One month after Ellen Fancy had a baby girl, her family doctor moved away. With a new family and no doctor, the Fancy’s were overjoyed to hear a new physician in town was accepting patients.

That doctor was Norah Mogan.

Dr. Mogan moved to Liverpool, Nova Scotia with her husband in 2004 and has been practicing family medicine at her clinic, Mogan Medical Inc. for the past ten years.

A full time family physician, Dr. Mogan sees patients in her office, does inpatient care, emergency shifts, nursing home care, and home visits.

“I love that I can see a patient in my office, at the hospital and in long term care. That’s how I provide better care and that’s how patients receive the best care,” said Dr. Mogan.

Although Dr. Mogan practices in a small community of roughly 2,600 people, her practice is busy.

“What I do is special because I live in a place that gives me the opportunity to carry on continuity of care. If I’ve seen a patient ten times for something, there’s a certain kind of comfort and openness that results because I know them so well and vice versa.”

In Dr. Mogan’s eyes, the most important ingredient in patient care is a solid trusting relationship between a patient and their family doctor. For her, practicing in a close-knit community adds a sense of ease to creating and nurturing patient relationships.

Dr. Mogan believes good patient-physician relationships are founded on many things but she feels trust, openness, honesty and transparency are key. This perspective is not only shared with many of her patients, but appreciated by all.

Ellen Fancy and her family have been Dr. Mogan’s patients for almost ten years.

In addition to Dr. Mogan’s undeniably warm personality, Mrs. Fancy says it’s her personalized efforts that give her the confidence that her family is receiving the best possible care.

“Dr. Mogan has this ability to balance professionalism and compassion,” said Mrs. Fancy.

“She walks into the room and you know she is focused and attentive. She ensures that each patient is given individualized attention and when appropriate, we even get a glimpse of her contagious smile,” she added.

When Mrs. Fancy leaves the doctor’s office she always feels as though her concerns have been heard and taken seriously.

“I can’t remember a time where I have left Dr. Mogan’s office without new knowledge, information or resources to help me maintain my health and that of my family.”

Now having worked in Liverpool for quite sometime, Dr. Mogan says providing the best possible care comes from a place that is much more meaningful than just being a small-town doctor.

“It’s about realizing that the type of relationship I have with my patients is not only important to them but it’s also very important to me,” said Dr. Mogan.

“It’s as simple as taking your time with a patient and lending an ear. It means being compassionate, genuine and caring in a holistic way. When seeing a patient whether it’s for the first time or hundredth time, I always remember I’m not just treating an illness or sickness, I’m treating a person,” she said.

Dr. Mogan describes herself as lucky. She is not only doing something she is passionate about, but doing it every day, for the people she cares so much for and in a place she’s proud to call home.

“It was never about being a big or small fish. I just knew I wanted to be in a small pond. I love when a patient or their family member drops by the office to say ‘thank you’, or saying hello in the grocery store or when a patient asks about my children – that lets me know that they care for me just as much as I care for them.”