You may have been in the Port McNeill medical clinic, hospital or pharmacy recently and noticed a few new faces shadowing the regular healthcare professionals. Port Hardy, Alert Bay, Sointula and other places on the North Island have also seen these new faces. So just who are they and why are they following around the healthcare professionals of our area?
These new people are students that are part of a province wide program called the Interprofessional Rural Program of BC – or IRPbc for short. Port McNeill is again participating in the program this year drawing together students from six health disciplines – nursing, medicine, physiotherapy, social work, midwifery, and pharmacy. This interprofessional team serves as the framework for the program.
The concept of the IRPbc program is simple: healthcare professionals work together in their jobs, so why not teach them how to work together when they are students? All too often students are taught in isolation, concentrating on their specific area of study without seeing how their knowledge integrates into the healthcare system. This program hopes to change all of that. By living together, students share knowledge and experiences on a day to day basis to learn and grow into competent healthcare workers. They will better understand each other’s professions as well as how their own profession fits into the healthcare system as a whole.
The IRPbc program also offers students a window into the life of a rural healthcare worker. Often students are placed in urban centres for their practical experience rotations. This program gives students a chance to experience first-hand the benefits and challenges of working in a rural setting. One participant states, “This is the kind of learning that you never get in school.” He goes on to say, “And it’s the best kind of learning.” Finally, there is an ever increasing demand for healthcare professionals across the province and rural settings are hardest hit. By familiarizing students with what a rural setting has to offer both professionally and personally, it is hoped that these future healthcare workers will some day come back to practice.
As part of an interprofessional community project, these students will be writing articles for the North Island Gazette bringing the most up-to-date information to you on a variety of health topics. Health Matters is written by students in the health profession who have spent time working on the North Island as part of their training with IRPbc.
This article is reprinted from the North Island Gazette - http://www.bclocalnews.com/lifestyles/63639212.html
