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No medical school for Brandon: report

By: Staff Writer

Wednesday, Jul. 25, 2012 at 10:54 PM | Comments: 2

(TIM SMITH/BRANDON SUN)

Brandon University will not get a stand-alone medical school, although a satellite campus could set up shop here sometime in the future.

That's according to a long-awaited report comissioned last year.

The study

Read the full study online here.

The Brandon Medical Education Study concluded that a separate medical school in Brandon — an idea championed by some in the community for the past several years — would be "ill-advised," given the region's relatively small population.

However, the study suggests that the government work towards establishing a satellite medical school in Brandon, in partnership with the University of Manitoba.

The province has said that it accepts all of the recommendations made by the study, including the advice to train and hire more doctors in Brandon, rural and northern Manitoba.

"We want to ensure we are training doctors for families in all corners of Manitoba," said education minister Erin Selby.

The study recommends focusing first on post-graduate medical training in Brandon and other rural communities by creating more medical residencies, the last stage of training for doctors following medical school. Other recommendations include creating community campuses with clinical teaching units for third- and fourth-year medical students interested in rural practice.

Health minister Theresa Oswald said that six new family medicine residencies in Brandon, Steinbach and Morden/Winkler had already been added.

Although the study says that free-standing medical school in Brandon is off the table, the province said it would establish a working group to look at the possibility of a satellite school.

BU president Deborah Poff said that the university would work closely with the province and with the University of Manitoba.

The study also recommends enouraging medical students to pursue rural or remote practices, and that the province consider reducing its dependence on foreign doctors.

For the complete story, see Thursday's Brandon Sun.

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Posted by:Bokonon2

July 25, 2012 at 6:15 PM

Typical Winnipeg-centric mindset.

Posted by:Solidus

July 25, 2012 at 3:38 PM

What kind of self-defeatist, mindfreak is this?
Who's kool-aid will Brandon be stealing?
Winnipeg's?

Of course the Brandon region can't retain ALL the doctors trained (duh!).
The point is to train MORE.
THAT will benefit everyone.

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