Local doc named Family Physician of the Year
Dr. Schalk van der Merwe
September 16, 2024, 10:03 am
Ashley Bochek
Dr. Schalk Van der Merwe has been awarded Family Physician of the Year for Saskatchewan.
Van der Merwe is from South Africa and has lived and served southeast Saskatchewan as a family doctor for the past 25 years. Van der Merwe came to Canada in 1998 and is one of 14 physicians in Moosomin, who also serve smaller communities through local clinics.
“We came to Canada in September of 1998, to Redvers with a four-month plan. We were away for the weekend when Henriette, my wife, saw an ad in the paper that said they were looking for a locum in Redvers for four months and we thought let’s go on an adventure.
“We came for four months because I was in a specialty position and then, I was going to go back to South Africa and specialize. I really wanted to do heart transplant surgeries. The first heart transplant surgery ever done was in South Africa in 1969. It still fascinates me to this day.
“We had always decided that if we had kids that I wouldn’t do that job because that’s a 20 hour a day job, but we’d come for four months, and two weeks before we flew to Canada, Henriette found out that she was pregnant with Heinrich, with our son, but we decided to go anyway.
“I remember we came in August, and all we knew about Canada is that it was cold, so we came in August and it was hot—we had no shorts and no short sleeve shirts.
“We worked in Redvers from August to December of 1998 and then I met Dr. Crouse at a convention in December and he asked what my plan was after my locum, and I told him that we weren’t entirely sure and he said, ‘Do you want to come work in Moosomin for a few months?’ Then, I talked to Henriette and she said we could extend it for a few months, and 25 years later we’re still here.”
Stresses of travelling to a new country
Van der Merwe says there were many little stresses when coming to Canada from South Africa. “I remember flying into Regina when there was one luggage carousel. That’s all there was.
“I remember landing in Montreal and that was a funny story. I said to the lady who booked our trip, ‘We’ve never been out of the country so please make sure that our hotel is right at the airport,’ and she said, ‘Yup, no problem!’ So we get to Montreal, we get off, everybody is speaking French and we didn’t know that was a thing in Canada. We found an agent and I asked where the hotel was and she replied saying it wasn’t at this airport. So, my wife who’s four weeks pregnant and nauseous, she said, ‘I’m going to sit here with all of our suitcases while you go sort this out.’ I had the telephone number for the hotel, but as soon as I pick up the pay phone, it’s all in French. I can’t speak French and I’m thinking this is not good. I put the phone back and I walked around, then I would come back and pick up the pay phone again because I thought maybe there was a cycle where if you pick it up this time it’s in French, but if you pick it up again it would be in English. That went on for maybe an hour and then finally I saw that there was a button you could push for English. So we landed at Dorval and our hotel was at Mirabel because the agent didn’t realize that there were two international airports in Montreal.
“We realized just how vast this country is when we got into the aircraft and I asked the flight attendant—in South Africa we can fly across the whole country in two hours—how long it would be to our next stop and she replied, ‘Oh, another four and a half hours.’ I was shocked and thought four and a half hours in one country was crazy. I remember landing in Regina with wheat fields along the highway and I remember thinking we were going to be safe.”
First impressions of Canada
Van der Merwe says he immediately felt at home in Canada.
“I thought this may as well be a farming community in South Africa because it’s exactly the same, the people are the same and just as friendly—it was the same except for the language. I thought that was so cool and things were smooth because I remember getting off the aircraft in Montreal and I had to go through immigration. All of my paperwork was there and when I got off, everything was there, they knew where we were going and what we were here for. Since it was so easy, I had a really good impression.”
Interested in medicine
Van der Merwe jokes that he got into medicine because he wanted to know what was behind the “Authorized Personnel Only” doors.
“The sign that says Authorized People Only, I wanted to know what makes you authorized. In the Operating Rooms you always see Authorized People Only and I always thought about what it means, and the answer was go to medical school for seven years and then we’ll let you through. Truly that was it, I wanted to know what was through those doors.
Family Physician of the Year
Van der Merwe says his colleagues nominated him for the award.
“Ross Kerkhoff had told me he was going to nominate me for this award and I just thought ‘whatever,’ because there are a lot of people who do great work, not just in this province, but in the country, so I didn’t think I would have much of a chance. I thanked Ross for doing the work because it’s a long process,” Dr. Van said.
“I was sitting in the hospital when my phone rang and it wasn’t a number I had as a contact, but I saw it was from Saskatoon so I thought maybe it was the College of Physicians.
“I answered the phone and the guy said he was the President of the College of Family Physicians of Saskatchewan, to tell me that I had won this award.
“At first I thought it was just one of my friends that was messing with me, but he was serious.
“Then I got an email a little bit later from the College of Family Physicians saying congratulations and telling me that I won the award. That was really cool.”
Van der Merwe says there was a lot of work for his colleagues to submit to nominate him for the award.
“You have to be nominated by one of your colleagues, then the mayor, Larry Tomlinson had to write something, the nursing staff, then my office staff wrote some stuff, and so did some of my colleagues. Then it gets assessed by a group of people because there are a lot of worthy applicants. Then you are notified if you’re chosen.”
Appreciates recognition
Van der Merwe says he is very excited to attend the conference to accept the award.
“I have never won anything like this,” he said. “It is such an overwhelming feeling because it’s hard to think that people actually recognize what you do.
“To win it for the province—my first thought is this is pretty cool, and then my next thought is this is a huge responsibility.
“We have to go to Vancouver for the conference so I thought I can’t not wear something green for the Riders. It’s a national conference and I won something, I have to represent the province. I was actually in the Rider store last week wondering what I am going to wear.”
He says it took awhile to believe he won the award.
“I had thanked the person on the phone and then after I thought I can’t believe this is real. I called my wife about it, but then thought I would keep it to myself because I want to see it first and believe it myself.
“Then, the email came so I knew it was real and then thought I’ll tell some people. I talked to Dr. Ross and my colleagues thanking them for nominating me and having their support.”
He says there is a national conference each year. “There is a conference every year and they alternate where it is going to be between western and eastern Canada. So this year it just happened to be in Vancouver, then next year it will be somewhere in the east or the Atlantic provinces. There is a College of Family Physicians of Canada which is equal to the Royal College of Specialists or the Royal College for surgeons or radiologists. It is the national governing body.”
Excited for event
Van der Merwe says there will be a presentation at the conference before he is presented with his award.
“There is a presentation about me. They asked me to send pictures of where I am from, where you work, and then they present them at the conference.
“Ashley (Bochek) and I went around and took some pictures showcasing the town a few weeks ago for the presentation at the event.”
He says he is looking forward to the event. “I am looking very forward to it. I actually went out and bought a new suit. The Saskatchewan chapter has an event on September 29 so they will be presenting some stuff there as well.”
Van der Merwe thinks award programs are a great way to recognize the out-standing people in the profession.
“I think there are lots of people that work without any recognition and I think the most important part of an award like this is to recognize not only individuals but the team around them. It is great for me to get the award, but really without having people to support you, that wouldn’t happen. Medicine specifically, if you don’t have the team, it isn’t happening. You need your nurse team, lab team, x-ray team, so I think there is lots of value to it. Especially if you’re selected by your peers in your province, there is lots of value in that.”
