FORT FRANCES—Two third-year medical students of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) arrived in Fort Frances last week, and will be living and learning here for the next 30 weeks as they complete their comprehensive community clerkships.
David Janhunen and Lana Potts underwent orientation last week, and were officially greeted by community members last Thursday evening with a reception at La Place Rendez-Vous.
Janhunen, who hails from Thunder Bay, graduated from Lakehead University with an honours degree in kinesiology and then worked as an exercise therapist in cardiac rehab at the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital before starting medical school.
He said he’s prepared to get a better insight into what it takes to be a doctor.
“It’s going to be a good learning experience,” Janhunen remarked. “After second year, we had to do a mandatory four weeks, so that was our first initiation into the hospital setting.
“But we’re going to be here for eight months—it’s overwhelming the amount of things we have to start to learn.
“We get to spend every day of the week with a different doctor, so we’ll be able to see a lot of different styles of practice, a lot of different ways they choose to live their lives here in a community like Fort Frances,” added Janhunen.
The 27-year-old noted he’s been to Fort Frances several times before, competing in horse shows when he was much younger and then competing in badminton tournaments after that.
“I’m at least a little bit familiar with the community. I’m pretty happy to be here,” he said.
Potts, meanwhile, got her undergraduate degree in science and nursing in Edmonton before relocating to Thunder Bay to attend the Lakehead campus of the Northern Ontario Medical School.
She said she’s already looking forward to the next 30 weeks.
“I’m really excited to be here for many reasons,” remarked the 32-year-old. “One is the community—the community’s been really good at welcoming us.
“It feels good to be part of a community.
“I think it’s a good opportunity to get to know a community, to create new relationships, to start a new adventure,” added Potts. “It’s very unique. No other medical school in Canada does this.
“You get to learn in a unique environment, but also embrace a community in a way I wouldn’t have thought,” she explained. “Fort Frances isn’t a place I thought I’d end up in my life, but it grows on you.
“I come from the Prairies, and there’s no lakes, not a single tree,” she continued. “It’s different, but I think it’s going to be really good.
“Exciting is one way to put it, but it’s also going to be a growing experience. It’s unbelievable.”
Potts added local physicians have been very accommodating so far, and the next 30 weeks look promising.
“I’m looking forward to finally getting my feet wet and seeing what it’s like to be a doctor,” stressed Potts. “I’ve had glimpses here and there, but to finally see it day-to-day is what I’m looking forward to.
“I think our learning curve is going to be very, very steep. We’re going to be busy seven days a week. I don’t even want to think about it,” she laughed.
The two students will work with physicians at La Verendrye Hospital and the Fort Frances Community Clinic, as well observe specialists and various local allied health care professionals (i.e., chiropractors, speech pathologists, etc.), thanks to an affiliation agreement between the NOSM and Riverside Health Care Facilities, Inc. to allow NOSM students to gain valuable hands-on practical experience in the Fort Frances area.
“Patients typically are going to see them as part of our day-to-day clinical practice,” explained Dr. Jason Shack. “They’re going to see them in emerg, they’re going to see them in the hospital, they’re going to see them in the operating room, they’re going to see them in the office with us.
“They’re going to be asked to basically participate as part of their learning,” he added. “All of the patients are essentially their textbook, and that’s largely why they’re here.
“They’re going to be here for a long time, so we ask the community to make them feel welcome and say hello to them on the street, and offer them a good time in Fort Frances,” said Dr. Shack.
Another aspect of having the medical students here is to get them used to working in Northern Ontario, and possibly have them come back here to practice down the road.
“It’s very exciting to have them here, especially as a means to recruit and retain people in Northern Ontario, not even just Fort Frances,” said Dr. Shack. “It’s very much a good news story.”
“This is so positive. We’re one of a handful of communities in Northern Ontario that are receiving these students,” noted John McTaggart, chair of the Fort Frances Community Clinic board.
“It’s a real positive thing for Fort Frances because we get to host these students, and then hopefully, at one point, convince them that this would be a great place to practice medicine for the long-term.
“We’re going through an evolution in health-care delivery in Fort Frances, and we’re hoping that this is one piece of the puzzle,” McTaggart stressed. “As we move along, I think these students will be a real boon for us.”
“Obviously, I think it’s a big benefit for the community and the students,” echoed Riverside CEO Wayne Woods. “They’re really going to get to see what rural medicine is all about.
“It’s going to be good for the community, too,” he added. “We’re going to have a couple new people in town, and there’s a potential further on down the road.
“You never know what’s going to happen—maybe they’ll like it enough to come back and set up practice and stay with us.
“It’s not a guarantee,” Woods admitted. “But certainly, we’re looking forward to having them. I think we’re all going to learn something.”
“I think if we go back to the point where we were six or eight months ago, when we trying to get the Fort Frances Community Clinic, that opened the doors for this type of situation,” said Mayor Roy Avis.
“By bringing these students in, making them familiar with the community, introducing them to key members of the community and welcoming them as part of the community, it may enhance our chances of bringing these people back to practice.
“If we can get just one out of two, three or four, it’s of benefit to the Town of Fort Frances,” he added.
Some 10 communities throughout Northern Ontario greeted medical students this month. All 56 students of the NOSM’s charter class will participate in the comprehensive community clerkships.
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is a joint initiative of Lakehead and Laurentian universities, with main campuses in Thunder Bay and Sudbury, as well as multiple teaching and research sites across the region.
(Fort Frances Times)
Fort Frances Times
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