Locum Fen Smit indicated the cause of trouble.
UBC resident Claudia Kraft and locum Steve Kraus trying to do an appendectomy.
Chief of Staff Peter Boronowski getting up close to a polyp.
Staff physician Leah Seaman shows her son Luke around the inside.
As part of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Project, the Giant Colon (administered by the Colorectal Cancer Association) came all the way from Montreal to Inuvik, just in time for dr. John Morse's last scope clinic in Inuvik.
The exhibit was well attended by the people of Inuvik and everybody knows a lot more about the colon, thanks to Dr. Preventino and local experts.
On January 6th all Inuvikers gathered to welcome back the sun. Although it only appeared on the horizon for a few minutes on the first day, it was a very welcome sight after a month of no daylight.
As is the custom, the town's firefighters made a huge bonfire - very welcome because it was bitterrly cold
and put on a display of fireworks
One of the highlights of the year!
UBC residents, Anna Stratis and Roxanne Lai, joined IRH staff in welcoming employees to work last Friday.
Directors,
Braam de Klerk en Sheila White, were in charge of handing out (and sampling) coffee and goodies.
From left to right: Jill Kelly, GP; Roxanne Lai, UBC Resident; Anna Stratis, UBC Resident; Rachel Kelly, Ottawa Medical Student; Kristine Bertsch, U of C Resident; Kiran Nayar, GP; Courtney Howard, GP; and Ma Thida, Inuvik Staff Physician.
The Back Room is one of our favourite places for an informal get together.
In this picture (left to right): resident Ana Stratis, Inuvik doc Tarun Shaha, locums Dennis Boettger and wife Betty, locums Kiran Nayar and Jill Kelly.
Returning locum, Andre van Heerden, celebrated his birthday - happy that his wife, Gerda could take time off to enjoy the north with him.
Aklavik, at the foot of the Richardson mountains, is our closest neighbour and can be reached by ice road from December to April and by a short 15 minute plane ride the rest of the year. In summer residents also visit back and forth by boat.
For a beautiful aerial view, click here
Locum dr. Peter Boronowski with medical student Hilary Myron in Aklavik – Oct. 2008
Tuktoyaktuk is one of the 7 communities serviced by Inuvik physicians. Visits take place every five weeks and last for two or three days. In summer it is a short flight from Inuvik to Tuk, but in winter it is possible to drive there on the ice road (the frozen Mackenzie River).
Jennifer Cram, UBC resident from Kelowna, dips her toe in the arctic ocean.
For more pictures, click here
After their Inuvik rotation, U of A resident Steven Beekman and his wife, Sonja, made it back to Alberta just in time for Thanksgiving and the birth of their new daughter, Kezia Lynn. Alijah now has a polar bear AND a new sister to play with! Congratulations!
Medical student, Christopher Tregonning, came all the way from Auckland, New Zealand, to do an elective in Inuvik. Chris is the third NZ medical student to do an elective at our hospital - our fame must be spreading! While here, he managed to visit some of the communities and see a few of the sights. Like most winter visitors, he enjoyed dog sledding and skidooing - and then he left, before the REAL cold!
Summer is the time for driving down the Dempster Highway (see map here) and camping along the way. The Dempster Highway is Canada’s only all-season public road to cross the Arctic Circle. Starting near Dawson City this 736 km unpaved two-lane highway traverses North Yukon all the way to Inuvik.
Susan Bryan reports on her trip in the last week of May 2008:
I spent a most enjoyable 2 weeks working as a locum anaesthetist in Inuvik. After the work period, my daughter and I rented a car and went on a one week camping and birding expedition down the Dempster Highway. The weather was great - warm enough to sleep in the tent, but still very few insects, and 24 hours of daylight. We managed to find an incredible 103 species of birds, many of them "lifers" as they are species found only in the western Arctic region. We also saw some interesting mammals including Grizzly Bear, Moose, Caribou, Dall's Sheep and Arctic Ground Squirrel.
One wildlife encounter was a little too close for comfort. After birding and driving all day we finally picked a secluded roadside spot to pitch our tent for the night. I was busy building the fire and preparing dinner while my daughter pitched the tent. Suddenly she looked up and not 10 meters away was a large Black Bear watching us at work. No doubt he was happy that dinner would soon be ready! We tried honking the car horn but he didn't budge. We got out the "Bear bangers" ready to fire in case he charged. We quickly threw the tent and all the food and dishes into the back of the car, jumped in and locked the doors. Phew!
From the safety of the car my daughter took a few photos as the disappointed bear ambled off into the bushes. We decided not to attempt camping again that night and drove for another three hours to reach Inuvik around midnight.
More pictures can be found here.
Who would believe that Inuvik could be Canada's hot spot? Here is the evidence:
Over the last 5 or 6 years, Dr Soorya Basnyat (affectionately known as 'Bas') did a number of locums in Inuvik. Last Saturday staff and friends gathered to say good bye. In his speech Braam de Klerk called Bas 'the last of the dinosaurs' and admired him for his skills as general surgeon - he is one of a dying breed.
In reply, Bas (as usual) had many funny stories to tell. We'll miss you, Bas!
Every 5 weeks one of our physicians does a community clinic in Ulukhaktok (Holman). On her last visit, Leah Seaman had time for a home visit with one of the elders, as well as for a hike around town.
For more pictures of this community, click here
Always a welcome sign of spring: break up of ice on the Mackenzie river. It does mean that the communities of Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk cannot be reached by road anymore, though - until December, that is.
March, with long hours of sunlight and milder temperatures, is the perfect time to take out a dog team and to enjoy the peace of the Delta with nothing to disturb the quiet except for the crunching of the snow and the dog's breathing. Locum David Young did just that!
Olaf and Judi Falsnes at Arctic Chalet offer dog sledding adventures in Inuvik.
This year marks Inuvik's 50th birthday. For more information, see the town's website.
