After nine long years of studying to become a family physician, Dr. Rebecca Leitch has officially joined the PrimaCare Community Family Team in Paris.
The 32-year-old Milton-born doctor said that when it came down to choosing her career, there was never any question about what she wanted to pursue.
“I think I’ve always just known,” said Leitch. “If I go back to my high school yearbook, there was a prompt that asked what I wanted to be when I grew up and even then, I just always knew that I wanted to be a doctor.”
While the journey from high school graduate to a licensed physician was a long one, Leitch committed herself to the process.
“First, I got my bachelor’s degree and so that was four years of school, then I went on to do my medical degree at McMaster University which was another three years, and then finally I did my residency at the University of Toronto’s Sunnybrook site for two years,” said Leitch. “I officially graduated last winter, so I’ve actually been working outside of residency now since January.”
After finally completing her schooling, Leitch said that when it came time to find somewhere to start her own practice, the Cowan Community Hub had just felt like the right fit.
“I had taken an elective with another physician here at PrimaCare, Dr. Mohan Raja, while I was still in residency and I just really loved the clinic, I thought the town was beautiful and the people seemed lovely,” she said. “My husband and I had been living in Burlington for a while and now that he owns his own dental practice in Brantford, it just made sense for both of us to work in the area so we officially moved here three weeks ago.”
Because the 41,365-square-foot Cowan Community Hub was specifically designed alongside the PrimaCare team to be a place that offers all-encompassing services that meet the physical, mental and health care needs of the community, Leitch said that the building’s resources were a big draw.
“A family physician or general practitioner usually has a roster of patients that are looking for help with anything from the common cold to a sprained ankle, general checkups, preventative health care, checking for mammograms and colonoscopies, or anything along those lines,” she said. “They’re really that central person who can look after you, but when there’s anything outside of that scope, a physician will often send off a referral and then help to coordinate everything for you and your health. With the Hub having so many different resources like the dieticians and the social workers, the physiotherapists and so on, it makes it really unique for a lot of clinics and it makes that referral part of the job a bit easier when there are so many resources under one roof. I really love that there are all different people working together here.”
Leitch said that since she first started in the clinic in June, she’s been hard at work settling in and going through patient applications.
“There are a lot of moving parts with starting your own business, but it’s been really good and the other doctors have been supportive,” she said. “Getting to build your own practice, start a new life in medicine and to meet all the young families coming in, it’s all very exciting and while it’s been a long journey and it’s a big process, it’s been really great to finally get started.”
She said that while she’s already garnered a waitlist for new patients, for anyone interested in seeking a new doctor, she suggests sending an email to newpatient@pccfht.ca under the subject line “NEW PATIENT REQUEST.”
Overall, Dr. Leitch said that she’s looking forward to being a part of the community and creating long-term trusting relationships with her patients.
“I really care about my patients and I’m hoping to be able to build relationships with them long term,” she said. “I like to be able to care for entire families and so I’m looking forward to continue doing that here. I think I’m just excited to be a part of the Brant community and to contribute to the overall health of the people and the families here.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
