Thank you again for allowing me the opportunity to spend time at the Inuvik site. It will no doubt be the most useful 4 weeks of electives this year in terms of learning and experience.
This small centre allows one to easily get to know the system. OR time I found extremely valuable, good practice assisting with surgery with suturing and more, working with Dr. Basynat was very useful. Anaesthesia experience has seriously made me consider an extra year of training in that domain. Med-evacs were useful and provided good exposure to pre-hospital care in the north. Community clinics were really useful to provide perspective on distances and resources (or lack thereof) in the more remote settings. Call schedule I found appropriate, being on for the first two weeks was good as I had a chance to take part in almost everything that came in. I especially enjoyed the collegiality of staff, something I have rarely seen at other centres - a great environment to work and learn in. The twice-weekly rounds I found valuable from a learning perspective as well, and presentations were useful. I presented on hypothermia in the last rounds, fairly pertinent at the time as there were two fatalities from snowmobiles through the ice in Fort McPherson at the time.
Finally, the setup with the room and meal plan made the logistics easier, although the cafeteria was rarely ready to serve breakfast at 7AM. NWT has a travel bursary available to cover flight costs, though in 2006 their budget run out as of August for the fiscal year, so no med students were reimbursed for travel costs after that date.
Thanks again for accommodating me on the Inuvik elective and please extend my thanks to all of the staff - I look forward to returning again soon!
Pascall Gellrich, Dalhousie
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