From Quinte Health Clinical Assistant to Future Belleville Doctor!
Sisters Revati and Aswini Deshpande were born in India. In 2005, when Revati was nine and Aswini was eight, their family moved to Ontario. The sisters spent the rest of their childhood and adolescence in Guelph, excelling in their studies and living a somewhat sheltered life.
“My sister is the impulsive one,” explained Aswini. “She chose to go to India for medical school and I followed. We both wanted to explore, travel, and have some freedom.”
After completing medical school and an internship in India, both returned to Canada as international medical graduates (IMGs) and spent time assisting in medical clinics both in the Quinte area and the GTA. International medical graduates are required to attend a residency program before they can become licensed to practice medicine in Canada.
Revati, being older and more experienced, was the first to be matched into the Queen’s Family Medicine Residency Program in Belleville in 2023. Although Aswini was disappointed not to be matched at the same time as her sister, her disappointment didn’t last long. An hour after her sister’s big news, Aswini received a call from Quinte Health offering her a job as a clinical assistant.
“It felt like fate to end up in the same city as my sister,” said Aswini. “I’m so happy to be working as a clinical assistant at Quinte Health because I’ve been able to increase my knowledge before being matched to residency. I’ve learned so much about interpersonal relationships and working in a team environment with nurses, patient flow coordinators and others. The doctors here are so kind and supportive and take the time to explain things and offer guidance – it’s quite refreshing.”
And Quinte Health has been happy to have Aswini! Clinical assistants are a key component of Quinte Health’s new (since January 2023) Medicine Model of Care. This collaborative model involves nurse practitioners, physician assistants and clinical assistants lifting some of the heavy load from overworked physicians, creating a much better working environment for physicians – and a much more appealing setup for potential physician recruits.
The environment is so appealing that Aswini can see herself doing hospitalist work once she opens her Family Medicine practice. “This work has definitely shaped me into what I am now. My love for hospitalist work really started with everything here and I can see myself coming back to work as a hospitalist once I open my practice.”
Aswini has recently matched with the Queen’s Family Medicine Residency Program (she believes the substantial experience she gained as a clinical assistant was appealing to the interviewers) and both sisters have signed with the City of Belleville’s Doctor Recruitment Program. They will both be opening Belleville medical practices once they finish their respective residencies – Revati in 2025 and Aswini in 2026.
The sisters, who live together near Belleville General Hospital, love Belleville for its unique landscape and waterways, and feel a special connection to the people and the community.
“I love interacting with patients and having an impact on their lives,” said Aswini. “That’s what is most satisfying to me about working in the medical field. If I can do that in a city I love, alongside my sister, that makes me happy.”
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