First cohort for northern Alberta medical program unveiled as region grapples with doctor shortages

The first cohort of a new program that aims to help fill gaps in rural health care was unveiled Monday at the University of Alberta’s Edmonton campus.

The Northern Alberta Medical Program is an extension of the University of Alberta’s medical program that will be hosted at Northwest Polytechnic in Grande Prairie. There will be 30 students enrolled each year. 

Funded by the province, the program is an effort to expand access to medical education and  address shortages in rural and northern communities. 

“We’re very excited to be able to take education and help it be in spaces that are distributed far and wide across the province,” said Dr. Richard Martin, the assistant dean for the program. Martin also practises family medicine in Grande Prairie. 

“For somebody that comes from a smaller place, especially if they come from northern Alberta, it’ll be a lot more comfortable for them to be in an environment that they’re familiar with, closer to their support systems,” said Martin. 

When the program was announced last year, then-minister of advanced education Rajan Sawhney noted that only 6.6 per cent of Alberta physicians work in rural areas. 

Martin said the government and institutions recognize that there aren’t enough doctors in smaller communities, and the program is a step toward addressing that shortage. 

“Communities are strongly invested in supporting this program because they see the positive potential impacts when learners are there and potentially doctors are coming afterwards to practice.”

Students in the Northern Alberta Medical Program were fitted for their white coats today, as part of the orientation at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. (Tristan Mottershead/CBC)

The cohort were fitted for their white coats this week, and start classes in Grande Prairie on September 2. 

Students will train as generalists, including family and internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, general surgery and psychiatry. 

Medical education is not new in Grande Prairie, but faculty are excited to be able to support students throughout the entire four years of their degree, Martin said. 

.Megan Hopkins is one of 30 new members of the Northern Alberta Medical Program cohort that begin classes in Grande Prairie next week. (Tristan Mottershead/CBC)

Megan Hopkins said she’s excited for the opportunity to learn close to home. 

“I was born and raised in the north. I grew up in Grande Prairie. To be able to bring a program like this to the north is really exciting for me,” said Hopkins, a first-year medical student in the cohort. 

“To get the opportunity to train in my hometown, and also let others see how incredible and diverse [it is], and the challenges, as well.”

Martin noted that there are no return of service agreements in the program. Those agreements would see an individual provide a service in an under served community for a specific amount of time in exchange for educational funding or training.

Martin said those agreements aren’t usually successful, but they are hopeful the doctors will want to stay in northern Alberta. 

“We want to be able to connect our [students] through their learning to a space where they want to practice later,” said Martin.

A similar regional medical campus is under development in partnership with the Universities of Calgary and Lethbridge, in southern Alberta.