Dr. Rithesh Ram

04/29/2026

One thing that often gets overlooked in healthcare:
Not all physician income is created equal.
On paper, compensation may look similar.
In reality, it’s not.

Physicians working in clinics carry significant overhead.
Staff
Space
Operations
Equipment
Supplies
Administration
Those costs don’t exist in the hospital.

Which means, physicians providing comprehensive care in clinics take home significantly less (not hundreds less, but tens or hundreds of thousands less).
Not necessarily because they’re paid less.

But because they absorb the cost of running the environment where care happens.

Yet, we rarely account for this.
Not in how compensation is structured.
Not in how we think about equity across the system.
We just… accept it.

Over time, that creates a quiet imbalance.
Because it influences where physicians choose to work.
Ultimately, what kinds of care environments remain sustainable.

There are ways to address it.
Incentives.
Tax structures.
Support for clinic operations.
But those are only part of the solution.

At some point, we also have to acknowledge a harder truth:
If the overhead isn’t the same, the compensation model shouldn’t be either.
—
Dr. Rithesh Ram
Rural Generalist | Drumheller, Alberta Doctor

04/24/2026

This one caught me off guard.

I’ve been selected to receive the 2026 Rural Service Award from the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada.

The truth is… this one feels different.
Because rural medicine isn’t just a job.

It becomes part of your life.

It’s the early mornings.
The long days.
The moments where you’re figuring things out in real time with limited resources.
The responsibility that comes with being part of a community that depends on you.

Over time, you stop thinking about it as “work.”
It just becomes what you do.
Who you are.

Any impact I’ve had has never been mine alone.

It’s been shaped by the teams I’ve worked with, the community I’ve been welcomed into, and the patients who trust us with their care every day.

That’s what makes rural medicine meaningful.
That’s what makes this recognition so special.

Grateful and honoured to be part of it.
—
Dr. Rithesh Ram
Rural Generalist | Drumheller, Alberta Doctor

04/22/2026

One of the biggest mistakes I see in rural physician recruitment:
We focus too much on the physician.
Not enough on their life.

I often explain this using a simple concept:
Short roots vs deep roots.

Short roots are about the physician.
Incentives.
Compensation.
Reduced administrative burden.
“Getting them in the door.”

Those things matter.
But they don’t keep people.

Deep roots are about everything else.
Their spouse.
Their kids.
Their sense of community.
What life actually feels like outside the clinic.

Because when physicians leave, it’s rarely just about the job.
It’s about whether their family feels like they belong.
If the family isn’t rooted, the physician won’t be either.

When the decision to leave happens, it usually doesn’t happen overnight.
It’s planned quietly over months, sometimes years.
Which means communities are often reacting too late.

But when physicians and their families feel supported, connected, and genuinely part of the community, something shifts.

Even if they’re considering leaving, they’re far more likely to have that conversation early.

That gives the community time to plan, recruit, and avoid sudden gaps in care.

Recruitment gets physicians in the door.
Retention is what keeps healthcare systems stable….
and retention is built on deep roots.
—
Dr. Rithesh Ram
Rural Generalist | Drumheller, Alberta Doctor

04/17/2026

Everyone is debating healthcare budgets right now.
But there’s one question I rarely hear asked.

How much healthcare spending is going toward patients who aren’t covered by provincial health plans?

At the federal level, there are now calls to examine healthcare access for asylum seekers.

I don’t have an answer to that debate.
But I do think we need clear numbers.

In my own practice and in the hospital, we occasionally see patients who don’t have a valid Alberta Health Care number.

When that happens, physicians often end up providing care without compensation.
Most people don’t realize that.

To be clear, asylum seekers are often fleeing extremely difficult circumstances. That’s why they’re here.

But healthcare systems still need to understand where resources are going.
If there are costs being absorbed by the system that aren’t clearly tracked or funded, we should know.

Not to punish anyone.
But to make sure the system itself is sustainable.

Healthcare doesn’t run on volunteer labour.
Good policy starts with good data.
—
Dr. Rithesh Ram
Rural Generalist | Drumheller, Alberta Doctor

04/15/2026

Everyone is talking about healthcare funding in Alberta right now.

But I discovered something else in the budget that might be just as important for rural communities.
Community facility funding.

Which raises a very serious question for Drumheller.

How exactly are we supposed to call ourselves a proper Alberta town… without a curling rink?

I’m a curler, so maybe I’m biased.

But in rural Alberta, having a curling rink is practically a requirement for citizenship.
There are villages across this province with great curling facilities.

Drumheller?
Nothing.
No rink. No plan that I’m aware of.
Frankly, it’s a little embarrassing.

So if there really is funding available through community facility programs, I hope someone in town is paying attention.

Because if Drumheller wants to prove we belong in rural Alberta…
We need to start with a curling rink.
—
Dr. Rithesh Ram
Rural Generalist | Drumheller, Alberta Doctor

04/10/2026

Everyone wants a healthcare system that delivers everything, instantly, to everyone.

But no country in the world has actually solved that equation.

Every system eventually has to decide what the public baseline will be.

The sooner we have that conversation honestly, the better.
It’s a difficult conversation - but one we can’t avoid forever.
—
Dr. Rithesh Ram
Rural Generalist | Drumheller, Alberta Doctor

04/08/2026

After the release of Alberta’s latest budget, most of the conversation has focused on healthcare spending.

But there’s one detail that’s getting less attention.
In a deficit budget, healthcare funding could have been frozen.
It wasn’t.

Healthcare is already one of the largest expenditures any government in Canada carries. Physician compensation alone represents more than $7 billion annually.
For context, the entire education budget is roughly $10 billion.

Those are significant numbers.

In a deficit environment, freezing healthcare spending would have been the easy political move, it has occurred before
But that didn’t happen this time.

The budget for physicians actually increased.
Part of that increase is structural. If we recruit more physicians and deliver more services, the system has to fund that work.

Healthcare doesn’t run on volunteer labour.
Still, the government had the option to freeze spending this year.

Given the media pressure, the scrutiny around healthcare, and the broader budget deficit, that would not have surprised many people.

Instead, funding increased.

From where I sit as a rural physician, that’s a reasonable signal.

If we want more access, more physicians, and more services for patients, the funding has to follow.

Healthcare reform is complicated.
But freezing the system while asking it to do more would not have been the answer.
—
Dr. Rithesh Ram
Rural Generalist | Drumheller, Alberta Doctor

04/03/2026

Health isn’t as complicated as you’ve been told.
But the noise around it is overwhelming.

Even for physicians trained to interpret evidence, it can be difficult to filter what is credible and what isn’t.

So imagine navigating that without clinical training.

There is more information coming at people now than ever before.

Emails.
Podcasts.
Social media.
Influencers.
Friends.
Colleagues.

And somewhere in that flood, the fundamentals get buried.

The reality is this:

Many of the core principles of health have not changed.

Nutrition matters.
Movement matters.
Sleep matters.
Maintaining a healthy weight matters.

If the basics are not in place, no grand intervention - no diet trend, supplement stack, medication, or biohack - will compensate long term.

What has changed is how people consume and interpret health information.

Different generations define “healthy” differently.
They trust different sources.
They respond to different messaging.

That means education can’t be one-size-fits-all.

As physicians, our job isn’t just to give advice.

It’s to cut through the noise, translate evidence clearly, and meet patients where they are.

Health hasn’t become more complicated.

The environment around it has.

The solution isn’t more complexity.

It’s clarity.
—
Dr. Rithesh Ram
Rural Generalist | Drumheller, Alberta Doctor

04/01/2026

A Canadian is heading around the moon.
And somehow… it’s barely making headlines.

I came across this article and honestly, I loved it. Not just because it’s a Canadian.

But because it’s a reminder of what we’re actually capable of when we focus on building, exploring, and pushing forward.

Instead, most of what dominates the headlines right now is conflict, politics, and everything in between. And yes, those things matter.

But this? This is the kind of story that should stop us for a second. Because it’s bigger than one person.

It’s about what humans can do when we work together.
Across countries.
Across systems.
Across differences.

Fun fact - about 10 years ago, I actually applied to the astronaut program. Made it to the third round. Which, in hindsight, is probably where my engineering and physics knowledge tapped out 😄(And not speaking Russian didn’t exactly help either.)

But even being part of that process gave me a real appreciation for what this represents.

What I like most about this story is that it’s not just about space.

It’s about possibility. A rural Canadian kid who looked at the stars and decided to go after it. Now he’s helping lead a mission that could take humans back to the moon.

That should matter.
That should inspire people.
That should be front-page news.

Because if we’re thinking about the future, this is part of it.

Not just reacting to the problems in front of us.
But building what comes next.
—
Dr. Rithesh Ram
Rural Generalist | Drumheller, Alberta Doctor

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen will soon be blasting off on NASA’s Artemis II mission. How did he get from an imaginary treehouse spaceship in rural Ontario to the real thing?

03/31/2026

After 9 years, my time as Director of the University of Calgary’s Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (UCLIC) is coming to a close.

It’s been one of the most meaningful roles of my career.

Not because of the title.
But because of the people.

The staff.
The preceptors.
The communities.
The students who trusted the process and came through it stronger, more capable, and ready for what comes next.

UCLIC works because it’s built differently.

It’s not just about training.

It’s about immersion, continuity, and real-world experience in the environments where care actually happens.

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of watching so many students grow into confident, capable physicians.

That’s always been the goal.

I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to lead this program, and even more grateful for the people who make it what it is.

I have no doubt it will continue to grow, evolve, and impact the next generation of physicians.

For anyone considering their path through medical training:

There are many options.

But in my view, UCLIC is the only option to be the best resident and physician that you can be irrespective of the speciality.
—
Dr. Rithesh Ram
Rural Generalist | Drumheller, Alberta Doctor
https://www.facebook.com/UCalgaryRural

03/27/2026

Everyone is arguing about healthcare budgets in Alberta right now.
But in my view, we’re avoiding the harder conversation.
There’s a lot of debate about public vs private surgical care.

Will introducing more private access improve outcomes?
Reduce wait times?
Save the system money?

The honest answer is:

We don’t know for sure.

But we do know the current trajectory isn’t solving the problem either.

Canada’s healthcare system is built on an important principle - everyone is supposed to be treated equally.

And in theory, that makes sense.

A retiree needing a joint replacement deserves care.
A labourer needing a joint replacement so they can return to work deserves care.

Both matter.

But in practice, the question becomes more complicated.

If someone needs surgery so they can get back to work, support their family, and continue contributing to the economy, should the system consider that differently?

In other parts of healthcare, we already do.

Workers’ Compensation systems are built entirely around that idea - treating injuries quickly so people can return to work.

So the real question isn’t simply public vs private.

It’s whether our system can create additional pathways for access without undermining the public foundation.

Many countries with strong public healthcare systems already do this in some form.

Where Canada struggles most isn’t the mechanics.
It’s the culture.

We’ve built a national identity around the idea that healthcare must look exactly the same for everyone.

But the reality is this:

We cannot fund everything for everyone at every moment.
Not without dramatically higher taxes.

And if individuals or employers have the means to access care faster - without displacing someone in the public queue - we should at least be able to have an honest conversation about whether preventing that actually helps the system.

This debate isn’t about abandoning public healthcare.

It’s about being realistic about what it can sustainably provide.
—
Dr. Rithesh Ram
Rural Generalist | Drumheller, Alberta Doctor

03/25/2026

Alcohol: risks we respect. Cannabis: risks we ignore.
Cannabis has a perception problem.

Most people understand alcohol is a drug.
They may still choose to drink, but they generally recognize the risks.

Cannabis does not get the same treatment.

Ask the average person if cannabis is addictive or harmful and you will often get hesitation, dismissiveness, or a confident “it’s natural, it’s fine.”

That gap matters.

Because today’s cannabis is not what many people think it is.

THC concentrations are significantly higher than they were decades ago.
And higher potency changes the risk profile.

Higher THC is associated with:

higher risk of dependence
higher risk of anxiety worsening over time for some people
increased risk of psychosis in vulnerable individuals
more cases of cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (cyclic vomiting)

A lot of people use cannabis believing it will improve mental health.

For some, it may feel calming short-term.

But in clinical practice, we also see the opposite - worsening anxiety, mood symptoms, motivation, and functional capacity over time.

This is not a moral argument and it is not about demonizing cannabis.

It is about being honest about risk.

Alcohol is not safe.

Cannabis is not harmless.

And the cultural story we tell ourselves about cannabis being “the safer option” is increasingly out of date.
—
Dr. Rithesh Ram
Rural Generalist | Drumheller, Alberta Doctor