Dr. James Carter
Dr. Allison Christie
Dr. Barbara Konstantynowicz
Dr. Edward Ledding
Dr. Carolyne Lee Old
Dr. Heinrich Volker Rininsland

Dr. James Carter

A general surgeon from Regina, Dr. Carter also served on Council for several years.  Find out more about Dr. Carter by clicking here.

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Dr. Allison Christie

Although she has by now been practicing in Estevan for the better part of her life, Dr. Allison Christie is from the United Kingdom.  She studied at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, where she obtained her medical degree in 1972, followed by a postgraduate diploma in child health in 1974, and her membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians in Great Britain in 1980.

Her career working in hospitals in General Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics, and then in general practice in Glasgow Area and in London, England, would be short-lived:  Saskatchewan beckoned and she started working as first as a GP locum in Gravelbourg, Melville and Grenfell/Rose Valley in 1982, had passed her Flex and Medical Council of Canada (MCC) exams by 1984, and would later become a member of College of Family Physicians in 1998. 

In 1983, having fell in love with the peace and quiet of the province, she went into general practice “for two years” with the Sun Country Health Region, where she worked in both Estevan and Midale and decided to stay a bit longer - until just recently in March 2023 - with the exception of two very temporary positions in Lethbridge Alberta in 1997 and in Concordia, Kansas, USA in 1998.

Her proudest moments include having worked as a student instructor for medical students and having been providing services in General Practice since 1999.  She also received the Woman of Today Award in Estevan in 2019, and then in 2022, local Member of Parliament Lori Carr presented her with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee 70^th Anniversary Award for her service.  Last but not least, she is proud to have survived learning to winter drive in Saskatchewan, including how to avoid snowbanks, drive on ice, and carry a shovel in the vehicle!

Dr. Christie likes to go to political meetings and blogging suggestions to MP’s.  “They never reply,” she laments.  She also enjoys emailing “The Morning Edition” on CBC. (It’s not clear if they reply more?)

Outside work and political involvement, Dr. Christie loves playing the piano and the Irish whistle (badly).  She enjoys travelling, and visiting the Holy Land is firmly on her bucket list, but sadly that will not happen this year.
 

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Dr. Barbara Konstantynowicz

Dr. Barbara Konstantynowicz is a family physician from Regina. Find out more about Dr.
Konstantynowicz by clicking here.

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Dr. Edward Ledding

Dr. Edward Ledding is a general practitioner from Saskatoon. Find out more about Dr. Ledding by
clicking here.

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Dr. Carolyne Lee Old

Dr. Carolyne Lee Old is originally from Davidson and like many of us, moved to Saskatoon to pursue her education.  After graduating from medical school in 1981 at the University of Saskatchewan’s, she completed two years of family residency at Dalhousie University in Halifax, and at the University of Saskatchewan, then obtained her Fellowship with the Canadian College of Family Physicians.

In 1983, she practiced first for a year at Humboldt Medical Clinic in Humboldt, then in 1984 accepted a position as Assistant Professor in the Family Medicine Unit at Royal University Hospital.

In 1986, she went into private family practice at Lenore Medical Clinic in Saskatoon, where she still works today.

Among her career highlights, she does not hesitate to declare, “I have a passion for obstetrics and am very delighted to have had the opportunity to deliver over 3,000 babies in my career.”

Of note, Dr. Old is very interested in ethics and was very pleased to have the opportunity to participate in both the Saskatoon City Hospital and RUH ethics committees. She was promoted to Chair of the City Hospital Ethics committee for a few years and found that a very challenging position. Her involvement with the two ethics committees gave her the opportunity to work with many ethicists in different allied health professions. Father Mark Miller, an ethicist and Roman Catholic priest who was on the St Paul's Ethics Team, was a mentor and teacher for her.

She was later invited to participate in the first Alarm Teaching committee with Dr Turnell and Dr Carson. She jokes, “I am not sure if I was asked because of my expertise or my availability!!!” Dr. Old is pleased now to have had the opportunity to teach the Alarm course many times with many excellent obstetricians.

“I have been married for 38 years to the same devoted partner who has retired from work and states his main job is to look after me. He has become an accomplished cook over the years, which is quite amazing.  When I first met him perogies (made by his mother) was one of the only dishes he could cook,” she chuckles.

Dr. Old and her husband have two children, both adopted.  One is skilled in carpentry and concrete, and their daughter is a journeyman welder. The other important members of their family are their four King Cavalier Spaniels, who all give great emotional support and definitely help their family's mental health.

She loves travelling and hopes to soon be able to start travelling again now that we are past the pandemic restrictions.  She plays the piano and hopes to learn to play the cello after retirement.

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Dr. Heinrich Volker Rininsland

A 1981 graduate from the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine, Dr. Volker Rininsland obtained his CCFP Department of Academic Family Medicine Saskatoon in 1983.

Originally from Lanigan, he has been largely practicing in Moose Jaw since 1983, first at Ross Street Clinic as a family physician until 1994.  He then left Moose Jaw for a short three years to practice in Hayden Lake, Idaho, before returning to Moose Jaw permanently as a family physician and senior partner at Stadacona Medical Group (now Hillcrest Health) in 1997, where he remains today.

He served as Medical Director, Emergency Services Moose Jaw in the mid-1980s, at which time, under his direction, the department transitioned from a simple Emergency Medical Service to a Paramedic Service and substantially improved pre-hospital care.

Dr. Rininsland prides himself in offering full-service family medicine in a regional hospital setting and is also involved in academic family medicine.  From 2012 to present, he has been Site Director for the Moose Jaw Site, Department of Academic Family Medicine. “We started a Rural Family Medicine Training Site from scratch and have graduated 31 Family Physicians, many of whom have chosen to practice in Moose Jaw. We completely changed the medical climate here,” he explains.

Dr. Rininsland recounts one of his more recent favourite teaching moments, “I have always taught Residents and other learners. I teach a lot by sharing stories over coffee or lunch. Recently, I had the opportunity to revive an unconscious fellow passenger on an airplane enroute to Mazatlan and discussed what I did and what to do. What a delight to hear from my Resident a few months later that he had used that information to successfully revive a fellow passenger on a flight back from Hawaii on his vacation. What a joy to see a Resident put my teaching to good use! And Air Canada rewarded him! Teaching is a joy!”

Dr. Rininsland also led the Saskatchewan College of Family Physicians as President for two terms in 1993 and 2005 and is proud to have represented Saskatchewan Family Physicians on the National Board.

On family, Dr. Rininsland shares, “My high school sweetheart wife Pat and I have recently celebrated 44 years of very happy marriage. My oldest child is changing the world in journalism in London, England, and my daughter Vanessa and her husband Neil have remained in Saskatchewan and practice Rheumatology and Radiology.”

Dr. Rininsland loves music, plays guitar and has written and performed over 50 medically-related songs.  He is involved in his faith community, and enjoys summers at his cabin on Last Mountain Lake. “I enjoy the deep and meaningful relationships one develops with patients and the community in a city such as Moose Jaw. My patients worry about my retirement, but I have a few good years left, I think.”

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