Dr. William McMullen: physician of the year

BY BRENDAN CONNOR

It was one of the coldest nights of the year outside, but inside the Howard Johnson Hotel in Sudbury there was plenty of warmth to be felt, as well as genuine gratitude and affection as members of the Northern Ontario medical community gathered to salute one of their own, and one of the region’s favourites.

Dr. William McMullen, affectionately known as “Dr. Bill,” was feted in late January by friends and colleagues for being named Family Physician of the Year for 2010 by the Ontario College of Family Physicians.

McMullen, who has practised family medicine, obstetrics and palliative care in Sudbury and area for more than 30 years, accepted the recognition with his now-famous reserve and aplomb. While reflecting on his time in the practice of medicine in Northern Ontario, he was thoughtful, and maybe even a little wistful.

“I think I tried to bring to the job a certain combination of empathy and availability. Empathy in that I saw people in various stages of their lives, and in both times of tragedy and joy.  I still see folks in palliative care as they approach their time, sometimes with heartache and longing, and yet sometimes with acceptance and peace.  As a doctor who has also delivered over 7,000 babies, I’ve also seen much joy as people become parents. And in my role as coroner, I’ve also, of course, seen tragedy and loss.”

On the matter of availability, McMullen admits that he sees many changes in the way medicine is practised, delivered and viewed.

“In my early days, 8 pm house calls were a regular thing. We never thought twice about it. It was part of patient care. We also saw all of our own patients when they went in for an operation. We visited them on rounds, and consulted with the surgeons. There was a familiarity and a full-service aspect to patient care back then. There was no such thing as family doctors not going into the hospital and consulting.”

McMullen says he feels like he introduced the concept of “walk-in clinics” in Sudbury, but he shakes his head as he looks now at those clinics and how crowded they can be, and how many older patients sit in lineups and wait to see a physician.

“It’s a different world now and a different time.  Twenty-five years ago, I talked a group of Sudbury doctors into working one day every couple of months at an after-hours clinic, but the concept was that it would just be an extension to family care in our own practices. It was never meant to replace having a doctor of your own, and certainly was never meant to be a stand-alone business. “

McMullen insists he doesn’t want to be preachy, but he laments the currently- accepted practice of doctors “interviewing” patients to see if they will take them on. 

“I find myself still seeing about 150 patients in the clinic environment because they have failed the interview that physicians are now doing. They are being rejected because they have multiple health issues, and doctors won’t add them as patients. So clinics are now very necessary, but I think it’s a poor way to offer any continuity of care.”

McMullen also made his feelings known on this issue when he addressed the first class of graduates at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and asked them to recall their motivation.

More than ATMs

“I told them to remember why they wanted to become doctors.  I asked them to remember what they wrote in their letter of application. We’re in it to help people. I understand that the days of doctors working 80 hours a week are gone, and that might be a good thing. Everyone needs a balance in his or her life, and they need to see their families and so on, but in the same breath, we shouldn’t be in this healing business just to be ATMs or Tim Horton’s-style drive-throughs where we just provide an antibiotic prescription-writing service. That’s not what it should be about.”

McMullen’s opinion is likely to resonate with many young doctors in Ontario, as he did his share of mentoring over the years. He estimates about 70 to 100 current physicians came through his practice.
“Yes, they’re all there on my wall, and I even occasionally realize that I delivered some of these doctors as babies! “

It’s been quite a ride for “Dr. Bill” and his wife of 40 years, Imelda. He didn’t start out in medicine. Instead, he earned a Masters degree in Social Work, and was working with gangs and street issues, but feeling frustrated in aspects of that work, he took up a challenge from Sudbury physician Bob Shaw and psychologist Chris Nash. 

“They told me I was a frustrated doctor anyway, so if I wanted to make a difference and have the accountability for results, but also the responsibility, then I should just go to med school. So I talked it over with my wife, and at age 31, I went off to study medicine at McMaster University, graduated in the mid-70s, and came back up to Sudbury where I was helped along by many local physicians like the Farrell brothers and Rene Wiss to name a few. They were good to me as a student, and so I vowed to do my part and teach as well.”

Busy at 67

Dr. McMullen plans to reduce his workload eventually, however that may still be a way off.  At age 67, he remains busy, still doing shifts in emergency medicine at Sudbury Regional Hospital and at Espanola General.  He also works as a coroner, and still practises community-based medicine as medical director of the Killarney Health Centre where he offers care to elderly and palliative patients in their homes.

Dr. McMullen also sits on various boards and committees, and helped lead the movement to establish the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, where he is a professor of Family Medicine. 

He spent 16 years as the chair of the Northeastern Ontario Medical Education Corporation and played a key role in the development and the operation of the Northeastern Ontario Family Medicine program.  He also serves as medical director of the Northeastern Ontario Stroke Network.

As for what lies ahead when he retires, he says he will indulge in his passions for sailing, fishing and such, but also sees a future role as a fundraiser and community motivator.

Asked for his diagnosis and prescription for the current state of health care, Dr. McMullen ponders a moment, and laughs.

“I’m not sure if things are better now or worse. Maybe we were crazy putting in those 80-hour weeks, and doing home visits and so on, but that was how it was done back then. My son is a physician and, while he respects what I’ve done, when we get into debates about things, he thinks I’m a dinosaur.”

Reflections from a kinder gentler day, and from a kind and gentle man, who is much-respected in the medical community and much-loved among the patients whose lives he has touched.

Brendan Connor is a Sudbury-based freelance writer.