Read the following article from a website.
The provincial health ministry is considering a ban on contract clauses that stop family doctors from working within a set distance of their old clinic. Many new doctors sign contracts that bar them from practising within fifteen kilometres for two years after they leave. The ministry says it will decide by the fall, after hearing from doctors, clinic owners and patients at meetings across the province.
Iolanda Quaresma, a labour lawyer who represents young doctors, says the clauses keep physicians away from patients who need them. “Last year three of my clients turned down jobs at clinics that had no doctor at all, only ten minutes from where they worked,” she said. “Their contracts said no, so those towns waited another winter.” Quaresma wants the ministry to publish standard contract terms, “so a new graduate can compare offers before signing anything.” Quaresma said the problem is worst in towns with fewer than five thousand people.
Romuald Rutledge, who owns two family clinics, says a total ban would hurt owners who train beginners. “I spend about forty thousand dollars getting a new associate ready, and the clause is how I protect that,” Rutledge said. “If doctors can leave the next month and take their patients with them, small clinics will simply stop hiring new graduates.” He says a fair repayment plan for training costs could replace the distance limit.
Marcelline Robillard, who plans health services for the northern region, says the order of the changes is what matters. “A ban on its own will not send anyone north,” she said. “Fund training spots in rural clinics, and then remove the clauses,” Robillard said. Junaid Raza, who runs a patients’ rights group, says patients are the people nobody asks. “When a doctor moves, patients should have the right to take their medical file along, without waiting weeks or paying a fee,” he said. “Right now some clinics hold files hostage. That has to end,” Raza said. His group has collected more than two hundred complaints this year.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
The author treats the question as 2..
At present, Romuald Rutledge spends 3..
The main point of the article is that 4..
Most likely, Junaid Raza has heard from 5..
The following is a comment by a visitor to the website page. Complete the comment by choosing the best option to fill in each blank.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: a possible ban on limits to where doctors work
Why this is correct: The ministry is considering a ban on clauses that stop doctors from working near their old clinic. Every speaker gives a view on that ban.
Passage Reference: a ban on contract clauses that stop family doctors from working within a set distance of their old clinic
Tips: Gist options can quote a true detail and still be wrong. Check which option describes the issue every speaker gives an opinion on, not a fact mentioned once.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a shortage of nurses in northern towns: The article talks about doctors, not nurses.
- new fees for copying medical files: Raza wants patients to get files without paying a fee. No new fee is proposed.
- a plan to build a new hospital: No hospital is being built in the article.
Correct Answer: one that many people get a say in
Passage Reference: after hearing from doctors, clinic owners and patients at meetings across the province
Why this is correct: In the reporter’s own words, the ministry will decide after hearing from doctors, clinic owners and patients across the province.
Tips: Set the quotes aside and read the reporter’s own sentences. Keep the option those sentences show, and drop any feeling or stance they never show.
Why the other options are wrong:
- one the ministry has already settled: The reporter says the ministry will decide by the fall. Nothing is settled yet.
- one that only matters to young doctors: The reporter says clinic owners and patients will be heard too.
- a joke that wastes the ministry’s time: The reporter never treats the question lightly.
Correct Answer: a lot of money getting new doctors ready
Passage Reference: I spend about forty thousand dollars getting a new associate ready
Why this is correct: Rutledge owns two family clinics. He says he spends about forty thousand dollars getting each new associate ready.
Tips: Collect the facts about Rutledge from his quotes and from the reporter. Then choose the option those facts show about his life today.
Why the other options are wrong:
- his time planning health services up north: Robillard plans services for the north. Rutledge owns two family clinics.
- time collecting complaints about clinics: Raza’s group collects complaints, not Rutledge.
- his weekends working in a hospital emergency room: Nobody says Rutledge works in a hospital. He runs his own family clinics.
Correct Answer: people want different things from the decision
Passage Reference: the clauses keep physicians away from patients who need them ... says a total ban would hurt owners who train beginners ... says the order of the changes is what matters ... says patients are the people nobody asks
Why this is correct: Quaresma wants the ban, while Rutledge wants another way to protect his costs. Robillard cares about the order, and Raza about patients’ files.
Tips: Weigh each option against Quaresma, Rutledge, Robillard and Raza together. Your answer must still hold once every quote has been read.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the clauses should be removed right away: This is Quaresma’s side only. Robillard wants other steps first.
- small towns already have enough doctors: Quaresma describes towns with no doctor at all.
- the ministry will keep the clauses in place: The ministry has not decided. It will decide by the fall.
Correct Answer: patients who had trouble getting their files
Passage Reference: patients should have the right to take their medical file along, without waiting weeks or paying a fee ... Right now some clinics hold files hostage.
Why this is correct: Raza says patients should get their file without waiting or paying a fee. He says some clinics hold files hostage, so he has heard from such patients.
Tips: Look at what Raza says and what the reporter says about him. Keep the option those lines let you work out, and drop any they rule out.
Why the other options are wrong:
- doctors who were sued for moving away: Nobody in the article mentions doctors being sued.
- clinic owners who lost new associates: Losing associates is Rutledge’s worry. Raza speaks for patients.
- graduates who turned down town jobs: These are Quaresma’s clients, not people who come to Raza.
Correct Answer: fifteen kilometres
Passage Reference: Many new doctors sign contracts that bar them from practising within fifteen kilometres for two years after they leave.
Why this is correct: Many contracts bar new doctors from practising within fifteen kilometres for two years.
Tips: Find the distance written into the contracts. Do not confuse it with how long a trip takes.
Why the other options are wrong:
- five kilometres: Five kilometres is not in the article. The contracts name a longer distance.
- ten kilometres: Ten appears as ten minutes of travel, not as the distance in the contracts.
- fifty kilometres: Fifty kilometres does not appear in the article.
Correct Answer: compare offers
Passage Reference: Quaresma wants the ministry to publish standard contract terms, “so a new graduate can compare offers before signing anything.” Quaresma said the problem is worst in towns with fewer than five thousand people.
Why this is correct: Quaresma wants standard contract terms so a new graduate can compare offers before signing anything.
Tips: The commenter is giving the lawyer’s reason for standard terms. Find what she says a graduate could then do.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ask a lawyer: Quaresma is a lawyer, but she does not say graduates should ask one.
- visit the clinic: Quaresma does not mention visiting clinics.
- meet the staff: Meeting staff is not part of Quaresma’s reason.
Correct Answer: repayment plan
Passage Reference: He says a fair repayment plan for training costs could replace the distance limit.
Why this is correct: Rutledge says a fair repayment plan for training costs could replace the distance limit.
Tips: The clinic owner suggests a replacement for the distance rule. Find the sentence that reports his suggestion and take its exact phrase, not a term that merely sounds like a contract.
Why the other options are wrong:
- signing bonus: Rutledge does not mention bonuses.
- waiting period: Rutledge wants to replace the waiting rule, not keep it.
- notice period: A notice period is not part of Rutledge’s idea.
Correct Answer: training spots
Passage Reference: Fund training spots in rural clinics, and then remove the clauses
Why this is correct: Robillard says the province should fund training spots in rural clinics and then remove the clauses.
Tips: The commenter agrees with the planner’s order of steps. Find her quote that gives an instruction and take the thing she names, not any help that sounds useful for rural clinics.
Why the other options are wrong:
- housing grants: Housing is not mentioned in the article.
- travel money: Robillard does not mention money for travel.
- new hospitals: Robillard does not ask for new hospitals.
Correct Answer: more than two hundred
Passage Reference: His group has collected more than two hundred complaints this year.
Why this is correct: Raza’s group has collected more than two hundred complaints this year.
Tips: The commenter repeats a figure from the patients’ advocate. Find how many complaints his group has received.
Why the other options are wrong:
- about fifty: Fifty is not in the article. The group has far more complaints than that.
- five hundred: Five hundred does not appear in the article. Five thousand is the size of the small towns the lawyer mentions.
- nearly a hundred: A hundred is not a count the article gives for complaints.
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