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The Island Medical Program's first class of trainee doctors joins the hospital front lines
by Beth Haysom
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IMP student Kevin Tyler, right, checks out patient Walter Sly, under the watchful eye of Dr. Fraser Black. |
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The first time Island Medical Program (IMP) student Bjorn Vegsund went "on duty" at Cowichan District Hospital emergency room, he couldn't bear to leave.
"We were only supposed to stay for two hours, but it was so interesting that I stayed for six," says Vegsund. He's one of the first cohort of 24 medical students based at the University of Victoria who are trail-blazing medical education on Vancouver Island.
"This was the first time I was the first person a patient talked to once they were admitted to the ER," says Vegsund. "It was exciting and definitely nerve-wracking, trying to remember what questions to ask, what physical symptoms to look for, what tests might be needed, and the diagnosis for each patient. This kind of experience is far better than all the hours we spend sitting and studying."
In fact, Vegsund and his fellow students, now in their second year of the four-year program, have spent more than a year studying and practising clinical skills with volunteer patients. Now it's time for their one day a week practical training with real patients on the wards and units of Vancouver Island Health Authority hospitals: Cowichan District, Saanich Peninsula, Victoria General and the Royal Jubilee.
This front-line hospital experience, which began last month, chalks up another first for the IMP, which is establishing undergraduate medical education on Vancouver Island as a distributed program of the University of British Columbia faculty of medicine. IMP students will graduate with a UBC medical degree.
The IMP officially opened its doors at UVic in January 2005, along with the Northern Medical Program at the University of Northern BC, to respond to the need for doctors in rural, isolated and coastal communities. Previous experience has shown that doctors tend to stay and practise in the areas where they are trained.
"The IMP is off to a fine start and we're delighted with our progress so far," says Dr. Oscar Casiro, associate dean of the program and head of the division of medical sciences at UVic. "Our students are doing extremely well, we're developing a strong rapport with UVic and the Vancouver Island medical community, and our much-touted video-conferencing technology is proving up to the task of linking the distributed sites."
UVic's Medical Sciences Building and the sophisticated audiovisual equipment have been put to the test since the second cohort of 24 students arrived last month to begin their studies. Among the new class, 11 are UVic alumni and nine are originally from Vancouver Island.
"UVic is becoming a gateway to medical education on Vancouver Island," says Jamie Cassels, UVic's vice-president academic and provost. He encourages the new students to follow in the footsteps of the class of 2008, who have become "excellent ambassadors" for the university by participating in several community health initiatives. "This reflects UVic's vision of having our students connected to the real world, contributing to the betterment of society," he says.
In June, the second-year students will be involved in intensive, real medical-world training when they begin four-week rotations with family practice physicians in rural areas of Vancouver Island. Some of these physicians, such as Dr. Granger Avery of Port McNeill, use a helicopter to reach their patients in isolated communities.
Meanwhile, many of the students share Vegsund's enthusiasm for their current hands-on hospital experiences. Patrizia Moccia is still ecstatic from her first experience in obstetrics, watching a baby boy being born: "It was totally amazing—our physician tutor talked us through what was happening. Afterwards, the new father shook all our hands."
Kevin Tyler chose to have his hospital practice at the Victoria Hospice palliative care unit at the Royal Jubilee because he wanted to learn what is involved in caring for the whole family. As his hospice sessions wrapped up and he moved on to another unit, he says: "I have a whole new respect for caregivers and everything they do."
Dr. Fraser Black is one of 500 physicians on Vancouver Island who have agreed to teach IMP students and be appointed to the program's growing clinical faculty. He mentored Tyler during his work at the 17-bed Victoria Hospice in-patient unit.
"I'm very happy to have the IMP students here," he says. "They bring so much enthusiasm and energy. Palliative care was not a big part of our training when I went to medical school, but it's an important part of medicine, so this is a great opportunity for these students and for us."
The last word belongs to Walter Sly, a patient at the Victoria Hospice, who cheerfully cracked jokes while posing for photos for this article with the doctor, Tyler and Rose, his wife of 51 years. "I guess we can still teach these young ‘uns a thing or two," he quipped.
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