Sylvan Lake Medical Clinic has welcomed a new doctor to its practice with he and his family enjoying the small town feel to the community.
Dr. M.C. van Schalkwyk, his wife, Mari, and one year old son, Reuben, arrived in Sylvan Lake and Canada on Jan. 6. van Schalkwyk is from South Africa where he graduated from the University of Pretoria. He did his internship in Port Elizabeth, South Africa rotating through the different departments. In 2009, van Schalkwyk worked for the South African military doing community service.
“It was kind of a unique environment as I handled walk in emergencies and those sorts of things,” said van Schalkwyk.
The family decided they wanted to move to Canada two years ago. van Schalkwyk said his family always wanted to live in a small town so Sylvan Lake was a great fit.
“I enjoy family medicine as I get to walk a path with the patients,” said van Schalkwyk. “You get to know people. For example you get to know the ladies in labour and you deliver their babies and later on those babies become the parents and you get to deliver their babies. That is why I felt Sylvan Lake would be a good fit for me and my family.”
He said he wanted to move to Canada because there is a great quality of life for his family. He added it is very important for him to be able to spend quality time with his family doing all the types of things Canada has to offer.
Since he started at the clinic on Jan. 25, he said everybody has been very welcoming and he really enjoys the patients and people he works with.
“It is a great working environment,” said van Schalkwyk. “I came here last summer to see the clinic and everyone was just great. I am very fortunate to be part of such a good team. We all get along very well.”
van Schalkwyk said the family is very happy to be here as everyone has been very friendly. They love the atmosphere that the community provides and are happy to be here before the snow melted away as it is the family’s first experience with a Canadian winter.
“We love it here, we are very happy,” said Mari van Schalkwyk. “We are looking forward to doing some sightseeing and we really want to try skating. M.C. is also looking forward to learning how to play hockey so he can play with the church team. Everybody asks us about the weather and we don’t mind it, we think it is quite fun and the weather is not a problem at all.”
“There is lots to do here as we love the nature and outdoors,” said van Schalkwyk. “We got skates last week so we started skating. There were a few falls but no major injuries. I also want to try snowboarding but it is a little too late this season so we will make that a priority for next season.”
van Schalkwyk and his family are looking forward to meeting the people of the community and getting adjusted to life in Canada. The addition of van Schalkwyk now brings the practice up to four full time doctors which will help look after more patients in Sylvan Lake and the surrounding areas.