PICTOU, N.S. – Growing up in Pictou, Gordon Young was often asked the same question.
“Are you going to be a doctor like all the rest of your family?”
His father, his grandfather and an uncle were all doctors and many expected him to carry on in the family trade.
“No, no, no!” was always his response.
But he had a change of heart when he was in his fourth year at Mt. Allison University and decided to pursue a career in medicine after all. At that point he hadn’t even taken a class in biology. It was the start of what would be his lifetime career
Friday, he was recognized for his work by having his name added to a plaque inside the Sutherland Harris Memorial Hospital that bears the name of his forebears. After 42 years of service he retired this year. Combined with his family members, the number of years of service by the Youngs exceeds 113 in Pictou.
Speaking to the gathering, Young thanked those who recognized him. He explained how it took a few years before he was able to come home.
“I don’t think I could have come back to Pictou County right away because I would have felt pressured into the role of those who had gone before,” he said. “When I did come back here four years after graduation, I felt quite comfortable coming out here with cut-off jeans, with the crotch out of them.”
People could say: “That’s just Gordon, it’s not Clarence or Fraser.”
What Young discovered, and something he often shared with young medical students, was that medicine is a terrible job. It’s hard work and stressful – that said, it’s a wonderful career.
