º£½ÇÉçÇø

Stephan Guscott (Photo: Supplied)

As a rural resident of the Department of Family Medicine, Stephan Guscott is no stranger to late nights.

One of the most memorable came in his first year of residency. After a full day of surgical training at a hospital in Edson, Alta., Guscott learned that a critically ill patient needed to be transported under the care of a doctor to Edmonton. Rather than pulling the emergency room doctor away from other patients, Guscott volunteered to join the two-hour ambulance ride east, administering medications to support the patient’s blood pressure and keep them sedated while a paramedic used a bag-valve mask to breathe for them. 

Guscott didn’t get home until 3 a.m. — and was back at the clinic the next morning. Today, he describes that night as one of his best learning experiences.

“It’s part of the job in the full scope of rural family medicine,” says Guscott, whose residency has run the gamut from delivering babies to providing palliative care in rural Alberta communities like Edson, Sundre, Camrose and Ponoka. “You don’t necessarily get that exposure in the city.”

Guscott is one of the 22 º£½ÇÉçÇø family medicine residents who has been supported by The Dr. Joe Tilley and The Allin Clinic Family Medicine Award. Established after Tilley’s passing in 2007, the award recognizes second-year residents who demonstrate scholarly excellence and a passion for primary care. 

Tim Garrish, a former patient of Tilley and ongoing donor to the award, knows the benefit of this passion first-hand. Garrish spent 44 years on the road and in the air as a firefighting pilot. A single fire season could have him crisscrossing the country, and travelling as far as Europe and Australia to extinguish blazes. It left little time for doctor visits outside of his mandatory annual medical fitness exam.

“You didn’t have family doctors — you were never anywhere all that long,” Garrish says.

But Tilley went above and beyond his role as a Transport Canada medical examiner. He became Garrish’s de facto family doctor, even catching a skin lesion that led to early cancer treatment, and always offering what Garrish remembers as Tilley’s “compassionate, holistic approach.”

“When you came into the office, you would be greeted with a smile,” Garrish recalls. “It was like coming in to see an old friend.”

Garrish gives to the award to recognize the 20 years of care he received from Tilley, and to help ensure the next generation of family doctors have the support they need to provide care for communities who need them the most. 

Samantha Horvey, associate program director for the university’s family medicine program, says awards such as this are crucial to attracting and retaining doctors like Tilley in Alberta. 

“Building and fostering this community encourages residents who have trained here to stay and work here,” she says.

Her point reflects a larger priority at the º£½ÇÉçÇø. Through the Shape the Future campaign, scholarships and awards are opening doors for students while strengthening health care across Alberta. The Joe Tilley and The Allin Clinic Family Medicine Award is one example of how donor generosity creates lasting impact for students and the communities they will serve.

For Guscott, that support eased the challenges of the long hours and many moves that a rural residency requires. Guscott recently completed his two-year family medicine residency and is now pursuing a one-year enhanced skills program in emergency medicine. The award made his decision to undertake the program financially viable for him. And it’s an investment with outsized benefits, leading to better care for patients in rural Alberta. 

On a personal level, Guscott says the greatest impact of the award has been feeling recognized for taking on the responsibility of becoming a family doctor.

“I think it’s one of the most important jobs in medicine for the health of a community,” he says. “Recognizing folks with a passion for delivering that full scope of care goes a long way to attracting people to family medicine.”