‘My son calls him Uncle Burden, as if he’s family’: Nova Scotia doctor celebrates big milestone

Dr. George Burden is about to celebrate a big milestone as a family physician.

“I’ve been a physician, as of May 27, for 40 years,” said Burden.

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Burden started working in the Elmsdale, N.S. area thinking it would be a temporary placement, but four decades later, he’s still here.

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“The practice of family medicine is an extremely rewarding one from a personal perspective,” he said.

“I have grandmothers who I’ve been looking after since they were young teens and I have their children, I have their grandchildren. I’ve seen them grown up, I’ve looked after them. They think of me as part of their family in many cases and it’s just a warm, wonderful relationship that you cannot get from any other medical specialty.”

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Lucina Thompson and her entire family are patients of Dr. Burden’s.

“My son calls him Uncle Burden, as if he’s family and I like it that way,”said Thompson.

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“He’s the first person to see the top of my head. He’s helped me through the worst times and the best times in my life. He helped me with my pregnancies with my two sons. He’s followed me for 29 years so he knows everything about me.”

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Being a physician for 40 years means Dr. Burden has some unique stories to tell.

“I remember one premature baby, the oxygen ran out and we actually called Harley Beaver, the welder up the road, to bring his oxygen down. We ran the tube through the window of the clinic and that’s how we kept the baby going,” said Burden.

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He’s also seen some big changes over the years, that he says are both good and bad.

“It’s certainly been nice to have 911 services come in in the early 90’s because before, we were getting called to road accidents and it could be disruptive sometimes. Some of the less positive things I’ve noticed is the increasing waiting time. It’s now years sometimes to get people in to see specialists,” he said.

“It’s becoming frustrating. I’m starting to feel like a carpenter who doesn’t have enough nails, enough wood, maybe his tools are broken. I know how to do the job but sometimes I don’t have the resources to do it to the best of my ability.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's becoming frustrating. I'm starting to feel like a carpenter who doesn't have enough nails, enough wood, maybe his tools are broken. I know how to do the job but sometimes I don't have the resources to do it to the best of my ability."

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Despite working in the medical field for 40 years, Dr. Burden has no plans to retire just yet.