By Kurtis Doering

Southern Saskatchewan doctor among Canada’s best

Oct 29, 2013 | 6:55 AM

He may be one of Canada's best family doctors, but a physician in Radville is quick to give credit to those around him.

Dr. Werner Oberholzer cherishes his role as a family physician. There's no doubt the joy he takes from his work played a big part in him being named one of the 2013 Family Doctors Of The Year by the College Of Family Physicians Of Canada.

“Family practice is a fantastic thing. It's like being the Chuck Norris of medicine. You can do anything, anywhere, so long as you put your mind to it and try to provide the best quality of care,” he explained in an interview Monday after his receipt of the award was made public.

“It's a very great honour, but I'm greatly humbled by it as well. I don't think I do any much more than any of the regular family physicians in Saskatchewan,” he said.

This isn't the first time Dr. Oberholzer has received national acclaim. In 2012, he was granted the University of Saskatchewan's Healthcare Excellence Award and the Dennis Kendall Distinguished Service Award from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan. He won the 2009 Saskatchewan Physician of the Year award from the Saskatchewan Medical Association as well. Perhaps most importantly he has also received glowing reviews from his patients.

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After getting his medical degree in South Africa, Dr. Oberholzer moved to Radville with his family in 1999. He opened a family practice with his wife Nelleke, who is also a family physician. He was instrumental in forming Rural West Primary Health Care, which offers medical professionals from a variety of fields to four under-served rural communities in the southeast.

“It's basically a team approach where we try and do for the patient everything in one location where it suits them the best.”

Between his practise in Radville and weekly clinics in Bengough and Pangman, Oberholzer can only laugh at the prospect of accepting new patients, at least for now.

“It's such a privilege to be a family physician. I think it is one of the greatest things that a patient can do for a physician is to entrust them with their care,” he said.

Oberholzer also serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, where he mentors medical students and graduates.

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