Building Neepawa’s future health-care workforce
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A University of Manitoba program designed to give health-care students firsthand experience in rural Manitoba is creating new opportunities in Neepawa while strengthening the community’s ability to attract future doctors, nurses and other professionals.
Officials with the university’s Office of Rural and Remote Learner Experiences say Neepawa has become a popular destination for students completing placements, highlighting the community’s growing role in training the next generation of health-care workers.
The program, launched in 2021, supports students from medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry and rehabilitation programs by helping arrange travel and accommodations for placements outside Winnipeg. Its goal is simple: introduce students to life in rural Manitoba and encourage them to consider building careers there.
A growing partnership between Neepawa and the University of Manitoba is helping introduce future health-care professionals to rural practice while creating new opportunities to strengthen long-term recruitment in the community. (Photo courtesy University of Manitoba.)
“We recognized that part of the gap in recruitment and retention into rural communities is ensuring learners have an experience in those communities,” Program Director Melissa Balness said in an interview. “If you grew up in an urban centre and have never been to a rural community, it’s hard for you to envision working there.”
During the 2025-26 fiscal year, 37 students completed placements in Neepawa, including learners in nursing, pharmacy and undergraduate and postgraduate medicine programs. Since April, another 21 learners have already completed placements in the community.
Across Manitoba, the office supported 2,195 learners last year, including 380 in the Prairie Mountain Health region.
The University has already established long-term housing arrangements in communities such as Portage la Prairie, Brandon, Morden, Winkler and Killarney, and officials hope to develop similar partnerships elsewhere.
Balness said communities have been enthusiastic partners in the effort, often helping students connect with local events and activities so they can experience more than just the workplace.
“If they’re just going to their placement and then back to their accommodations and not feeling part of the community, it’s not very helpful in the recruitment and retention,” she said.
Officials said communities are often surprised to learn how many students are already completing placements in their area.
Although accommodation shortages remain a challenge, Balness said local communities have consistently stepped up to help.
“Usually, when we’re really stuck and we connect with the communities, we end up finding something that will work for everyone,” she said.
» Winnipeg Sun