Encouraging medical students toward rural practice

Medical students face a world of career path choices, and often the heart informs the head.

Samantha Chittick, a fourth year medical student from Kelowna, already knows where her heart lies - and that is in rural medicine.

“Rural medicine is broad, interesting and relational; you can do full service family medicine and provide significant continuity of care,” said Samantha.  “I can’t understand why anyone would want to do anything else.”

Samantha is one of 20 recipients of a new financial award created by the Doctors of BC and the provincial government designed to encourage young students to pursue a rural practice. Each year, a total of $100,000 is available for up to 20 medical students who demonstrate an interest in practicing rural medicine or for rural students entering medical school.  Each student is eligible for an award of $5,000, allowing them to take part in rural electives, attend rural health care conferences, or pursue additional training on rural medicine. 

The first group of students have received their awards, Samantha among them.  The students come from Prince George, Powell River, Grand Forks and Campbell River. Many expressed they are interested in rural medicine because they want to be part of a community and make a significant difference.

The British Columbia Rural Interest Awards is an initiative of the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues (JSC) which is made up of government and physician representatives.  It is just one of the collaborative programs of Doctors of BC and the BC Ministry of Health created to enhance patient care and build a stronger health care system.  Funding comes from the Physician Master Agreement and decisions on funding allocation are made by the two partners.

We are not alone in our challenge to recruit and retain doctors in rural communities, but with BC doctors and the government working together; we are developing long-term solutions that will ensure all patients can access health care services close to home.

Read the news release announcing the awards.

Find out how to apply.

Learn more about how Doctors of BC and the BC government are supporting physician recruitment and retention in rural communicates.