After their three-month rotation in Edmondston, Dr. Geneviève Aube and Dr. Justin Boissonnault decided that the northwestern New Brunswick city was where they wanted to practice.
Their short stay in Edmondston was part of their post-medical school residency at the Université de Moncton. The specialization in family medicine lasts two years.
Although the couple are not from Edmondston and have no family in the area, the sense of community and francophone environment made them want to stay.
“We liked that it was a smaller community, that it had a great community spirit, a francophone environment,” Aube told Radio-Canada. “There were a lot of outdoor activities. In the background there are mountains in the middle of the city. It’s a quieter town.”
Memorable internships could convince other students to stay and practice in New Brunswick after graduation, the two doctors say.
The Mont Farlagne Outdoor Center is one of the outdoor attractions that the local medical community points to Edmondston medical students and graduates. (Mont Farlagne Outdoor Center/Facebook)
Love for your colleagues
During their placement, the couple got the chance to meet and observe colleagues.
Several doctors in the region invited the couple to dinners to discuss medicine as well as the area’s attractions.
“It helped us a lot to see what it would be like to train with this team in Edmondston,” Aube said.
Dr. Jenny-Lee Albert, center, will practice at hospitals in Trakadi and Karaket, where she also gained clinical experience. (Dennis Post/Vitalité Health Network)
These are different ways medical students and graduates can gain some experience in clinical settings in New Brunswick before deciding where to practice.
At Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick, the medical school’s program based in St. John’s, students in their third and fourth years rotate between specialties.
They can also rotate in different communities, according to Dr. Robert Bulay, assistant dean for clinical education at the school.
These clinical placements, formerly called internships, last 48 weeks and can be done anywhere in the province. There is no shortage of such accommodations, Bulai said.
“If our communities put energy into selling themselves to these young doctors … it goes a long way in helping students feel welcome in those communities,” Boulay said. “And to make them feel like, ‘Hey, this is a place where I can live, I can develop relationships and maybe I can have a family in these communities.'”
At the Université de Moncton School of Medicine, students who specialize in family medicine complete their basic training at the school in Moncton and Dieppe. While students rotate to different locations around the province, in their second year they have the option of doing a three-month rotation in Edmundston or Bathurst.
Dr. Jenny-Lee Albert is one of 19 graduates of the Moncton school this year. She grew up in Saint-Simon on the Acadian Peninsula and will return to practice there at the Tracadie and Caraquet hospitals.
Dr. Robert Boulay, assistant dean of clinical education at St. John’s-based Dalhousie University School of Medicine, says it helps when communities put a lot of effort into selling themselves to young doctors. (Submitted by Dr. Robert Boulay)
Practicing on the Peninsula had always been her plan, even before she began studying medicine. But the clinical experience she gained in the region confirmed her choice.
“I adored my colleagues, whether it was the nurses, the doctors or everyone who worked at the hospital,” Albert told Radio Canada in French. “I thought it was like a good relationship because whether you like it or not, small circles are a little more personal.
“We’re closer, so I liked that in that environment.”
After graduation, students apply for their chosen major and place. From there, students receive residency, which can be anywhere in Canada, Boulay said.
The only specialties that students can complete in New Brunswick are family medicine and, more recently, psychiatry.
“Furthermore, these students have to leave the province to do other studies elsewhere if they want to have a major other than these,” Bulai said.
Medical residency training can take anywhere from two to five years, depending on the specialty.
Saint John School graduated 31 medical students this year, but it is unclear how many of those graduates remain in the province. Of the 43 percent of 2019 graduates who completed residency training, 57 percent practice in New Brunswick, according to Ali Fournier, a spokesperson for the medical school.
Use of placements for recruitment
Dr. Michel Landry, director of the Université de Moncton’s medical school, agrees that good clinical placements can influence whether New Brunswick-trained doctors choose to stay in the province and in more rural areas.
“When you’re going to practice in an environment and have good experiences, that’s one of the most important factors in where you’re going to settle down later in practice,” said Landry, who is also French’s provincial medical training program coordinator.
Dr. Michel Landry, director of New Brunswick’s French medical training program, wants to see more places for medical students. (Radio-Canada)
Sixteen of the 19 graduates of Moncton Medical School this year will reside in New Brunswick, the school announced.
“If they go five or six years to Quebec or Ontario or somewhere to do their studies, if they like the environment, find a life partner who settles down, it’s always been a challenge to get them back,” Landry said.
The Dalhousie School’s Dr Boulay said a number of factors influence doctors’ decisions about where to practice after completing their course.
One is that they become “highly specialized” in their studies and there may not be a demand for that specialty in New Brunswick.
“For example, if someone trains intensively and becomes a very well-trained interventional cardiologist, of which we already have a number of interventional cardiologists in New Brunswick, well, there may simply not be opportunities for them to come back to New Brunswick,” he said.
We hope to add 8 places for students
The Université de Moncton School of Medicine accepts an average of 24 people into the program annually, but Landry would like to see that number increase to 32 by September 2023.
With health workers already overstretched, it will be more difficult to train more students, but Landry said he is confident of getting those additional spots.
According to Landry, most of the New Brunswick students who study in the province have a 90 percent chance of staying; while students coming from other provinces have a 50 percent chance of staying.
“Trying to hire people from outside is not as successful or more difficult than trying to train them locally,” Landry said.
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