This innovative regional medical group which started with two communities, four physicians and a single focus has evolved over almost four decades to include five communities, 12 physicians and much broader purposes.

In 1965, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) suggested that three physicians should be involved to do surgeries safely in small hospitals.  That suggestion led to an historic meeting that brought together two physicians each from Daysland and Viking to figure out how they could accomplish the suggestion.

With the permission of their hospital boards and the CPSA, the physicians involved (Drs. Ed Caldwell and Al Klein of Viking and Jim Stanners and Harvey Reise of Daysland) formed a Regional Medical Group and received active privileges to work in one another's hospitals.  If a surgery was required at one site, physicians would call for surgical assistance to a physician at the other hospital and vice versa. Physicians in centers nearby soon heard about the practice group and wanted to join.  Killam physicians linked with the Regional Medical Group within a few months with Hardisty and Sedgewick joining a couple of years later.

Over the past 39 years, the group has met regularly the first Tuesday of the month at 8:00 o'clock at the Killam Hospital.  At first, for accreditation purposes, the group came together to critique surgical procedures done at the hospitals and to discuss deaths and discharge summaries, etc.  Through the years, the physicians have continued to surgically assist each other.  Though Hardisty and Killam don't do surgeries or deliver babies anymore, their physicians help other sites.

What has made this group so effective over almost four decades?
"It's been effective because of the friendships that have developed," says Eamon Cunningham, who joined the group in 1972.  "You go to the meetings the first Tuesday of every month and you get to know people socially so when you end up on the phone with them, it's a friend you are talking to.  There's a sense of comradeship.  New guys are actively attending the meetings so they must see some value in it and are carrying it on."

Over the years, however, the topics for the Tuesday night discussions and the activities of the group have broadened. Tuesday night discussions may include interesting cases that have come through the physician practices, deaths that have occurred to see if there was any way they could have helped, new drugs, a bit of the politics of medicine, and ways they can improve their practices or liaise better with their patients.  The group usually has a 90% attendance rate for their nine months of regular meetings - because of holidays, the group doesn't meet July, August and September.

Other activities undertaken by the group include:

• Continuing Medical Education speakers - Organized through the U of A, the group has six speakers who come to the sites to talk about different aspects of medicine;  
• Social Outings - Four or five times a year all the physicians and their spouses get together socially for bowling, golfing and getting to know one another.  Spouses do not feel isolated and this helps out with the retention of physicians;  
• Politics of Medicine - the group discusses this a bit and sometimes writes letters providing their opinions;
• Tradition - For more than 20 years, the group has had the tradition of presenting a beautiful Spanish porcelain figurine of a doctor to any member who is leaving after more than 10 years of practice.  The figurine is presented at a special function.
• Caring Gestures - if patients or spouses of physician members are in hospital, the Group sends flowers.
  

The Regional Medical Group plans to host a function to honour its 40th anniversary in May 2006 in Viking - the site of the original meeting in 1966.  Every physician who has practiced in this group will be invited back to participate.  Dr. Meer of Sedgewick is the longest serving member of the group - he joined in 1971.