Med students get a taste of rural practice

SOURIS — A first-year medical student was giddy with joy when she was able to suture a patient at the Souris Health Centre on Thursday as part of an initiative introducing future doctors to practising in rural areas.

Madison Chisholm of University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine also spoke with patients about their medical histories and relayed that information to a supervising doctor, she said.

“I’ve really gained a lot of confidence in like my skills, and getting to kind of practise everything we’ve talked about has been really beneficial for me,” Chisholm said at the hospital.

Chisholm is one of two medical students who were placed in Souris for “Rural Week,” held May 25-29 and June 1-5.

This year, Prairie Mountain Health is hosting 41 students across 14 communities — Brandon, Carberry, Dauphin, Deloraine, Grandview, Hamiota, Killarney, Minnedosa, Neepawa, Roblin, Russell, Souris, Ste. Rose du Lac and Virden.

There are about 140 first-year medical students in this year’s class at U of M’s Max Rady College of Medicine, Chisholm said.

During a student’s allotted week, they shadow physicians, connect with health-care teams and explore the community while engaging in activities that showcase rural life.

“I think getting to have this experience definitely like piques my interest in rural medicine, and I think it’s really nice that we get to do that so early on in our training,” Chisholm said.

Although she’s unsure where her career path will lead her, she’s grateful for the learning experience at the hospital, she said.

Lily Giles has spent her week at the hospital and the Souris Medical Associates clinic, where she’s focused on speaking with patients about their medical history and doing physical examinations.

“I’ve always wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember,” she said.

“I’ve always really loved science and always wanted to help people, and I think it’s a good combination of the two.”

Giles said she’s learned a lot from her supervisor and is open to practising in a rural community once she graduates in three years.

Both Chisholm and Giles say Rural Week is an effective recruitment strategy because it’s a chance to build connections with health-care staff, interact with patients early in their training and experience what rural communities have to offer.

“Getting students out here is a great idea. They can actually see we do a lot of good work out here,” said Dr. David Cram, who has worked in Souris as a family physician for 40 years.

“It’s so nice to see young, bright, articulate minds, you know, and they’re just a sponge soaking up everything.”

Working in rural Manitoba requires a specific skill set and involves on-call and night shifts and responding to all kinds of health issues or injuries that come through the door, Cram said.

He said it’s rewarding to provide a continuity of care to patients in a small town.

“We’ve got a good relationship with our patients and this mutual respect, and it’s just so nice. I got, you know, people in this hospital I’m looking after that I’ve known for 40 years,” Cram said.

Efforts to recruit and retain doctors have been challenging at times, he said.

In the past, the community has been down to two physicians, but now there are five doctors and a nurse practitioner who work at the hospital and clinic, Cram said.

“Even with five doctors and a nurse practitioner, the health-care demands are just — it’s like a tsunami of care coming our way, and then the system for a lot of different reasons just can’t handle it, and so we’re actively recruiting,” he said.

Souris is “relatively well serviced” for a small community, said Dr. Mryanda Sopel, who works as a family physician in the town and at a satellite clinic in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation.

“However, we’re seeing a paucity of providers in our surrounding communities, and so unfortunately our patients are having to travel anywhere from within town to an hour and a half,” she said.

Her patients travel from areas as far as Winnipeg, Brandon, Melita, Rivers, Oak Lake and Hartney, she said.

Sopel, who has been practising for eight years, said she prefers working in rural areas.

“I find in more of a smaller town setting — you really can get a significant variety to your practice,” she said, adding that she’s able to provide care in a clinic, emergency room, hospital and personal care home.

Rural Week was introduced as an optional experience within U of M’s first-year medical curriculum in 2003 and became mandatory the following year.

Brandon family physician and anesthetist Kyle Conrad participated in Rural Week in the late ’00s and went to Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, which helped him learn more about the Inuit population and the nuances of rural medicine there, he said.

The experience inspired him to take further training in Newfoundland and Labrador to learn about remote resuscitation and how to direct EMS staff who are providing care for a patient from a distance.

“Rural Week is about showcasing our communities, showcasing life in rural and northern Manitoba, and allowing people to experience a part of why we love living and working in these areas so much,” he said.

“The spirit is to inspire people to consider these communities.”

» tadamski@brandonsun.com