A Marsh Lake senior says she's very concerned her foreign doctor has to leave the Yukon because his five-year special licence to practise here is expiring.

Denise Quinn said there's already a squeeze on the availability of physicians in the territory. To lose one more will only make matters worse, and much worse for her in particular, Quinn said in a recent interview.

"For me, it's a matter of life and death, honestly.”

She said her doctor, who declined to be interviewed, is a fine physician, admired by both patients and his clinical staff.

Before his arrival, said Quinn, she'd been through six doctors in the previous year because all the other physicians she saw kept leaving the territory.

She understands the doctor has to complete the national exam administered by the College of Family Physicians of Canada to become a fully licensed doctor if he wants to stay, but she said he's uncomfortable with that format.

She said despite a number of phone calls, she's been unable to get anybody to discuss alternatives.

Dr. Rao Tadepalli, president of the Yukon Medical Association, said foreign doctors enrolled in the special licence program have no choice but to pass the standard national exam to become fully licensed within the five years.

The professional requirements established under the Yukon's initiative to attract doctors from overseas were formulated by the territorial government and Yukon Medical Council, the disciplinary body for Yukon doctors, Tadepalli said.

As the president of the medical association, he said in an interview last week, it's his job to advocate for Yukon doctors. He is sympathetic of those practitioners who must leave because they haven't fulfilled the requirements within the five years.

At the same time, said Tadepalli, he respects the rules and regulations set down by the medical council and government.

He pointed out 50 doctors have already gone through the special licence program under the same terms and conditions established when the program began in the early 2000s.

The five-year time limit is also enshrined in territorial legislation, which stipulates there will be no extensions.

In Quinn's view, however, rules are rules, but there should be nothing so rigid as to prevent what she believes is best for the delivery of health care in the territory.

"Come on, break some rules,” said the senior citizen, who has ongoing health issues. "Just look at what's happening in the rest of the world.”

Quinn said she began seeing her doctor at a very traumatic time in her life, not long after her son drowned.

The doctor has been there in her corner for the last five years, she said.

"He is a very dedicated doctor and he is run off his feet right now.”

Under the special licence legislation, foreign doctors could be enrolled in the territory's five-year program if they graduated from an internationally recognized medical school; completed one year of post-graduate training, and passed the evaluation exam required by the Medical Council of Canada.

Tadepalli explained the five years are designed to provide the foreign doctors with enough time to gain the necessary education and experience in the Canadian system to prepare them for the national exam.

During their time here, he pointed out, they work closely with a fully licensed Yukon doctor whose job it is to supervise and assist with any issues that may arise, though the foreign doctor is licensed to practise.

He said some 50 foreign doctors have gone through the special licence program, and another seven are currently enrolled.

The Yukon government, however, discontinued the program a year ago.

Tadepalli said it was not achieving the desired effect of increasing the number of local doctors, as 95 per cent have left the territory after becoming fully licensed, for one reason or the other.

The government is continuing to focus on a variety of financial incentives to attract new doctors, beginning with incentives for Yukon students pursuing studies in the field of medicine, he pointed out.

Pat Living, the spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Services, said today the government isn't hearing a general concern from the public about the inability to find a family doctor, as it did in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

There are currently 69 doctors practising in the Yukon, including the seven currently practising under the special licence, she said.

Living said of the 69, 48 are located in Whitehorse, 11 are in the rural communities, 11 are specialists, and 63 are practising full-time.

"We have seen nothing to indicate we have a physician shortage at this time,” she said.

Tadepalli, on the other hand, expects there will be a squeeze coming up as another four doctors pracitising under the special licence are scheduled to leave, on the heels of two who've already left.

Two are leaving because the five-year special licence is expiring, one is leaving to pursue a licence in another jurisdiction and one who has passed the exam is leaving the territory for personal reasons, he said.

Tadepalli said two doctors under the program who've passed the exam are staying in the Yukon, and a new fully licensed doctor has just arrived, and another is scheduled to arrive in July at this point.

Nonetheless, said the president of the medical association, he expects there'll still be several months of catch-up to make up the doctors who've left recently or are leaving.