Estevan’s St. Joseph’s Hospital was host to the Saskatchewan Medical Association’s (SMA) annual Roadmap Tour on Sept. 22.
The event saw 40 medical students participating in a variety of medical-related events throughout the day and touring both the hospital and Estevan.
The Roadmap program is designed to showcase rural and regional centres in Saskatchewan, so that more locally-trained physicians will be working in smaller communities and see the benefits those smaller communities have to offer.
Greg Hoffort, executive director for St. Joseph’s Hospital, said that the event was equally as exciting for the students, as it was for the hospital to host.
“We’re going to spend the day showing the students Estevan, St. Joseph’s Hospital, and what their future might look like if they choose to practice medicine here when they’re completing their education,” said Hoffort.
“We’re hosting a few different clinics throughout the day, that will be educational and show them the wonderful facilities the hospital has to offer. It’s a pretty exciting day for us and we’re very happy to be able to host this event for a second time. They are an excited group of young learners ready for the day.”
First-year medical student Alexa McEwen said that she was excited to visit the community, and the services available through St. Joseph’s.
“I’m originally from Francis, so I’ve been to Estevan before, but I’ve never had anything to do with the healthcare here so it’s really cool to be a part of,” said McEwen.
“It’s funny to me, coming from Francis that they consider Estevan rural, but it’s cool to get to see the different things throughout the hospital. I think we get to do some suturing and casting and see a bunch of the different parts of the hospital.”
A large variety of activities were made available to the medical students throughout the day, including a suturing lab, which saw the students learning how to properly anaesthetize and suture a wound, using pig’s feet in place of patients.
Students were separated into groups at the beginning of the day, and competed in an “Amazing Race” styled event, which involved completing various labs and solving challenges to progress to the next activity.
After completing a day filled with various medical-themed activities, the students were able to tour the city, go bowling, and enjoy a dinner at Fired Up Grill.
“We had a very full day for the students,” said Hoffort.
“We’ve got a banquet going on for them tonight after they finish all of their activities and then they will fly back out of the Regina airport. These students are anywhere from their second year of medical school to their second year of residency, so we have a wide array of students and we couldn’t be more excited to host them.”
This marks the second time that Estevan’s St. Joseph’s Hospital has hosted the SMA event, and according to Hoffort the hospital would be pleased to see the event return to Estevan again.
