SUNDRE – A new doctor who started her career in Sundre earlier this year originally discovered her love for medicine in grade school during a biology class on human anatomy.
“I loved it; it was my favourite unit. It was amazing – it really inspired me,” Dr. Sara Klapstein told the Albertan.
“I’ve always been someone that cares a lot about people,” Klapstein said when asked what persuaded her to pursue a career in health care.
“In Grade 8, we started learning about the human body and I was fascinated by it,” she said. “I was like, ‘I’m going to be doctor!’ and then the rest is history.”
The 31-year-old was born in Edmonton and grew up in Beaumont just south of Alberta’s capital, and her family has a farm in Leduc County that also planted the seeds that sprouted into a deeply rooted preference toward a more rural lifestyle that offers a closer connection with nature.
“I knew after med school that I wanted to do rural medicine because of the small town feel,” she said.
“Just coming from a farming family, I like the rural lifestyle, I like (being) outside – I grew up camping and everything – so I wanted to be somewhere that was more remote.”
After completing an undergrad with a bachelor of science at Grant MacEwan University, Klapstein went on to finish medical school as well as her residency through the University of Alberta.
Her time as a student was also her first introduction to working in Sundre, where she just last fall finished her residency before taking a month off to rest and move to town after graduating. Her first day at the Greenwood Family Physicians was on Jan. 8.
“It’s been really good. Busy, but it’s good,” she said about her experience to date, expressing gratitude for all of the support she’s received from other local physicians.
“There’s lots of nuances to the health-care system that you don’t really know until you’re staff,” she said, adding the community has also left her feeling welcome.
“I love the people; they convinced me to come back, so I came,” she said, referring not only to patients who encouraged her to return but also colleagues she worked alongside at both the hospital and clinic throughout the course of her residency.
However, the Sundre Health Profession Attraction and Retention Committee (SHPARC), which operates under the umbrella of the Sundre Hospital Futures Committee in partnership with Sundre physicians, also played a big role, she said.
“One of my big things that had to happen for us to come here was having a house to rent,” she said, calling that “no easy task” as she and her husband Nathan Schoenthaler have a canine companion named Orson who needs a fenced-in yard.
But Joyce Wicks, the recruitment and retention committee’s chair, managed to make it happen.
“She found a place for us,” said Klapstein, adding Wicks then also went above and beyond by helping Schoenthaler, who transitioned into education from a career in trades as a pipe fitter for a more stable change of pace.
Wicks also assisted with lining up arrangements for Schoenthaler to complete a practicum at Sundre High School so he could complete his teaching degree.
“That also was a major part,” said Klapstein. “If that didn’t get arranged, then we would probably have had to delay coming until he was done school.”
So now Sundre not only has a new doctor, but also a new teacher.
“He is going to be the new shop teacher in the fall,” she said.
Asked what she most enjoys about her line of work, she said, “getting to help people out” and added that facilitating someone’s recovery from an ailment or condition is “always really rewarding.”
She also expressed a fondness for the scope of practice in a rural setting that provides a variety in areas such as emergency and hospital medicine as well as clinical work.
But there are also hurdles.
“I would say the biggest challenge right now is just the shortage of doctors,” she said. “It’s really taking its toll on the residents for sure.”
While Klapstein is a new doctor practising in Sundre, she upon arriving assumed responsibility for an outgoing physicians’ patient panel.
“I actually came to Sundre with a full panel that I took on already,” she said, adding appointments are typically booked upwards of two weeks in advance.
“I’m not taking new patients unfortunately because my panel was already a full size,” she said.
“It’s tough because, you know, I wish I could take everybody as a patient, but we only have so much time.”
That physician shortage has a ripple effect that creates pressure elsewhere within the health-care system, she said.
“It’s driving people to urgent care centres like the emergency room for non-urgent things simply because there’s just no doctor to be seen in the community,” she said, adding people should ideally be able to book appointments with a family physician to get more simple issues checked out.
“Getting more family doctors, I think, will be a big help because it’ll reduce the burden on the emergency room.”
Klapstein also could not confirm when she might be in a position to take on new patients.
“If a patient is unattached and really needs to be followed for something acute, then we sometimes will take them on for that,” she said when asked whether she anticipates eventually being able to take on some new patients.
“But as far as taking more patients other than that, I can’t really say for sure right now.”
Despite such challenges, the keen outdoorsperson who enjoys camping and hiking looks forward to working in Sundre and expressed enthusiasm about exploring the backcountry when the opportunity presents itself.
“Nature is my favourite place to be,” she said.
