PMH to host medical students under student-led initiative
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.00 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.00 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/01/2025 (288 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
This weekend, Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) will host medical students from the University of Manitoba in Brandon and Killarney to promote the benefits of practising medicine in rural communities, and the way of life that goes along with it.
The initiative is called Rural Interest Group (RIG) and is in partnership with Health Careers Manitoba and the Max Rady College of Medicine, Faculty of Sciences in Winnipeg.
On Friday and Saturday, the Brandon and Killarney health-care centres will host 75 first- and second-year medical students, up from 55 students last year, and 34 in 2023.
Prairie Mountain Health chief medical officer Dr. Adrian Fung (left) is a family physician and anesthetist. He is seen instructing a University of Manitoba medical student on how to properly suture a wound during a past Rural Interest Group (RIG) initiative that was held at the Brandon Regional Health Centre. (The Brandon Sun Files)
Brandon Regional Health Centre expects to welcome 45 students, with 30 participants slated to visit the Tri-Lake Health Centre in Killarney, according to a PMH news release.
RIG is a student-led initiative, with co-presidents Regina Klassen and Caitlin Culleton, who said participants are already looking forward to coming to Westman.
“On behalf of the University of Manitoba medical classes of 2027 and 2028, we extend our heartfelt thanks to PMH for their preparations and for warmly welcoming us again this year,” they stated in the news release.
“These events are invaluable for our education, offering students a first-hand understanding of rural medicine, opportunities to network with doctors and residents, and insights into working within the health region.”
PMH officials have been hosting RIG students for roughly a decade, sending them to medical facilities in Neepawa, Minnedosa, Souris and Virden to highlight the benefits of working in smaller communities.
Each year, physicians sign up to show students suturing, casting, studying activity through an ultrasound machine and practising general family care.
Dr. Adrian Fung, PMH’s chief medical officer, is a family physician and anesthetist who was stationed in Swan River for about six years. He has worked with students in the past, showing them how to suture a wound while in a hospital setting.
The RIG workshops provide the health region with opportunities to engage medical students early in their training, he said.
“We continue to have success with this proactive and student-led initiative,” Fung stated. “BRHC has been a mainstay for this workshop, and the community of Killarney has also been a proud host in past years.”
The RIG program is also designed to be a recruitment campaign. Manitoba currently has a shortage of 346 doctors and ranks second to last in terms of physicians per capita in Canada. It has 219 physicians per 100,000 residents, according to the Doctors Manitoba’s website.
The incoming president of Doctors Manitoba, Dr. Nichelle Desilets, is a Neepawa family physician. She told the Sun that training students in Brandon who want to stay in Brandon will go a long way to help solve the doctor shortage in rural Manitoba.
An additional RIG workshop is scheduled to be held in Swan River from Feb. 7-9, with up to 24 students expected to attend. That session is made possible through a partnership between Swan Valley’s Medical Professional Recruitment and Retention Committee and the health region.
» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com
» X: @enviromichele