Remote Rural Elective
My journey from Manchester to Inuvik began when I received an email from Dr de Klerk offering me an elective place. I had contacted many rural hospitals in Canada, and was delighted to get a response – but where was Inuvik? A minute with my atlas and I knew I was not just going to a remote hospital, but to the ARCTIC! – my imagination ran wild – would I see the northern lights? Snowy arctic wilderness? Polar bears? Well, sadly there are no polar bears in Inuvik, but the northern lights were spectacular, and seeing the landscape change from high summer, through a colourful autumn, to the beginning of icy winter over only 8 weeks was quite an experience.
The elective consists of a
mixture of GP clinics and emergency medicine, with some time in the
OR a few mornings a week. I got lots of practice suturing and
assessed far more patients than is possible in busy teaching hospitals
in the UK. In the OR, the visiting surgeons and anaesthetists
were happy to teach, and I got plenty of experience of assisting, and
practice at airway management. The high points of my trip were visits
to the tiny remote communities of Aklavik and Paulatuk, to help with
2-3 day GP clinics. It was a real pleasure to meet some of the
elders, and the experienced nurse practitioners who ran the local health
centres gave me a valuable insight into local health and social issues.
It was also interesting to see GPs with a broader role than is possible
in the UK - working in a small team in a very remote location, where
specialist help is a two hours away by plane.
I really enjoyed this elective,
it was hard work but a really great mixture of experience, in a very
friendly environment - perfect for taking first steps into medical practice.
Christine Beeston
5th year medical
student
University of Manchester, UK.
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