Soo doctor finds fulfillment in homecoming

For Dr. Jonathan DellaVedova, a pediatrician in Sault Ste. Marie and a member of NOSM University’s inaugural class, the opportunity to practise in his hometown is both personally and professionally fulfilling. His passion shines through when he speaks about Northern Ontario.

“There’s this feeling you get as you’re driving North and the lanes on the highway start to fall away and there are fewer and fewer cars, and then the city turns into farms and then it turns into forest,” says Dr. DellaVedova. “It just feels right—you’re pointing North, and now you’re home.”

“There’s a sense in the North that this is where you belong, and always have belonged.”

Dr. DellaVedova says he appreciates opportunities to get outdoors, including trail running and going to the ski hill. But even more importantly, coming home to the Soo means time with his parents and extended family.

Dr. DellaVedova also appreciates the unique and diverse professional opportunities that keep his work fresh and engaging. For example, he was able to become an Assistant Professor and teach students in the first year of his practice—something he might not have been able to do in southern Ontario.

“Being a general pediatrician in the North without access to direct sub-specialty support—yes, it is challenging,” he says, “but it is also more fulfilling than being in a big city, where every child with a rash would see a dermatologist, or every child with a cough would see a respirologist. You get to keep all those aspects of pediatrics, like neonatology and ward medicine and development and sometimes even intensive care. That variety keeps things very interesting.”

His top recommendation for medical students? Choose to practise somewhere with a positive work environment. He calls this a “big selling feature” for Sault Ste. Marie.

“It’s a really positive climate, very collegial, very professional. I cannot say enough about the outsized impact that that climate makes on your professional satisfaction. If that’s something you can find, you never let it go. And when you’re shopping around for places to work, really put a lot of weight on the way that professionals interact with each other and the environment, because that will have a huge impact on your wellbeing.”

Now that he’s been practicing for ten years, Dr. DellaVedova sees how the patients he’s followed have grown and developed. A baby he intubated is now seven years old and an A-student. A teenager he treated for diabetes, now 20-something, has overcome personal struggles and is in the workforce, and gave Dr. DellaVedova an enthusiastic hug when they crossed paths.

“It’s a joy to see people grow up and find out who they become,” Dr. DellaVedova says. “I’m now beginning to see the long-term effects of some of the things that we do, and it’s wonderful. I’m coming into that phase of my career and it’s overwhelmingly joyful. I love it.”

This NOSM University Campfire Chat was made possible by the generous sponsorship of Weaver Simmons.