Northern Medical Program celebrates decade
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Northern Medical Program and the Northern Medical Programs Trust.
In 2004 the first class of medical students began training at UBC before coming to UNBC in 2005.
UNBC vice-provost of medicine Dr. Paul Winwood said the unique partnership between the medical school, Northern Health and the Northern Medical Programs Trust – a nonprofit fund created to support medical education in the North – has allowed the program to offer students medical training in a rural environment.
“Among the things that influences where a physician practices is where they get their experience. It’s really about trying to support healthcare students obtaining rural experiences, and therefore remaining [in rural practice,]” Winwood said. “Students who are thinking they want to practice rural medicine... tend to be attracted to our program. Rural doctors have to practice in more isolation than urban doctors, so they have to be more confident. We train practical, well-rounded physicians.”
The first class of Northern Medical Program students graduated in 2008, and each year 32 students are admitted to the program. Once a medical student graduates, they must spend a further two to seven years in a residency program – depending on their specialty – before being able to practice independently.
The program has kept statistics on where and what type of practice its graduates go into.
On average in Canada, only 30 to 35 per cent of medical school gradates go into family practice, Winwood said. For the Northern Medical Program, more than 50 per cent of graduates become family physicians.
“Of those, nearly two-thirds are practicing in rural or northern Canada, about one-third in northern B.C. That’s very encouraging,” Winwood said. “Only 10 per cent of family doctors [in Canada] go into rural medicine on average.”
In addition to the medical school, the Northern Medical Program operates a family practice residency program in Prince George, which is available to graduates from the program and other schools, he said. Of doctors who complete their residency in Prince George, 65 per cent have gone on to practice in northern B.C. and another 15 per cent in other northern and rural areas of Canada.
“[And] the results that our students get in national exams are as good as anywhere in the country,” Winwood said.
Part of that success is because of the experiences supported by the Northern Medical Programs Trust.
The trust is a partnership between 24 municipalities, four regional districts and corporate sponsors Canfor, CN Rail, Rio Tinto Alcan and West Fraser. The City of Prince George and Regional District of Fraser-Fort George are both partners.
Since its formation, the trust has raised almost $6.5 million, which is used to provide about $150,000 in disbursements per year to support students and programs.
The trust provides financial support for students taking integrated clerkships in rural communities like Fort St. John and Terrace, Winwood said. Unlike traditional clerkships, where senior medical students spend a portion of their training focusing on hands-on learning in different areas of medical practice, rural students have to handle a wide variety of cases, he said.
“They basically see everything that walks through the door. There is some evidence it’s a better way of learning,” Winwood said. “That’s the reality of medical practice.”
In addition, the trust supports opportunities for first-year stu- dents to job shadow rural physicians in places like McBride and Mackenzie, he said.
“They support [job shadows of] one physician who flies into First Nations north of Fort St. John. They go in by helicopter... for a week at a time,” Winwood said. “They get to see clinical medicine in the raw.”
The trust also provides financial support for students who have to relocate to Prince George and other rural sites for their education, he said.
“If you have to relocate for a year... it can be costly. The cost to the students would be quite off-putting,” he said. “And some of these things would not be possible, period.”
The benefit of the program is not just in the training of doctors, but in the attraction and retention of already-practicing doctors, Winwood said.
“There is no doubt that having a medical school here helps attract physicians here. I came here because of the [Northern Medical Program], and I’m not the only one,” Winwood said “I think [for] physicians it just enriches their working life if they are teaching. It keeps you young and keeps you fresh, and keeps your knowledge base up if you’re teaching.”
The program has incredible support from local physicians, he added.
“In Prince George about 95 per cent of our physicians teach. I can tell you that is not true in other places,” Winwood said. “We are... so grateful for the teaching they provide.”