Professional positions and accomplishments

Current positions

• Rural family physician, Liverpool, NS (1982–present). Typical rural practice, including office practice, emergency (until 2018), obstetrics (until 2001), hospital inpatient care (until 2021), nursing homes, house calls and group homes for residents with intellectual disabilities.
• Assistant Professor, Family Medicine, Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine (mid-1980s–present). Teaching medical students and residents on rural family medicine rotations.
• Medical Director, Hillsview Acres Home for Special Care, Middlefield, NS (1986–present). Responsible for the medical care of 28 older adults and residents with disabilities, including intellectual disabilities.
• Marine Medical Examiner, Transport Canada. Periodic health assessments and fitness-to-work determinations for people employed on commercial vessels.
• Workers' Compensation Board Enhanced Physician Services (EPS) Physician. Occupational health consultation for the WCB when another opinion is required or an injured worker does not have a family physician.
• RCMP Designated Physician. Periodic health assessments of RCMP officers; consultation to the RCMP provincial health office.

Accomplishments as President of Doctors Nova Scotia (2019–2020)

• Advanced the relationship between Doctors Nova Scotia and the provincial government through an excellent, trusting relationship with the premier, built through numerous one-on-one meetings.
• Was instrumental in closing the final part of stalled physician payment negotiations between Doctors Nova Scotia and the province in 2019, also through one-on-one meetings with the premier.
• Negotiated a financial support agreement with the Minister of Health for physicians whose earnings were greatly diminished in the initial stages of the pandemic.
• Participated in the working group that developed a blended capitation model of family physician payment.
• Invited every physician in the province, by email, to have me call them about any concerns. No Doctors Nova Scotia president had done this before. The response was large and much appreciated, and I believe it helped address member disengagement at the time. I made several hundred phone calls.

Past leadership positions

• President, Doctors Nova Scotia (June 2019–June 2020). The professional association representing all doctors, residents and medical students in the province.
• General Council (Board of Directors), College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia (2013–2018). Elected position on the province's regulatory board for physicians.
• Investigations Committee, CPSNS (2013–2018). Investigating complaints against physicians.
• Audit Committee, CPSNS (2013–2018).
• Nominations Committee, CPSNS (2013–2018).
• Doctors Nova Scotia GP Council (2016–2019). Addressed concerns of family physicians in the province and presented them to the Board of Directors.
• Chair, Doctors Nova Scotia Working Group on Physician Assisted Death. Participated in drawing up the first set of standards for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), and represented Doctors Nova Scotia on the provincial committee that created these standards.
• Co-Chair, Doctors Nova Scotia Policy & Health Issues Committee (2014–2016). Developed and reviewed policies, positions and perspectives of interest to the organization.
• Audit Committee, Doctors Nova Scotia (2011–2016; temporarily in 2018). Responsible for the financial health of the organization, including budgets and investment strategy.
• Board of Directors, Doctors Nova Scotia (2001–2006, elected rural family physician representative; 2017–2018, regional representative).
• Chair, Doctors Nova Scotia Finance Committee (2001–2006). Later became the Audit Committee.
• Chief of Staff & President of the Medical Staff, Queens General Hospital (1989–1991, 2008–2016).
• General Council, Canadian Medical Association (1991–1994, 2001–2006, 2018–2020).
• Board of Directors, CMA Holdings (MD Management Ltd.) (2001–2003). Managed investments for many of the country's physicians.
• Audit Committee, CMA Holdings (2001–2003).
• Medical Director, Nova Scotia Telehealth Network (1998–1999).
• Advisory Council, Physician Manager Institute (1999–2002). National council setting the future direction of this leadership training program, endorsed by the CMA and the Canadian College of Health Service Executives.
• Mentor Physician (1990s). Joint program of the Department of Health, CPSNS and Dalhousie to mentor physicians at the end of the process of regaining a licence to practise.
• CMA Council on Medical Education (1990–1994). Doctors Nova Scotia representative, advising the CMA on medical education issues of national significance.
• Chair, Continuing Medical Education Committee, Nova Scotia Chapter, College of Family Physicians of Canada (1988–1989).
• Examiner, Oral Examinations, College of Family Physicians of Canada (1986–1989, 1996).
• Consultant, Acute Medical Services, NS Department of Health (1990). Assessed acute care medical services at Sutherland Harris Memorial Hospital, Pictou.
• Criteria Statement Review Group Conference, CFPC (1991, 1994). One of 15 family physicians from across Canada invited to revise the Practice Assessment portion of the CFPC certification examinations.
• Co-Chair, Doctors Nova Scotia Advisory Committee on Primary Health Care Reform (2003–2006; member 2002–2003).
• Member, then Chair, Board of Trustees, Doctors Nova Scotia (2001–2007). Oversight of the Extended Health & Dental Plan.
• NS Department of Health Executive Steering Committee for Primary Health Reform (2004–2006).
• Member, then Chair, Member Services Committee, Doctors Nova Scotia (2001–2009).
• Economics Committee, Doctors Nova Scotia (2006–2007).
• NS Department of Health Sub-Committee on Primary Care Funding (2002–2003). Doctors Nova Scotia representative.
• MD-MP Contact Program, Doctors Nova Scotia (2000–2004).
• President, Queens-Lunenburg Medical Association (1988–1989).
• Medical Examiner, Office of the Nova Scotia Chief Medical Examiner (1980s–1990s). Queens County, then Queens and Lunenburg counties.

Awards and recognition

• Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (2023). Awarded for service to Nova Scotia physicians and the general public during the pandemic.
• Fellow, College of Family Physicians of Canada (1996). At the time, awarded for advancing family medicine at the provincial or national level, to only two Nova Scotian physicians per year, selected by provincial and national committees.
• Class President, Executive MBA Program, Saint Mary's University (1995–1997).
• Magna cum laude, McGill University (1976).

Education

• Executive Doctorate of Business Administration, Saint Mary's University, Sobey School of Business (2022–2026). Research focused on leadership, particularly physician leadership, and on burnout in frontline physicians and physician leaders. Thesis on burnout in physician leaders. Completed while maintaining a full-time family practice.
• Diploma Program, Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D) (2021–2022). Canada's premier governance and leadership program, with selective admission and written and oral exams.
• Executive MBA, Saint Mary's University, Sobey School of Business (1995–1997). Completed while in full-time family practice.
• CCFP, College of Family Physicians of Canada (1982).
• MD, Dalhousie University (1980).
• BSc, McGill University (1976).
• Physician Manager Institute, the CMA's original modular leadership program (later on its planning committee), and numerous leadership programs from the mid-1980s to 2016.

Research, presentations and publications

• Burnout in Canadian Physician Leaders: A Qualitative Analytic Framework of Stressors, Supports, and Resilience. Doctoral thesis, defended April 2026. Peer-reviewed publications pending.
• The Interaction of Leadership Style and Calling Orientation: A Novel Approach to Mitigating and Predicting Burnout in Physician Leaders. 90-minute workshop, Canadian Conference on Physician Leadership, Vancouver (May 2025).
• Organizational Factors in Physician Burnout. Atlantic Schools of Business Conference, Halifax (September 2023).
• Physician Impairment due to Substance Abuse. Engaged Management Scholarship Conference (international), Calgary (September 2023).
• Health Law Issues Facing the Nova Scotia Telehealth Network (2000). The first comprehensive Canadian document recommending guidelines for telehealth-related legal issues, and a foundation for later Canadian Medical Protective Association guidelines.
• Seminars in Practice Management. MD Management Ltd., two-day seminars for Dalhousie family medicine residents (1998, 2000).
• Effective Practice Management. Lecture, College of Family Physicians of Canada Annual Meeting (1998).
• Financing Canada's Health Care System: the Public vs. Private Debate. MBA major research project (1997).
• Non-Wheezing Asthma in Children. Canadian Family Physician, Vol. 34 (1988).

Memberships

• Doctors Nova Scotia · College of Family Physicians of Canada · Canadian Medical Association · Institute of Corporate Directors

Community

• Board of Directors, Queens General Hospital Foundation (2024–present).
• Coach, minor baseball, soccer and basketball.
• Trustee, Liverpool Elementary Schools (1988–1989).

Personal

• Married, three adult children, two grandchildren, a dog (Elsie) and a cat (Rosie).
• Runner for more than 50 years, including marathons and half-marathons. Also enjoys skiing, canoeing, kayaking and tennis.
• Bilingual: English and French.