For more than a decade, Doctor Tim Percival has worked as a physician in North Bay.
Now, the Sarnia native is the Chief of Department and Medical Director for the Emergency Department.
“I think as a good emergency physician you have to like variety and you have to be able to adapt quickly to lots of situations,” said Percival in a recent interview with BayToday.
“A lot of it is about prioritization. You have to hone in on what is important and deal with that quickly and then move on to the next issue.”
See related: The challenges in the Emergency Department
Percival believes showing care for patients no matter how busy the emergency department is, is very important.
“You also have to be compassionate and do what you can for the patient,” he said.
“You may not be able to fix all their problems in that visit but you at least want to address them and acknowledge them and make them feel cared for.”
Percival has had some good role models in the ER. Those would include Dr. Andre Rivet, who passed away in 2014, and Dr. Mike Leckie.
“Andre Rivet, he really was the guy for so many years,” said Percival.
“We miss him but Andre was the fastest emergency doctor in the province and he had the uncanny ability to diagnose people quickly and get them through, but he was very caring at the same time, he was still an excellent doctor.
“Mike Leckie is an amazing guy as well. He is very compassionate and great at what he does and has a sense of humour about it.”
While Percival moved here and stayed, he believes keeping doctors here is always a challenge.
“You can pay the money and keep them here for short periods but keeping them here is the challenge,” he said.
But, with emergency numbers plateauing, Percival says that’s an indication that the good work in clinics and an increase in family doctors to the area is making a difference.