Gary Ernest, medical doctor and student in the Executive Doctorate of Business Administration (EDBA) program
Throughout his 41-year medical career, Dr. Gary Ernest EMBA’97 has welcomed babies into the world and watched patients draw their last breaths. The family doctor who practices medicine in Liverpool, NS, knows all too well the importance of having access to a primary care physician.
Currently, the provincial waiting list for a family doctor has hit record highs in Nova Scotia, with over 140,000 names and more added every day—a burden also being felt in other provinces across the country.
“The provision of primary healthcare is one of the arch stones of our healthcare system,” says Dr. Ernest. “When you look at the number of people waiting for a primary care provider, it’s huge, and the implications and consequences are not hard to imagine.”
During the early stages of the pandemic, in addition to his medical practice, Dr. Ernest served as the President of Doctors Nova Scotia. It was a chaotic time to work in the medical field, and one of his primary jobs was keeping physicians engaged and supported in any way possible.
At the time, there was a lot of upheaval for doctors in the province. The pandemic prevented many of them from seeing patients in their offices and major shifts needed to be made to help doctors provide care. Other physicians lost their practices or had them greatly reduced, meaning they faced the financial consequences of a decreased practice. Some doctors were also being employed to do things outside of what they would normally do to help patients.
In June 2023, Dr. Ernest was recognized with a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for his service to the public as the President of Doctors Nova Scotia. The awards were given by provincial governments across Canada to individuals who devoted themselves to the service of others during the pandemic through their job, volunteer work or contributions to their community.
“I came home one day and my wife told me a special delivery had come from the Nova Scotia Health Authority. She pulled out the medal and letter—I was shocked—it wasn’t anything I had thought about receiving.”
Helping people is at the heart of what Dr. Ernest does. So, it was natural that he further his education and help facilitate out-of-the-box solutions and address challenges facing the medical care system. In addition to being a doctor, he holds an extensive education from the Sobey School of Business—an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) degree from 1997, a Certificate in the Directors Education Program, and he's currently in the first cohort of the Executive Doctorate in Business Administration (EDBA) program.
After he graduates from the EDBA program in 2025, Dr. Ernest wants to use his education to drive innovative solutions to tackle the challenges facing the strained medical system across the country.
“I’d like to do consulting work in healthcare transformation,” he says. “It’s an issue that is front and center on everyone’s agenda because it has become increasingly clear over time that although our healthcare system has many excellent qualities, there are aspects of it that need to change in order to cope with current and future demands.”
Dr. Ernest is enjoying his time in the EDBA program, which provides him with a new challenge while preparing him for the next chapter. He appreciates the evidence-based management aspect of the program, which uses critical thinking and the best available evidence to make decisions. It’s a familiar concept to him as a respected physician helping Nova Scotians each day.