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Living Alaska, The Doctor
The Doctor
I remember years ago a show called Northern Exposure; it was about a doctor who had his Medical School tuition paid by a town in Alaska. The only clause for payment of his education was that he had to come to Alaska and work as a doctor for four years. Without his knowledge or consent his contract is transferred from Anchorage to a small Alaskan town. He ends up in the faux Alaskan town of Cicely. Although this is a fictious town in Alaska, it holds true to the Alaskan sentiment. It could be any small town along the coast of Alaska, there are hundreds of them.
It is the end of the year and I found myself in search for a new Primary Care provider today. Something any transplant to the State will have to do at some point. It is not as easy as in the lower forty-eight. Quality doctors do not grow on trees, especially trees in Southeast Alaska. I found this out today. There are plenty of doctors in my town, I picked one that will be good for me. I live in Alaska’s fourth largest city and my choices came from a list provided by my insurance company. There are twenty-two names on the list. A few long-term residents narrowed the list down to three doctors and I picked one that was nearby.
In San Francisco there are fifty doctors in the Medical Practice I went to. If one were on vacation or out, another one would take their place. Things are…
