Dozens of medical students got a look at rural healthcare this past weekend, as Southern Health\u2013Sant\u00e9 Sud hosted a hands-on learning event at Boundary Trails Health Centre.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Held April 11th in partnership with Menzies Medical Centre and C.W. Wiebe Medical Centre, the initiative welcomed\u00a0approximately 30\u00a0to 40 first- and second-year students from the University of Manitoba\u2019s Rural Interest Group.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hands-on learning in a rural setting\u00a0<\/p>\n
The event introduced students to the realities and opportunities of rural medicine through a series of interactive, skills-based stations. Participants rotated through sessions focused on airway management,\u00a0pediatric\u00a0assessments, spirometry, suturing, and women\u2019s health, while also connecting directly with physicians and healthcare providers in the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Amy Lloyd, a second-year medical student originally from Winkler, says the event is designed to give students a well-rounded introduction to rural practice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFellow medical students\u00a0have\u00a0basically invited\u00a0first and second year medical students here to meet physicians in the area, healthcare providers in the area, get a tour of the facility and get a feel for what the community has to offer. Potentially, fingers crossed, recruit some people down the road.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Exploring training pathways\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Rural Interest Group visit is one of the first opportunities for many students to engage directly with rural physicians, while also exploring potential training pathways such as Rural Week, the Home for the Summer program, electives, and future residency placements.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kyla Goulet-Kilgour, a second-year student from Winnipeg, says the program already provides exposure to both urban and rural settings, but events like this help deepen that understanding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, last year, everyone at the end of their first year of med\u00a0school goes\u00a0to a rural community in Manitoba and spends a week there.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
She adds that the immersive experience allows students\u00a0the chance to\u00a0stay\u00a0with local families and collaborate\u00a0with a wide range of healthcare professionals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Related stories:<\/p>\n
Rural vs. urban: weighing the options\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Lloyd, who has already spent time working locally through the Home for the Summer program, rural medicine is an appealing path.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think rural medicine\u00a0is so interesting.\u00a0There’s\u00a0so much to offer, such a diverse practice.\u00a0I’m\u00a0definitely leaning\u00a0rural right now, but I mean,\u00a0we’ll\u00a0see.\u00a0I’m\u00a0still\u00a0pretty early\u00a0on in my training.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both students noted that rural practice offers a broader scope of work and\u00a0a strong sense\u00a0of community connection, while urban centres provide access to specialized training and resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think\u00a0there’s\u00a0a lot to rural medicine.\u00a0There’s\u00a0so much that it has to offer, the sense that\u00a0you’re\u00a0so tightly knit within the community, especially in this kind of smaller rural areas. They have\u00a0a real sense of belonging there, within your co-workers and within your community. You have a sense of like the sense that\u00a0you’re\u00a0really contributing within the community.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Organizers say events like this\u00a0help students explore future career paths\u00a0and, potentially, encourage\u00a0more physicians to consider practicing in rural communities like those in the Morden\/Winkler area.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dozens of medical students got a look at rural healthcare this past weekend, as Southern Health\u2013Sant\u00e9 Sud hosted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602236,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":{"0":"post-609521","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-healthcare"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}