Heather Latter
Former Fort Frances residents Ashley Dyson and Marlon Hagerty officially are doctors after graduating from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) in Thunder Bay last month.
The pair, now off to complete a five-year residency program in their respective fields, are members of the third graduating class from the school, which first welcomed students in September, 2005.
“I’m very happy,” enthused Dyson, who will be training in obstetrics and gynecology at the Health Sciences Centre and St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg.
“I’ve been interested in medicine, either human medicine or veterinary science, since I was really young,” she noted.
“So I’ve always been thinking about heading in this trajectory.”
Dyson completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph, thinking she’d become at veterinarian, but then decided to switch to human medicine.
Hagerty, meanwhile, was pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Manitoba when he decided to move from science towards medicine.
“I had a joint class with oncology residents where I was doing cancer research,” recalled Hagerty, who is about to begin his residency training in radiation oncology in Halifax.
“It was part-science and part-medicine, and I realized how interesting medicine was so I changed gears,” he reasoned.
Both entered the NOSM in 2007 for its four-year undergraduate medical degree. They spent the first two years doing mostly book learning, with a little bit of clinical exposure, and then in their third year spent 30 weeks at a hospital in Northwestern Ontario.
Dyson was in Sioux Lookout while Hagerty went to Dryden.
“I found the third year especially to be a tough year,” Hagerty admitted. “It was the point we went from theory to practice.
“I really enjoyed it, but it was tough.”
“I had a lot of positive experiences [in my third year],” noted Dyson. “I was doing assisted C-sections, so I got to hold instruments, retract, and help with sutures.
“I got to play a part in surgery, but wasn’t the person actually doing the cutting.”
As well, with her interest in obstetrics and gynecology, Dyson said she was able to do several vaginal deliveries with her preceptor looking on.
In their fourth year, back in Thunder Bay, the pair rotated through the different units of the hospital there.
“I found that fantastic,” enthused Hagerty. “I got to do some radiation oncology work there, and that was the whole reason why I had decided to go into medicine.”
In fact, upon completing his residency program, Hagerty has been offered a job doing radiation oncology in Thunder Bay.
“I’m planning on coming back and I’m very happy about that,” he remarked, noting he took a risk choosing radiation oncology as his specialty since there are not many jobs in that field.
“But things have opened up for me to return, which is great because I wanted to stay in Northwestern Ontario,” he remarked.
While he wouldn’t be able to do this type of work closer to Fort Frances since the technology isn’t available, Hagerty is thrilled that he still would be able to help people of the Rainy River District who may be referred to Thunder Bay.
“I like the idea of treating and curing cancer, and I get to have one foot in cancer treatment and one foot in cancer research,” he stressed.
“I also love the patients. I find they are just amazing and I really like spending my day with them.”
Dyson also is planning to return to Northwestern Ontario once she finishes her residency, perhaps to Thunder Bay or Kenora.
“Especially as a new graduate, you need more support and more resources,” she explained, adding she loves Fort Frances and the family and friends she has in the area.
“[Coming back to Fort Frances] is something I’d consider later in my practice just because when I’m first done my residency, I want to be in a centre where there’s more support,” she continued.
“You aren’t the only one and there’s more infrastructure. You don’t have to be on call 24-hours a day.”
Dyson said she hopes one day to start a family and possibly once her children have grown, she would consider returning to practise here.
In the meantime, she’s happy to be beginning her residency in Winnipeg.
“I think all the programs in Canada will give you a good education, but Winnipeg has the reputation for having a strong surgical program,” she noted.
“The obstetrical portion of the training is prenatal care, so you follow people all the way from fertility through their pregnancies, and deal with any complications throughout their pregnancy.
“Then actually do the delivery,” she added, saying she’ll learn to perform C-sections.
As for the surgical and gynecology aspect, Dyson said she’ll be able to do procedures such as abnormal uterine bleeding, hysterectomies, and bladder repair.
“Every area of medicine has its own challenges and rewards, and I think this could be a very rewarding thing for me,” she enthused.
