For Robert Wedel, it was an opportunity to pursue two of his passions.
As a boy, he learned to ride a horse. As a teenager, he decided on a career as a physician.
After medical school, could he harness them together?
Wedel found his answer in Taber, where he's served residents for many years. At the same time, he's saved time to compete in western reining competitions and other equestrian events across Western Canada.
"It was a lifestyle choice," he says, one that's obviously worked for Dr. Wedel and his patients. In fact, he was nominated and then selected as this year's "award of distinction" recipient, as part of the Alberta Rural Physician Action Plan.
Wedel was honoured Tuesday during a Lethbridge reception, and feted again at a Taber dinner in the evening. His peers say he was selected, "In recognition of his creativity, broad scope of clinical practice, and for his broad basis of accomplishment in a number of areas including teaching, research, palliative care and administration."
Across the province, Wedel is known as one of the pioneers of the primary care approach to health. It puts a focus on Albertans' day-to-day health, instead of on high-tech hospital intervention when illness occurs.
That community-based service, he maintains, is "The foundation of our health care." In Taber, Wedel and his colleagues have shown how it's done.
In recent years, pharmacists, social workers, therapists and others have become part of the Taber health care team. Other communities have added asthma educators, dietitians, "health coaches" and other disciplines to meet local needs.
Once allied professionals became involved, Wedel says physicians were able to free up more time for people who could be best served by a physician.
"And they could get an appointment the same day," allowing patients to get medical advice promptly rather than neglecting an issue or putting off their visit. "We've seen dramatic improvement in our patient waiting times."
At the same time, Wedel says the Taber clinic was successful in convincing provincial health officials to try a different funding system. Rather than compensating doctors on a per-service basis, Alberta Health would pay their clinic to keep patients healthy.
While that's still a pilot project, another Taber initiative is spreading across the province. Electronic record-keeping began to replace traditional, paper-based medical records. Close to 70 per cent of the province's doctors now store patients' medical information that way, he estimates, allowing other doctors immediate information when it's needed.
Says Wedel, "Alberta is leading the nation," with less than 20 per cent of doctors' systems upgraded in the rest of Canada. It's become a valuable tool, he adds, allowing physicians to monitor their patients' health more effectively.
In southern Alberta, meanwhile, the Taber project's success led to creation of the Chinook Primary Care Network, with more than a dozen clinics across the region signing on. Lethbridge-region physicians have also been active in recruiting and training new family practitioners, and Wedel expects initiatives under the Alberta Rural Physician Action Plan will bear fruit.
There are many reasons to consider a medical career outside the major cities, he says, including with the opportunity to introduce better approaches to patient care. Wedel sees more improvements on the horizon.
"I feel things are really moving."