This rural B.C. town is one of the rare few that has enough family doctors. But soon, it won't.

A family doctor accepting patients is hard to come by these days throughout much of B.C., in particular, in rural communities. 

But Mackenzie, a small community of about 4,000 people, north of Prince George, isn't facing quite the same crisis. 

The community, which has provincial funding for 6.5 family doctors, has eight. However, several work part-time hours, and all their work combined adds up to about 5.7 doctors.

Doctors in the community say that despite being slightly short of full-time family physicians, their workload is "manageable."

One of the physicians is Dr. Ian Dobson, who journeyed north from Vancouver nine years ago as part of the general practitioner locum program, which brings doctors into rural communities for a limited time. 

Dobson liked Mackenzie so much, he stayed. 

"I couldn't be happier," he said. 

His colleague Dr. Dan Penman arrived on the scene just over 10 years ago, wanting to escape city life for a new adventure.

"It's a beautiful area," Penman said. "It's a really nice community … very welcoming people here. I find them to be quite appreciative."

Both doctors say the landscape, access to recreational activities and short commutes are big reasons they've stayed in the area. 

Additionally, both have young families and are enjoying raising children in a rural setting.

But they also say that being on an alternative payment model has helped keep them and other doctors in Mackenzie. 

Every single doctor in Mackenzie is on alternate payment contracts. Penman said Northern Health owns and maintains the building they work out of, meaning doctors can focus on medicine instead of running a business.

Most family doctors in B.C. are independent contractors and run their practices as businesses, paying for overhead costs such as office space and staff and medical equipment. Physicians and future physicians have long called for similar options.