ON vs BC

• Just the other day, I found myself saying aloud more than once at the clinic "Do they have X here? Because in BC...". Even I found myself annoying. I wasn't trying to be, but I was just casting about looking for guidelines or clarity that I've always had in BC on a couple of topics and was wondering if the same thing exists in an "Ontario version". After saying this a couple of times, my preceptor said, "I think you'll find that BC is more organized on a number of things than we are here in Ontario". That quite surprised me. Not that I thought BC health care wasn't good (it is) but I guess I have been making some of the same assumptions as many in Canada make - that Ontario (with Toronto in mind) is the centre of the universe and therefore would be a leader in all key areas of health care. But that simply isn't so. One of the benefits of moving from BC, in addition to learning about some of the positive areas in which Ontario is ahead (e.g. the structure of integrated health care teams made up of family physicians working in house with other allied health professionals (social workers, nurses, nurse practitioners, dietitians, pharmacists, etc)), is getting new perspective about the areas in which BC is leading. For instance, the BC Cancer Agency is TOP NOTCH. And I'm getting more convinced that my medical school education was also excellent (and continuing to appreciate my small island program). So is BC's prenatal screening program. And the Centre for Excellence in HIV & AIDs that helps to coordinate care for all people with HIV in BC. And much more that I haven't even stumbled upon yet.

• So while there are many things (especially people!) that I am sorely missing from BC here in Ontario, I do believe that my time here will teach me some good Ontarian-borne tips/strategies to put into practice in BC but also give me a new appreciation of the many, many things that are done exceptionally well in BC already. There's nothing like reflecting on differences to give you a bit of perspective.