Peggy Revell
The weather may be cooling down, but it’s been nothing but a warm reception for the two students from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine doing their placements in Fort Frances for the academic year.
“It’s been excellent. We’ve been here almost two months now, and the town has been very, very welcoming,” said Andrea Haner.
“It’s been a great experience for me here, too,” echoed Elizabeth Cooper. “We found when we came in the beginning that people were very welcoming. Getting oriented to the clinic and to the hospital was very easy.
“The docs are very giving with their time and expertise, so it’s been a great experience.
“Many thanks to the nurses and doctors and other people in the health-care profession, whether they’re in the hospital, clinic, and community, for going that extra mile for us,” Cooper added.
“It’s just been a really nice community to live in,” enthused Haner, adding it’s nice to be in a location that lets her drive back home on the weekend if she needs to.
“I always wanted to be a doctor, going back as far as I can remember,” Haner replied on why she decided to pursue a career in medicine.
Originally from Murillo, a town just outside Thunder Bay, Haner attended Lakehead University, earning an Honours Bachelors degree in applied biomolecular science before entering the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.
Cooper, meanwhile, came from the South American country of Guyana to Thunder Bay after high school. While she wanted to go into medicine, her parents couldn’t afford it, so she instead went to Lakehead and graduated with a chemical engineering degree.
From there she went on to earn her Masters at Windsor and PhD in Ottawa before finally returning to Thunder Bay. When the medical school opened up, Cooper finally had the chance to pursue medicine like she had always wanted to.
While she hasn’t yet chosen an area to specialize in, Cooper said she’s leaning towards family, pediatrics/gynecology, or obstetrics with family.
“It’s hard to tell because we’re just starting out and seeing what’s out there,” she remarked. “And at the end of eight months, it will be clearer as to what I’m really interested in.”
Haner also hasn’t quite decided yet, but currently is tied between family medicine and anesthesia, or a combination of the two.
“For me, I really enjoy working in the clinic,” said Haner. “That’s where I like to spend my time. It’s working with a variety of doctors. We’re back and forth throughout the different doctors there and seeing patients from all ages.
“We’ve been seeing babies, we’ve been seeing elderly folks, we’ve been seeing pregnant moms and young kids, and it’s the variety in the clinic that I like the best.
“We’re also spending time in the hospital, too,” Haner added. “We’re in the emergency room, we’re in the wards, we’re working in the operating rooms, we’re sort of all over the place.
“And then in the community, we’ve done placements with different organizations, as well. So there’s certainly a lot of variety.”
“I can’t think of a favourite [part so far],” admitted Cooper. “But I think we’ve got the most experience in the clinic so far and just because we have the experience of so many doctors during the entire week, I think that that makes the experience much richer.”
Both Haner and Cooper hope to remain in the Northern Ontario once they finish their schooling.
“I like living in the north, and living in a relatively small town, [although] not too small,” said Cooper. “I like living in Thunder Bay and if there’s a job there, I would stay there. But I think it’s wherever there is a need.”
That her family is here is one of the reasons Haner hopes to stay in Northern Ontario to practice medicine, although the “where” is still undecided. Since working in a northern or rural ultimately is what she wants to do, being able to work in Fort Frances has been a good experience to see what it’s like, she explained.
“The fact that [medical training] can be done in Northern Ontario is the message that we’re trying to spread,” stressed Haner, who hopes to see more young people interested in becoming medical professionals.
“Because we need more doctors. It’s a situation that we’re getting into where people don’t have a doctor to go to see.
“There was always the thought that you had to send your children far away if they ever wanted to go to medical school,” added Haner. But with the school in Thunder Bay, and a campus in Sudbury, that’s changed—and there is now the option of training closer to home.
“I think the Northern Ontario School of Medicine is working towards that, too, where they’re going into the schools and talking to the kids in the school saying that there’s a medical school here in Northern Ontario,” echoed Cooper.
“It’s possible for you to go to a medical school here, and come back and practice and live in the north.”
And for those interested in pursuing a career, Haner advised students to keep a real broad base of activities and interests.
“Sciences are important,” she stressed. “We both have science backgrounds, yet at the same time we’ve both spent time volunteering, working with kids, we’re active in the community. . . .
“You have to work really hard in school. You want good grades, but you also want to be very well-rounded.
“We’re here in the community for the next eight months,” Haner added. “If people want to ask us about it, we’re more than happy to talk.”
