The province is setting up a new family medicine residency program in the Interlake to enable medical residents to learn more about rural medicine and treat patients in the region.
The program will see residents in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba Max Rady College of Medicine work in the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority. The goal is to retain a number of the physicians in the region once they graduate and become doctors.
“This formal residency program will allow medical residents to experience working in a rural community, helping them better understand the needs of rural patients and the variety of services they will be able to offer if they choose to practise in a rural community following their training,” said Health Minister Cameron Friesen.
Similar residency programs already exist in Prairie Mountain Health and Southern Health-Santé Sud
Training will be spread out among a number of practise areas including primary care, psychiatry, obstetrics, general surgery, internal medicine, emergency department care, pediatrics and seniors care. Other training will include work on pre- and post-natal care, nutrition and sports medicine.
“Having a site for the family medicine residency program located in Selkirk provides an additional opportunity for learners to experience the unique needs of a rural setting while better serving the residents of the Interlake,” said Dr. José François, head of the Department of Family Medicine at Max Rady College of Medicine and medical director of the WRHA’s family medicine program.
François added that approximately three-quarters of all graduates from rural residency programs stay in Manitoba to practice. More than half of all graduates are still practicing in rural Manitoba 10 years later.
Medical residents will be chosen for the training opportunities through the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) for positions beginning in July 2019.
