Submitted by Pamela Loughlean, Executive Director,
Peninsula Family Health Team
The Peninsula Family Health Team (PFHT) recently welcomed two medical students from Queen’s University as part of the Rural Ontario Medicine Program.
ROMP Week is a one-week elective experience that provides an opportunity for medical students to get a snapshot early in their training of what it is like to live and practice medicine in a community outside of a large urban centre.
Now in our 18th consecutive year of participation, the Peninsula FHT is a strong advocate for the Rural Ontario Medicine Program. Pamela Loughlean, Executive Director commented that “We are always excited to host these future physicians during ROMP week, where they gain clinical experience, but also have the chance to see what it’s like to practice medicine in a close-knit, community-focused environment. The experiences gained during this weeklong visit will hopefully inspire them to envision their future medical careers in a rural community, like the Bruce Peninsula!”
This year, Riaz Mahmud and Jillian McGroarty spent their week job shadowing at the PFHT clinics in Lion’s Head and Tobermory, the Tobermory Hyperbaric Facility, the Golden Dawn Senior Citizens Home and the Brightshores-Lion’s Head hospital site.
Riaz and Jillian were able to observe the interaction between patient, staff and physicians and gained a greater appreciation of the scope of family medicine in our community. The students also spent time with Dr. Harpur in the Hyperbaric Chamber, learned some new suturing techniques thanks to Dr. Thomson and visited residents at the Golden Dawn with Dr. Vanderstelt.
In their free time throughout the week, they had a chance to explore the Bruce Peninsula including hiking on the Bruce Trail, exploring the Parks Canada Visitor Centre and the Grotto and enjoying a boat cruise around Flowerpot Island.
The Peninsula FHT extends special thanks to Mayor McIver and the Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula Physician Recruitment & Retention Committee for supporting the activities of ROMP week and helping to showcase all that the Bruce Peninsula has to offer for these future physicians.
