On her first day as a general practitioner, Dr. Asha Dawson wasn’t sure if family medicine was the right fit for her.

But her fears melted away after meeting her first patient. “He was a young lad with acne,” recalled Dr. Dawson. “I felt how vulnerable he felt. I knew I wasn’t saving a life here, but I’m improving someone’s quality of life and changing his thoughts about school and his memories about how he views himself. I didn’t know how to treat acne, but I could find out.”

Dr. Dawson grew up in Glenrothes, Scotland, a town about an hour’s drive north of Edinburgh.

“I was brought up in a rough, deprived area of Scotland. My dad was from India, my mum was from Wales, so we didn’t feel like we belonged. There were no other people of colour in my school. That was tough – I just wanted to get out of there.”

Studying medicine was her chance to forge her own path in the world.

In the UK, students can study medicine directly after high school – they aren’t required to complete an undergraduate degree first. At age 17, Dr. Dawson started at Aberdeen Medical School, one of the oldest medical schools in the U.K.

She completed her training at age 22, and started training to be a general practitioner (GP) in Scotland. “As soon as I started, I knew it was for me. I was really happy to find my vocation.”

She loved working with patients to understand their health needs and improve their quality of life. “Knowing your patients well means knowing what can help them. I really try to put myself in their shoes. I think about their education and their beliefs – that’s why I love what I do. I think [people] can tell when you like your job.”

For 20 years, she worked in communities across Scotland in many roles, including running her own family practice, training doctors, assessing colleagues, doing locums and providing psychiatric care to older patients.

As time went on, like many doctors working in the UK health system, she began feeling burnt out from the workload. Pressured to see 40 or more patients per day, including house calls, she had no control over her schedule.

Her days were overwhelming and unpredictable. “The government put unrealistic demands on GPs, but resources and investment did not increase to match this in any way,” she said. “Burnt out GPs became the norm. It was so disheartening.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the conditions worsened for Dr. Dawson and her colleagues, who were working in some of the hardest hit areas of Scotland. She also faced personal tragedy: her father, who had dementia, died of COVID-19 in mid-April 2020. She wasn’t supported to take time off to grieve.

Being unable to give patients the time they deserved stole the joy from her work. “I just didn’t have the time to be involved with my patients,” she said. “I felt like we were being forced to practise in a non-compassionate and rushed way. It got to the point that I had to either leave medicine or leave the country.”

Dr. Dawson chose the latter, in the hopes of enjoying her career once again. Uprooting the life she and her husband, Jamie, and their son, Lewis, had built together was a big decision, but they knew it was necessary. “People who cared about me and saw me struggling in the health system were supportive of us leaving.”

Some of her colleagues had moved to Canada. By chance, she connected with Annapolis Royal family physician Dr. Simon Bonnington, himself a transplant from the U.K. “If it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be here,” said Dr. Dawson.

She also chatted with Nova Scotia Health (NSH) recruiter Patti Smith, and learned of an opportunity in Liverpool, a small town on Nova Scotia’s South Shore. Dr. Dawson and her husband visited in 2022 and toured several practices.

“Patti was amazing and really got to know us and picked places she knew would suit me and Jamie. She put a lot of emphasis on areas outside of work and places to visit in the community. That said to me that she expected me to have time to spend in the community.”

“Over five days, I felt more valued and wanted than I’d ever felt over the entirety of my career in Scotland.”

She also met Dr. Al Doucet, a retired family doctor and chair of Queen’s General Hospital Foundation in Liverpool. “Words can’t describe how much he helped us,” said Dr. Dawson.

She joined the team at Queen’s Family Health, a collaborative practice in Liverpool that includes six family doctors and two nurse practitioners. The team at the clinic helped her settle into her new workplace. “My patients and the community have been so welcoming. My husband and I have been overwhelmed by how friendly people have been.”

In her new role, she loves being able to take the time she needs with her patients. “A lot of my patients haven’t had a doctor for years, so I’m picking up new cancers and chronic diseases. It’s lovely to be able to provide compassionate care once again.”

“I feel like I’ve fallen back in love with medicine. It feels like I’m giving more to my job and to my patients because I’m not burned out.”

Practising family medicine in Nova Scotia is very different than in Scotland. “GPs here have more autonomy in the tests they can order and the medications they can prescribe. Having your own patient list, dealing with different medications and understanding the insurance system all made for a steep learning curve. But overall, the job is more rewarding and stimulating.”

Working with Noelle Moulaison, a physician advisor with Doctors Nova Scotia, helped smooth the transition. “Noelle was instrumental in helping me find my footing at work. She’s always there for me.”

Dr. Dawson now has the capacity to explore things beyond her family practice, including setting up an adult ADHD assessment clinic in Liverpool, and is paying it forward for physician recruitment in her community.

She says she enjoys chatting with U.K. physicians interested in moving to Nova Scotia. Her husband is now a physician onboarding consultant for NSH, helping doctors settle into their communities.

For Dr. Dawson, moving to Canada was one of the bravest things she’s ever done. She loves talking about the experience with her patients and encourages them to make positive changes in their own lives. “We all go through situations in our life where we have no control over what’s happened to us. If you’re in a situation that you can change, be brave and just do it. It’s your life – you can do it.”