states Dr. Ernest, “because when you know the family, and you know their background, their social circumstances, their personalities—it lets you be more effective at what you’re doing.”
To Dr. Ernest, family practice is special because of these complexities. He appreciates caring for his patients through their life cycle and getting to know their families intergenerationally.
“A few weeks ago, I had four generations of one family in for their flu shots—how cool is that!?”
Next role in health-care leadership
For aspiring family medicine practitioners, Dr. Ernest advises aligning practice with personal interests and maintaining balance to prevent burnout—which is the subject of his dissertation for his EDBA.
When asked why he is pursuing additional education at this stage of his career, when many of his classmates are retiring, Dr. Ernest simply stated that he was still interested. He thrives on challenges and staying busy, and believes the longer he can keep working, the better.
“What I’ve noticed—without any doubt whatsoever—is that the people who age the best are the people who keep working,” explains Dr. Ernest. “Whether it’s for income or volunteer work, as long as it’s stimulating to them, as long as they enjoy it, and as long as they can control their hours, those are the people I’ve noticed who age the best—physically and mentally.”
After he graduates from the EDBA program in 2025, Dr. Ernest plans to use his education to work on the multitude of challenges that come with health-care transformation.
“It’s an issue that is front and center on everyone’s agenda,” explains Dr. Ernest. “It has become increasingly clear over time that although our health-care system has many excellent qualities, there are aspects of it that need to change in order to cope with current and future demands.”
Dr. Ernest looks forward to being part of the solution, and so far, he says it’s been an exciting ride.