Family roots in Spirit River led Dr. Wolfaardt to move halfway across the world to practise there
Channel: RhPAP
Date: 21/12/2022

Dr. Danae Wolfaardt grew up and practised medicine in Johannesburg, South Africa: population 6,000,000. 

So, how did she end up practising in Spirit River, Alberta: population 900?

Well, her mom grew up in Spirit River and then moved to South Africa. Every couple of summers since she was two years old, Danae would come here to visit her extended family. 

In 2016, she brought her partner, Kyle along with her. At that time both her grandmother and grandfather still lived in Spirit River.

Dr. Wolfaardt: “When we went home Kyle was pretty adamant that he loved Canada and he kept saying to me that ‘I really think that we should consider moving there. And I was like ‘okay, I’ll think about it. So I looked into the process. I wrote the first exam and then everything just sort of fell into place.”

In February 2019, the Wolfaardts moved to Canada.

Dr. Wolfaardt: “There’s definitely a bit of a culture shock when you move but there’s so many things I love about rural and small towns," says Dr. Wolfaardt. "This is where I want to be. I love living here. I love working here. I love the people. I love the medicine. It’s interesting. I feel like my career has taken me to places that I never thought I could go in rural. I do so much more than I ever thought I’d be able to do as a family doctor. So, I have no regrets.”

Dr. Wolfaardt wasn’t in Spirit River long before she was asked to be a preceptor for the University of Alberta’s Grande Prairie Residency Program.

“When I first moved, Susan Smith, who was the recruiter that helped me get this physician here, she’d asked me if I’d be interested and I sort of went ‘yeah, sure’. At the beginning, you kind of say yes to everything because you don’t want to say no.  I was quite nervous because I didn’t really think I was qualified enough to be teaching.

“It’s been a fantastic experience. It’s been really fun. All the residents have been fantastic doctors.”
 
When Dr. Wolfaardt arrived she became one of two physicians practising in Spirit River.

Today, there is a full complement of four practising here. 

Dr. Wolfaardt: “We’ve seen the value of rural residencies not just for training but for recruitment and retention. I’ve even seen some of my medical students that have come through have said ‘I really never would of thought of rural but now I’m actually kind of interested in a rural residency.”

“Because sometimes the idea of rural is scary. You’re on your own. You never know what’s coming in. For some people that’s exciting. For other people that’s terrifying. So I think, coming in and seeing we actually are these fantastic small teams that are really supportive and you know, we work together from our clinic staff to our hospital staff to our nurses, pharmacist, we work as this one big team and generally things go really well, and you’re supported.”