I Fired My Gynecologist

On January 6, 2026 I fired my gynecologist in Nelson, British Columbia.

Okay, we parted ways…

“Fired” describes the urgent, life-altering emotion felt through my body when my gynecologist (OBGYN), whom I’d never met in person, was paged to the operating room and dropped a call with me for the second time. My phone appointment with my gynecologist was at 11:15am PST and I received her phone call at 1:48pm PST. Not to mention I received the call while I was assisting a customer (I’m fortunate to have an understanding workplace who prepared themselves to accommodate this).

At 11:20am I phoned the clinic embarrassed that I held a suspicion whether I’d see my phone ring at all based on my first contact with her when she advised me that my cervix biopsy resulted in a finding of chronic endometritis; before I could ask questions and actually connect with her she was paged to the operating room and dropped our call. The clinic didn’t phone me at or prior to my appointment time to let me know that my gynecologist was hours behind and potentially not able to fulfill my appointment on January 6 altogether due to her being run ramped throughout the Nelson Kootenay Lake Hospital. The clinic appeared oblivious to the fact that I have a job where scheduled appointments are necessary.

Get this: my gynecologist advised me that she’d need to re-examine me, from scratch, after I was met with an interim gynecologist at my December 2, 2025 consultation due to her unavailability to report to the clinic on the fourth floor of the Nelson Kootenay Lake Hospital. I could hear it in her voice, and through the hustle and bustle in the background of our phone call that she didn’t have the time or a supported environment to fully discuss her knowledge, approach and any of my questions.

As of today I sit on more gynecology wait lists: somewhat locally (Trail and Cranbrook, British Columbia, 1.75 and 3.5 hours respectively) and Vancouver, British Columbia (at least an 8 hour commute with reasonable road conditions). I’d rather this be my own choice than face the reality of what could’ve been (more dropped calls and heartbreak by broken promise after broken promise). The sad truth through my experience with Canada’s healthcare system so far is that I’d rather wait on wait lists for what could feel like a lifetime (in some cases it is a lifetime of wait lists, or worse, dying on said wait lists) than put my life and trust in specialists’ hands who are also not supported by the system themselves and facing burnout. A burnt out doctor is just as detrimental to patients as a collapsed system is itself.

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This morning I came across a post from a member of a Facebook group I’m a part of asking for advice on how to see a gynecologist sooner than one year. My response to this, for anyone is:

Put your name out there; request more referrals than just one. Multiple referrals are necessary in the Canadian healthcare crisis we’re facing. I was accepted and admitted into the Kootenay Women’s Health clinic within four months by phoning the clinic persistently. While I’ve since parted ways with the OBGYN and the clinic altogether, a quicker “no” is a redirection sooner –in my case, although it felt forced, I felt that I needed to take control of this particular outcome of no movement at all before it fully controlled me. A “no” is still movement. A “no” is redirection down a more suitable path.

Here’s my recent experience with securing a procedure date for the colonoscopy I’ve been requesting since May 2025:

My family physician sent a requisition for an urgent colonoscopy early December 2025. I was advised by my physician of a target timeline of three months. Three months wouldn’t feel that long if the requisition was sent in or shortly after May 2025 when my physician suggested a potential bowel issue, and given my family history of colon cancer –I hadn’t been against this idea as separate from a gynecological issue initially until I learned more about the volatility of endometriosis symptoms on my own.

I phoned the booking department at Nelson hospital on January 13, 2026 only to learn that the wait time of three months is not accurate. Why bother offering patients a target timeline of three months at all? While I’m aware being misled isn’t intentional at the doctor’s (and booking) level, an unknown timeline would be healthier for my well-being than false hope.

I paid $2,400 in October 2025 for a private MRI in Kelowna, British Columbia. (The MRI offered no abnormalities at the time, and I plan on seeking further opinion.) However, it is not feasible to spend a minimum of $4,500 (no biopsy/pathology included) for a private colonoscopy in Brossard, Quebec through the Surgical Solutions Network platform. As I reside in British Columbia, perhaps you can gather the cost and travel across six provinces is unreasonable.

The booking agent at the Nelson Kootenay Lake Hospital mentioned they are still waiting to book urgent colonoscopies from June 2025. She advised me that until they phone the majority of the patients ahead of me she wouldn’t be able to offer an estimated timeline. I took a deep breath and composed myself because the lack of answer is not her fault. I asked the booking agent for an estimated timeline should everyone ahead of me accept their scheduled procedure date, what timeline I can expect. I could sense the regret in her voice and in her breathing, similar to my own voice and breathing at the time. I kept her on the phone long enough and she booked me for a colonoscopy.

My unpredictable chronic condition, which involves severe abdominal, pelvic, flank, back, chest, hip and shoulder pain, didn’t ramp up until July 2025 in a simultaneous sense. Remember, pain from endometriosis (a full-body disease) and other pelvic diseases felt through bowel movements, through the bladder, etc. can mimic each other and lead to misdiagnoses. In my case a colonoscopy sooner could’ve already ruled out or confirmed the separate concern of a bowel/colon issue. In my opinion, from a patient’s perspective, “ruling out” is equally as important as confirming diagnoses. Specifically if a patient is dealing with possible endometriosis. The distress from wondering is a silent killer.

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January 6, 2026 is my first real experience of feeling shattered beyond anything I’ve experienced before. I’ve never felt this defeated. It’s like the part of me that had even achieved getting into the gyne in the first place had died —isn’t it wretched that I’m even using the term “achieved” for being seen by a gyne in Canada? I’m grieving the work I’d done to even get into a gyne in less than a year. The way the system has these gynes overworked is unfair, if that’s even the right word for it. I’m back to the drawing board. I’m sure the gyne I was paired with in Nelson is knowledgeable; unfortunately I didn’t get to experience much of her knowledge because she was glued to her operating room pager. The system in British Columbia, and in Canada needs an overhaul.

What gyne-patient relationship is built over the phone in the first place?

According to this study which I located through The Endometriosis Network, it shouldn’t shock you that endometriosis-related symptoms take longer to diagnose with more physicians seen. In Canada it’s next to impossible (probably impossible) to see a gynecologist in Canada without a general physician’s referral. (I waited about ten months to acquire a family physician in my rural community of Kaslo, British Columbia.) Though, women can self-refer to gynecologists in the United States, and worldwide. Of course these options come with financial costs and hardships.

Women’s health patients in Canada will see an average of 3-5+ different physicians before receiving a formal diagnosis. Encompassed within seeing different physicians is the diagnostic delays which average 5+ years in Canada.

Personally, I’ve rotated between two general physicians in Kaslo, British Columbia since May 2025. (I saw an interim doctor in January 2025 when I felt a brief stint of feeling “off”.) I’m on wait lists for a second gynecologist in British Columbia, and I’ll be visiting a general surgeon soon for my colonoscopy. This doesn’t include the number of doctors I’ve seen at the Nelson Kootenay Lake Hospital ER.