Nestled in a beautiful valley about five hours north of Edmonton and two hours northeast of Grande Prairie, the geography surrounding the town of Peace River not only provides a stunning visual back drop but also offers a full range of sports and lifestyle activities for community residents.Located within this spectacular area is a gem of a medical practice. The Associate Medical Clinic, with 10 physicians and associated staff, provides services to some 7,000 local residents, a further 15,000 in the surrounding region, as well as consulting services for other northern Alberta residents.

"Most of the 10 physicians here have additional skills training of some kind," says Dr. Mike Kolber, one of the physician partners. "We have four GP Anesthetists with an epidural service, two GP surgeons, and other physicians with specialties in sports medicine, GI medicine and chemotherapy. All of us work in the clinic and in Emergency, as well as in our own "areas of expertise."

"This is a reasonably-sized community that lends itself well to additional skills," says Kolber. "We have a 35-bed hospital and another 40 beds in long-term care. We do lots of obstetrics - more than 300 deliveries a year.  Our surgeons do C-sections, hernias and laparoscopies and other general surgical procedures.  We have a regional dialysis program and a full complement of rehabilitation staff.  We have a fully computerized office and completely filmless radiology department with a full-time radiologist. A CT scanner was donated by two area residents.  We are also actively involved in research and teaching students - including journal clubs and student rounds.  It is a good mix of hands- on medicine with enough academics to feel connected to the mainstream literature."

"The physicians in our medical practice are an exceptional bunch - we all get along and  we're cohesive.  We find that excellence begets excellence.  We work hard and enjoy our work but we also want time for family and having fun. The Peace River community itself is attractive and has lots of recreational opportunities. We have a nice geographic setting - but it's the people who make the community," continues Kolber. For the fifth year, Peace River will be hosting the Peace River Regional Medical Conference.  This year's conference runs September 29 - October 1st and is expected to attract about 30 local and regional physicians.  It will feature a "therapeutics initiative" from UBC reviewing evidence-based pharmacotherapy. 

For more information about the conference or practice opportunities, contact Mike Kolber at mlkolber@telus.net