There’s a new doctor in town.
Dr. Jacques Neuhoff, is in place at the Atwood Clinic as well as working at the Cariboo Memorial Hospital.
The 36-year-old physician came as a package deal, alongside his wife, Dr. Mariska Neuhoff, also a doctor, and they brought their two children Wernu, who is six, and Karli, who is four.
Both parents work part-time as family physicians and anaesthetists in the hospital OR. The children were the real inspiration for the move to Canada, with greater opportunities and security here for them compared to South Africa, they felt.
While the family arrived in September of 2020, Jacques was only able to start working in March this year, as the process for gaining his Canadian accreditation took a while. “Which actually worked out well because I was able to help the kids through the transition,” he explained, though the children adjusted well.
“They did better than us, actually. They’re resilient.”
It was becoming a father which inspired Jacques to switch his path from becoming a full-time qualified anaesthetist to working in family medicine as well. Jacques made the decision to switch shortly after his son was born.
“I saw that if I continued down that road then I would not see him grow up,” Jacques explained of the hours required as a specialist anaesthetist in private practice in South Africa.
Even though they arrived from their home in South Africa as the weather was turning cold, he said they all jumped into local outdoor activities to get accustomed.
None of the family had ever seen snow in real life before, but the family loves it and took up cross country skiing. Playing in the snow with his family is just like in the movies, said Neuhoff.
“It’s just such a nice experience and it makes you appreciate the spring and summer.”
Another opportunity Jacques is grateful for in the lakecity is getting to join the local fire department and become a paid on-call firefighter.
“It’s an opportunity that I never would have had in my life if I’d stayed in South Africa.”
Jacques said he really appreciates the bond formed with the other firefighters.
“It’s a new family that you get to know. It’s a privilege being part of it.”
While he is still in the training phase, he looks forward to helping out when he’s fully trained.
What exactly drew the family to Williams Lake?
While his in-laws live in Vancouver, Jacques said he grew up as the son of a large-scale farmer and the Cariboo better suits him.
“I prefer the small town, with the freedom and the nature.”
Climate is not the only thing he is adjusting to as they settle into life in Williams Lake.
There are of course differences in the way the medical system operates. “In some ways it is a little bit more complicated,” he explained. Another difference is patients don’t have designated doctors quite like the family doctor system here in Canada.
But really, the differences are simply an adjustment and a learning curve. “People are people, they have the same diseases everywhere in the world and the management is the same.”
Read more: Three new doctors for Williams Lake
ruth.lloyd@wltribune.com
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