Dr. François Gobeil is known for his exceptional commitment in the medical community, both in the QMA, where he was entrusted with the mandate of vice-president in April 2011, and in his work as an anesthesiologist at CSSS Pierre-Boucher. This involvement in his practice, coupled with his insight into the issues affecting the profession, is no doubt what led journalist Fabienne Papin from Actualité médicale to ask him for his point of view on the results of the 2010 National Physician Survey.

The article Sondage national des médecins 2010 : Votre pratique ressemble-t-elle à celle des autres? (2010 National Physician Survey: Does your practice resemble the others?) does more than just compile the salient results of the survey. The journalist also offers a wealth of viewpoints, along with a richness of analysis. To achieve this, she invited Dr. Gobeil and four of his colleagues with a variety of backgrounds and practices to share their opinions on various aspects highlighted by the survey, based on their own experience. Dr. Gobeil was asked for his insight on many current issues that affect his practice, such as the number of hours worked and work schedule, and the satisfaction he derived from carrying out his functions.

When it comes to information technology, which constitutes a large part of the public debates, Dr. Gobeil said that even if most physicians now have a computer, iPad or smartphone, the technologies must “be used wisely, and not just for the strict minimum. That is why, even in highly computerized environments, the technology does not appear to be increasing efficiency or accessibility for the moment, which is regrettable.” He feels that more focus should be on standardizing the forms and systems in order to encourage efficiency and information sharing.

As for the problems of accessibility and wait times, Dr. Gobeil noted that, on an everyday basis, there was some inconsistency between what the newspapers printed and what he saw as a department head. In fact, at CSSS Pierre-Boucher, the hospital where he practises, a positive trend was starting to emerge and waiting lists were getting shorter.

When asked what irritants he and his peers encountered regularly, he answered that “We are at the crossroads of two eras: on the one hand, too much paperwork to control everything, along with the obligation to provide more justification. On the other, information technology that is more or less implemented, but that doesn’t help us save time yet.”

Besides Dr. Gobeil, QMA President Dr. Ruth Vander Stelt was also interviewed for the article.

For more information:

This article was published in Volume 32, Number 16 of Actualité médicale, on October 5, 2011.

It is available on-line on the Profession Santé site at: http://www.professionsante.ca/medecins/actualites/dossiers/le-sondage-national-des-medecins-2010-votre-pratique-ressemble-t-elle-a-celle-des-autres-14842.

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