Fort St. John

Fort St. John is known as “The Energetic City,” which reflects the large resource base of oil, natural gas, forestry and agriculture. Overlooking the Peace River, the town of Fort St John is located above the Peace River Valley, and serves as the capital of the Peace River district. The population of Fort St. John is over 21,400 but it services an area of approximately 70,000. The community is the hub of the Northeast with a cultural centre and library, theatre, and art space. There are seven elementary schools, two middle schools, and one secondary school. There is also a Northern Lights College campus. https://www.northernhealth.ca/our-communities/fort-st-john

Practice Details:

Northern Health is seeking Pediatrician Locum Physicians to work in Fort St. John Hospital, Fort St. John, British Columbia. Dates are flexible to suit your availability with a minimum of two days required. Locums will be expected to be on call for pediatrics for the Fort St. John Hospital, attending newborn deliveries and seeing urgent pediatric consultations in the Emergency Room. There are approximately 531 births per year in Fort St. John. The Fort St. John Hospital Emergency Department sees over 5,000 patients under age 17 per year. In 2023, one pediatric patient per week was transferred for admission at a hospital able to offer a higher level of care. It is hoped that locum pediatricians will be on call for most of the time that they are in Fort St. John, taking a ‘night off’ if/ when needed. However, locums may designate specific nights on and off call if preferred.

Fort St John Hospital is a state-of-the-art 55 bed hospital and 123 bed residential care facility serving a population of approximately 23,000 and is one of two area Emergency Rooms serving a catchment area of approximately 70,000. The Fort St. John Hospital has 24/7 X-ray, CT, ultrasound, and MRI services. Full time physician support includes GP Anesthesia, General Surgery, Psychiatry and Orthopedic Surgery. There is currently intermittent coverage for Ob/Gyn. Short term higher level of care is supported by ICU nursing and respiratory therapy. There is an excellent local Child Development Centre, providing therapy services for pre-school aged children, and there are various options in Fort St. John for child and youth mental health counselling.

Locum pediatricians are welcome to offer consulting pediatric service in the Fort St. John Pediatric Clinic, seeing patients who are currently on the clinic’s waiting list (although this is not necessary). This clinic is open 5 days per week and is supported by knowledgeable and friendly administrative staff with an EMR that is shared among the pediatricians who provide regular visiting clinics to this community and locum pediatricians. The clinic is off-site (not located within the Fort St. John Hospital).

The Fort St John Pediatric Clinic is located at 10011 96 Street in a space that is shared with the General Internal Medicine Clinic and the Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Clinic. The Pediatric Clinic has 3 fully equipped examination rooms and one shared office/ work space. The admin staff can support locum pediatricians who require assistance in accessing resources in the Northern Health region, including in locating the appropriate referral forms (for example, for referrals to the Fort St. John Child Development Centre).

Fort St. John is known as “The Energetic City” and is located at Mile 47 of the world-famous Alaska Highway. The city has numerous restaurants, cafés, and a health food store. It is the cultural and commercial hub of the Northeast, with a performing and visual arts centre, library, art gallery and theatre.

Remuneration is through the Rural Specialist Locum Program (RSLP). There is a daily rate of $2,960/24 hours, inclusive of RRP and MOCAP. Travel, and accommodation costs are covered and there is a travel stipend which varies based on time (maximum of $1,500 per round trip).

For more information please contact Elena Gilfillan (Elena.Gilfillan@northernhealth.ca), Locum Coordinator, or Dr. Kirsten Miller (kirsten.miller@northernhealth.ca), Northern Health Medical Lead for Pediatrics.

Qualifications:

No Details

Call Schedule:

Hours of work: No Details
On call requirements: TBD

Compensation:

Fort St. John Hospital:

The Fort St. John Hospital has 44 Acute Care beds and 124 residential beds and is equipped to handle 22,000 ER visits per year. Some more highlights about the hospital:
• Endoscopy suite, 2 state-of-the-art operating rooms,
plus a procedure room
• Ambulatory clinics including Cancer and Hemodialysis
• Medical and Surgical inpatient rooms (40 beds)
• 3 Intensive care units
• Minor surgeries
• 7 single Maternity rooms for Labour, Delivery, and Post-Partum
Fort St. John also has the Health Unit and Primary Care Clinic which serve the community.