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ER Physician, Volunteer, Outdoor Enthusiast

My favourite thing about my job is realizing that you have helped someone. The fact that I have made an impact on someone’s life or the lives of their loved ones means a lot.”

Dr. Joanne Reid

ER Physician, Summerside

If you watch a lot of medical shows on television you might have some preconceived ideas of what an emergency room physician is like. When you meet local ER physician Joanne Reid you’ll soon learn that the fictional programs don’t do them justice.

Even with a busy schedule, Dr. Reid makes time to volunteer and get involved in the community. One of her passions is working with Special Olympics. She has spent many volunteer hours supporting the athletes. In 2015, she represented Canada at the World Summer Games in Los Angeles as a Healthy Athletes Medfest Volunteer, working with the athletes during the Games as well as providing follow-up care to ensure they can successfully live longer, healthier lives.

When Joanne isn’t working at the hospital, volunteering at a sporting event, or spending time with her family, she’s most likely running a marathon, fishing, biking, or just enjoying the outdoors. She even enjoys PEI winters, often spending time cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and ice skating on one of many outdoor rinks across the Island.

“Mainly, I just love to get out and enjoy nature and relax my mind. If you’re living on PEI, winter is definitely going to be a part of your life. I feel it’s important to embrace it,” she said. “The main thing is to find something that you can enjoy about winter and just go with it. It’s really the same attitude with which I approach everything in life. It’s really why I ended up in medicine — I really enjoy it; I’ve always known it’s what I would do and I’m just going with it!”

Joanne is a born and raised Islander who grew up in Stanley Bridge, PEI. Knowing early in life she wanted a career in medicine, she was motivated to make it happen from the start.

Her journey into the medical field started right after high school when she attended Acadia University. She then enrolled in the Accelerated Nursing program at UPEI only to discover just six months away from completing her nursing degree, she knew in her heart that nursing wasn’t exactly what she was meant to do. With the encouragement of her instructors, she pursued her dream of applying to medical school.

She took the plunge, completing her Medical Degree at Dalhousie University in 2014, followed by her residency in family medicine right here on PEI. Armed with her medical education, she traveled across Canada, experiencing different ways to practice medicine. This brought her to Northern Ontario and British Columbia where she worked on northern reserves, as well as small rural clinics and ERs.

Today, Joanne lives in Summerside and specializes as an Emergency Room Physician at the Prince County Hospital while also working periodically at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown. 

Joanne is drawn to the variety that comes with practicing emergency medicine, along with the fulfillment that comes in knowing she is making a difference in the lives of her patients, even when they present at their worst.