Research Aims to Record REAL Impacts of Medical Program

Wednesday, July 09, 2008 03:52 AM

Prince George, B.C. – The City of Prince George has made a commitment to support research related to the Northern Medical Program.

Joanna Bates of the Faculty of Medicine with UBC says the research is designed to track the impact of the medical education programs on northern communities health care access, stability, resilience, problem solving and development.

The Northern Medical Program at UNBC has just graduated it’s first class. Similar programs at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay Ontario and in Northern Quebec, have yet to graduate their first classes.

While communities with such medical programs are expecting positive impacts from the addition of this type of education, the proposed research project will take a closer look at the actual impacts.

The program’s aims are to:

(1) promote sharing of information between the participating universities and communities and provide new information about the contribution to northern/rural community development by university-based professional educational programs,

(2) contribute to community decision-making and planning regarding the impact of similar partnerships,

(3) develop a knowledge base about the effect of these programs on local medical workforce, the link between medical workforce (human capital) and the development and stability of the community across sectors, and

(4) provide opportunities for students to build their knowledge and expertise in community-based research.

The project will apply for a Federal Government grant for five years of funding, at $200 thousand a year.

Some preliminary work has already indicated that the Northern Medical Program was a key factor for some physicians deciding to relocate to Prince George. Those same interviews also suggest some physicians are feeling the stress of the workload involved with contributing to the program.

The City's support will come in the way of participation, not finances.

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Posted on Wednesday, July 09, 2008 03:52 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: owl on July 9 2008 8:33 AM

Kind of late in starting. The baseline information is already 4+ years old. The impactr does not start on graduation. That is just one milestone. The impact probably started about a year before the program had its first students in clinics in PG since those individuals involved, such as doctors in the community, would have had to be prepared and new faculty may have come to PG.

Then we get inot the later years of students going ot clinics around the region. I do not know what that entails compared to the program at Lakehead, for instance, which I understand is set up in a slighly different fashion.

I suppose the addage better late than never would apply here. They will end up having to do a bit of a retroactive study.

Then there is the question of what happens if they do not get federal funding.

Posted by: rodangus on July 9 2008 12:39 PM

Another self serving grant hunt by the academic elitists who live off the public purse. $50,000 per year to re-invent the wheel seems a little pricey since you can get the final results of this study right now from google for free....