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Winter 2007 Contents • Hiver 2007 Table des matières
Setting up your ideal rural elective
Ariana Murata, MD
CJRM 2007;12(1):44
Aivuk!" The sled dogs lunged forward in fan formation. My gamutiik (sled) floated gracefully over the hard Arctic snow. The Inuit sped beside me on snowmobiles, buried in their sealskin suits. The temperature was –50C.
"Auk!" I shouted. The dogs wheeled to the right.
Dog sledding was exhilarating, as was most of my elective in Rankin Inlet (pop. 2300), Nunavut. Interesting cases included reactivation tuberculosis and severe postpartum hemorrhage from retained placenta. Combined with a preceptor who hunted musk oxen, this definitely made for a memorable and exciting experience. Which brings up the topic of this article — how to go about setting up the ideal rural elective.
Positive factors that are attributed to rural electives include exposure to breadth of practice, quality of life in a rural setting, and good mentor experiences.1 And there's another positive factor I'll add: the opportunity to explore the pristine beauty of remote Canada.
The number of rural physicians has been steadily declining in Canada. In 1996, 9.8% of physicians practised in rural areas, compared with 14.9% in 1991. The ratio of rural physicians per 1000 population is projected to decrease from 0.79 (1999) to 0.53 (2021).2
A recent study showed that factors predictive of a physician's choice of rural practice included rural clinical training during medical school (55.4% rural physicians v. 35.2% urban physicians) and postgraduate rural training of more than 8 weeks duration (38.8% v. 20.2%).3
Countrywide programs have been developed to assist in setting up rural electives. Most provide free transportation and accommodation. Return to service agreements and bursaries are available.
Here's a listing of several of these programs. Good luck with setting up your ideal rural elective. You'll never regret it.
| British Columbia, Yukon & NWT Rural Experiences Access Program (REAP) North/West www.srpc.ca/reapnort.htm Experience remote Canada. Limited funding. University of British Columbia www.med.ubc.ca/education/md_ugrad/clerkship_electives.htm www.med.ubc.ca/education/md_postgrad/Electives.htm Visit Queen Charlotte Islands or the Okanagan Valley Alberta, Saskatchewan & Manitoba REAP Central www.srpc.ca/reapcent.htm Large $ bonuses for those planning to practise here Manitoba & Nunavut University of Manitoba J.A. Hildes Northern Medical Unit www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/medicine/units/northern_medical_unit/ Experience First Nations or Inuit communities. Good funding. Ontario Northwestern Ontario Medical Programme (NOMP) www.nomp.on.ca Sioux Lookout to Thunder Bay. Experience First Nations culture. Northeastern Ontario Medical Education Corporation (NOMEC) www.nomec.on.ca For those wanting to visit Timmins or Little Current Rural Ontario Medical Program (ROMP) www.romponline.com Excellent summer program for medical students Southwestern Ontario Medical Education Network (SWOMEN) www.swomen.ca Quebec REAP Quebec www.srpc.ca/reapqueb.htm Good funding Maritimes REAP Atlantic www.srpc.ca/reapatla.htm Varied funding Newfoundland & Labrador Memorial University of Newfoundland www.med.mun.ca/MED/medEducation2/medElectives.htm Visit Goose Bay. Popular elective |
References
- Jensen CC, DeWitt DE. The reported value of rural internal medicine residency electives and factors that influence career choice. J Rural Health 2002;18:25-30.
- Laurent S. Rural Canada: access to health care. Depository Services Program. Ottawa: Govt of Canada. 2002 Dec 1. Available: http://dsp-psd.communication.gc.ca/Collection-R/LoPBdP/BP/prb0245-e.htm (accessed 2007 Jan 2).
- Rourke JT, Incitti F, Rourke LL, et al. Relationship between practice location of Ontario family physicians and their rural background or amount of rural medical education experience. Can J Rural Med 2005;10:231-40.
© 2007 Society of Rural Physicians of Canada
