The journey leads home: Dr. Mackenzie Cook returns to Guysborough County to practise family medicine

Growing up in Guysborough County, Dr. Mackenzie Cook always knew she wanted a career focused on helping people.

When her path led to medical school, a learning opportunity brought her home to Guysborough, where she spent a week gaining hands-on experience in a rural setting. The experience helped solidify her desire to be a family medicine physician.

The journey through medical school and a family medicine residency has led her home, where she’s now practising family medicine at the Dr. Anita Foley Health Services Centre in Guysborough. 

“I always kept myself open to other opportunities and experiences throughout medical school, but ultimately the variety that family medicine and rural medicine offer appealed to me,” says Mackenzie. “It’s common in rural sites for physicians to do a bit of everything.” 

For Mackenzie, the variety in her practice includes seeing patients at the clinic, providing emergency department and inpatient coverage at Guysborough Memorial Hospital and offering a travelling clinic in a nearby community.

In addition to the variety, Mackenzie says joining a collaborative practice was a big draw. 

“It was huge for me to be able to join a collaborative practice and know that I had colleagues that I could touch base with as I start my career,” she says. “It can be overwhelming and intimating when you are starting out, but joining a collaborative group made the transition smoother.” 

Over the past few years several new physicians and two new nurse practitioners have decided to put down roots in Guysborough County. Mackenzie recognizes the value of those strong recruitment efforts and she hopes to contribute in some way as she settles into her role. 

“Throughout my training I was able to travel to other rural communities and get a sense of rural medicine. I’d like to get involved with the Cape Breton Medical Campus through mentorship or teaching because I think increasing exposure to rural communities is so important.

“Sometimes a barrier to recruitment and retention is just the lack of knowledge of what rural medicine and rural living are truly like.” 

Outside of work, Mackenzie says returning home and reconnecting with the community has been a highlight. 

“I’ve had a lot of support from this community along the way and now I’ve been welcomed back with open arms,” she says. “It’s nice to see familiar faces and names and making connections, which is such an important part of rural family medicine.” 

As is often the case in communities throughout Nova Scotia, those ties run deep. Mackenzie holds a connection to the namesake of the clinic where she now practises. 

“The clinic is named in honour of the late Dr. Anita Foley. She practised family medicine here in Guysborough for over 40 years, and she was my family doctor. She truly embodied what it is to be a rural family doctor — and it’s great to be starting my career here.”  

Photo: Dr. Mackenzie Cook