5 Years In Practice, a thank you, and important info going forward!

To My Patients and Friends,

I just want to express my gratitude and directly thank you for what’s been a fulfilling experience after being your doctor for the last 5 years (as of July 14th, 2025)! I love where I live, what I do, and the community of amazing humans I get to interact with on a daily basis - and like to think that albeit we are likely meeting on your worst day, I hope I can put a positive spin on that day through a personal, holistic and attentive approach to our interactions. Through COVID, finding my place in a small and tight nit rural community, as well as trying to figure out the way I want to practice medicine in my own creative and personalized way, it’s been a challenge, blessing, and great learning process and thank you for your understanding and support. I wanted to specifically thank you for your letters and nominations for Family Doctor of the Year, every year since I’ve started practicing! As physicians we don’t get a lot of feedback unless there is a problem, so these small gestures and gratitudes provide us with the drive and energy to keep showing up, working long and abnormal hours, and managing challenging cases and personalities!

With this milestone, it has put me in a reflective mindset... how I should make my practice, life, and patients lives better going forward, and here are a couple of what came to mind:

1. Remind everyone of my Annual Wellness Screening: 

To ensure we catch any disease early, and focus on functional and preventative medicine, everyone should be booking 2 appointments every year around their birthdays. The first, a PHONE call to chat about what is currently concerning you, so I can devise a specific blood panel, ecg, stool tests, screening tests, etc. Go do the tests, take your BP for 2 weeks. The second, an IN PERSON follow up after those 2 weeks for results and review +/- physical exam.

Why around your birthday? Think of it as a memory trigger, each year you turn another year older, time to go see Dr. Browne and do my annual! One of the main reasons why I didn’t solely do Emergency Medicine is largely because I was tired of catching disease too late, please help me help you by booking these annuals.

2. Communication: 

It’s came to my attention that I need to create some clear and specific guidance around intention, text/phone communication and social media usage. Most of you know this by now, but unlike most physicians, I have made the choice to allow almost all my patients have access to my cellphone number and social media for several reasons:

• I want you to firstly feel supported at all times (especially in the cases of mental health or palliative issues)

• for ease of follow up via text/call

• to promote and distribute info about the non for profit events, motorcycle rides, etc I organize via my NPO RemarkableYou

• so you know a little about who I am as a human, friend, partner, uncle, traveller, and lover of music, dancing, adventure activities, motorcycles and nature - all with the goal to create a more positive connection and deeper mutual respect in our professional interactions in clinic and hospital - your physicians are humans too. 

Unlike in a city where MDs are guided not to have any personal connection with their patients- rural medicine is a specific microcosm where if you are not friends with your patients- you have no friends! Most of you I’ve gone for a ride with, helped you move, or you helped me with the professional services you provide, shared a drink or dinner with at your home or mine, went for a hike, a sauna or volunteered with, and this is one of the things I love about rural practice and our community. On the flip side, most of you I am also the last person your grandmother or father saw when I visited your home on their last day, stitched up your child’s knee, guided you through your addiction, or diagnosed you for STIs or cancer or heart disease - a normal/common but important experience for me, but a very important, emotional, personal, or sensitive experience for you or your family. The reason why I mention this is innately there is a power differential, or a sensitive/deep/reliant/emotional connection can be developed, and in knowing this we have to be careful in having some bounties and clear discrimination or intention behind the different interactions we have in different spaces:

A. Text/call usage (think of this as a text line only, I may call you back after your text):

Used for personal/friendly texts, OR

Any emergencies pertinent to me as your physician (suicide, palliation, etc), missed refills/failed faxes, or anything that cannot be dealt with by making an appointment or seeking help at urgent care/emergency/911 (chest pain, etc). As this is not a normal service provided by physicians and can have an effect on my personal life and resilience, it is important to know it is not my responsibility to respond if I cannot, and please think about these criteria before you text outside work hours.

B. Social media usage:

Solely used for personal communication, if you have added me or I you, acceptance of a friend request is consent to communicate with me on a personal basis separate from our professional interactions. Please put yourself in that mindset and as will I (me as your friend not as your physician). I often do not check my direct messages and cannot receive messages from non-friends based on my IG/FB restrictions.

C. Email:

I get hundreds of emails and tasks daily, do not rely on this form of communication to contact me in general, unless regarding my NPO / health and wellness activities I organize.

Clear boundaries help us preserve trust, compassion, and respect in our professional relationship, but enable us to also have a stress free/friendly relationship outside the clinic and hospital. If ever unclear, simply reach out through proper clinical channels. If not respected or communications misconstrued, remember you have the control over how we communicate so you have the power to can change it (block, restrict, don’t request or accept, etc). The best option in this case is to please keep your interactions limited to booking appointments at our clinic 250-245-2235, or you may wait to see me at Ladysmith Acute Care. 

3. Inform regarding our new online booking system:

To reduce the burden on the front desk staff, we made a website for booking! https://hillsidemed.ca

4. Inform regarding my weekly schedule:

*24/7/365: On call Volunteer Physician/Search Tech for Ladysmith Search and Rescue

*Every 2nd weekend in winter (some weekends in summer): On Call Volunteer Advanced Medical Rescue MD for Mt. Washington Ski Patrol 

*Every 2nd Weds/Fri: Home Visits for the impaired or elderly every 2nd week (sooner by request of course) 

*Continuously/free time: working on RemarkableYou NPO 

*Intermittent: MD on Call for: muay thai compeittions, mountain biking races, and possibly moto and dirtbike races in the future.

Sun: *

Mon: Urgent Care/Rural Emerg

Tues: Urgent Care/Rural Emerg

Weds: Clinic 

Thurs: Urgent Care/Rural Emerg

Fri: Clinic

Sat: *

5. Inform regarding the opening of Ki Haven for RemarkableYou Wellness activities/events/new spaces this August: 

If you don’t already know, my property in Yellowpoint is called Ki Haven. Over the last several years, there I’ve been building a space to be used for wellness/preventative medicine/therapy activities. These spaces I’ve built with my own money, after work and on weekends, and entirely to be utilized by my patients and the community for free!

Most recently, the Astral Dome / Sound Sanctuary is getting its last touches and has a line up of practitioners who have agreed to use it to provide low cost/free services (the caveat of them being able to use the space for free). As well, I’m finishing final the plumbing and electrical on the Cedar Clarity Cabin (still working on the name)! I’ve build this cabin primarily as a space to be used for free by people needing emergency shelter, whether fleeing from domestic abuse, medical stay, or otherwise. If you know someone needing emergency shelter for a short stint, contact me. 

Next Up: community wood burning sauna and cold plunges, let me know if you want to lend a hand to start this project!

If you have other spaces, ideas, or just want to help this passion project of mine and swing a hammer/donate, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

Thats it! Again, I just wanted to thank you for the last 5 years, I have gratitude daily for the life my work and our community offers me and always open for a chat, ride, coffee, hike, etc!

With sincerity and gratitude, 

Dr. S. Browne