Sanne(41)

For fifteen years I worked as a GP in Rotterdam-Zuid. I had 2,400 patients, a full schedule and chronic stress. The GP crisis in the Netherlands is real: too many patients, too little time, bureaucracy eating you alive. When a colleague who had emigrated to Canada told me about her four-day work week and patient limit of 1,500, I started thinking seriously.

The process to work as a physician in Canada is long and complex. First I had to get my diploma assessed by the Medical Council of Canada (MCC). Then the National Assessment Collaboration (NAC) Objective Structured Clinical Examination. Next I had to register with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC. The entire process from first application to registration took eighteen months — but my Express Entry application ran in parallel.

British Columbia has a dire shortage of family physicians. Through the BC PNP Healthcare Professional stream I received accelerated provincial nomination. Those 600 extra CRS points made my Express Entry application a formality. I landed in Vancouver with PR status and a job at a group practice in Kitsilano, one of the city's most beautiful neighborhoods.

The Canadian family medicine model differs from the Dutch one. I work fee-for-service through MSP — each patient consultation is separately reimbursed by provincial insurance. My income is higher than in the Netherlands, but I must cover my own practice costs (rent, staff, insurance). The group practice structure shares those costs, making it manageable. I work four days a week with Wednesdays off — a luxury unthinkable in the Netherlands.

Medical culture is more international than in the Netherlands. In my practice, physicians from India, South Africa, Iran and now the Netherlands work together. The patient population is enormously diverse — I regularly speak through interpreters with Mandarin, Punjabi and Arabic-speaking patients. The electronic health records (EMR) are well integrated and the specialist referral system works digitally, though wait times are long.

After two years in Vancouver I have a healthy patient panel of 1,200, a 32-hour work week and more family time than ever. The city is expensive — our mortgage for a townhouse in East Vancouver is substantial — but the quality of life is exceptional. Mountains, ocean, parks and a medical career that doesn't come at the cost of my health. My advice to Dutch physicians: the path is long, but it's worth it.