STELLARTON – Dr. Aaron Smith uses a single phrase to describe the success of the new medical teaching program at the Pictou County Health Authority.
“We built it – they came,” Smith told the people gathered at the Aberdeen Hospital Foundation’s annual general meeting recently.
The program has seen 23 young doctors participate since its inception less than two years ago. Through the agreement with Dalhousie University and SABA University, an American medical school in the Dutch Antilles in the Caribbean, the doctors in training learn from Pictou County doctors in an attempt to attract medical personnel to rural areas.
What makes the program attractive to students is some of the perks the PCHA throws in, says Nancy MacConnell-Maxner, program co-ordinator. In addition to promising the students high-quality medical education, the program gives focus-added experiences, like a place for the students to stay and a membership to the local YMCA.
“We want to make the experience memorable,” she said, because evidence suggests doctors may want to return to live in a community where they already have social connections and have done training.
The program also offers something that’s not available in other parts of the province – hands-on opportunities with Pictou Landing First Nations.
“Students aren’t often given exposure to First Nations medicine, an area that’s unfortunately lacking,” MacConnell-Maxner said. “Very few students are having that opportunity right now.”
The undergraduate students generally complete a four- to six-week rotation in family medicine as part of the program, as well as an elective rotation in areas like Pictou Landing. There’s also an option to do rotations in psychiatry and family medicine residency.
“We try to make it really easy to do a rotation by having a single point of contact,” MacConnell-Maxner added.
The students have given positive input to the program, she added.
“The physicians determine how the students feel about the program and we’re so lucky to have such good physicians participating.”
According to Smith, the preliminary feedback speaks for itself. “I think it’s fair to say the program is becoming a success very quickly,” he said. “We’re implementing a comprehensive evaluation process to ensure we’re doing as good a job as we think we are.”
The medical teaching program is also talking to high school students about career options in medicine, she said, through recruitment fairs and Junior Achievement programs, to ensure they know there are options in the healthcare field beyond just becoming a doctor or nurse.
“The program has really become a model for rural Nova Scotia – our long-term goal is increased awareness of our health authority among medical personnel,” Smith said.
