It was a “transformative” day for both the City of Grande Prairie and the Alberta Healthcare system as a whole when Northwestern Polytechnic and the University of Alberta signed a Memorandum of Understanding to mark the beginning of a medical education partnership between the two schools.
The partnership will allow students to complete all four years of the U of A’s Doctor of Medicine Program locally in Grande Prairie to get a U of A MD degree which NWP President and CEO Dr. Vanessa Sheane says will open up even more opportunities for the Peace Country to retain local doctors.
“For Alberta to set this up in both Grande Prairie and Lethbridge is transformational,” she says. “When we say the north, we mean anything north of St. Albert, west, east, all the way up the north.”
Currently, students who wish to go to Medical School must do so in Calgary or Edmonton, restricting access for rural municipalities like Grande Prairie and both Dr. Sheane and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry for the U of A Brenda Hemmelgarn agree that the partnership is a necessary one.
Citing the success that the City of Prince George has seen with their 20-year partnership with the University of British Columbia, Dr. Sheane says while recruiting local students in the north is a key factor in the success of the NWP-U of A partnership, the program could also serve as an attractor for students in the south to come to Grande Prairie, finish their schooling, and ultimately continue their practice in the city.
“There is that northern component but really the focus is on that rural and regional piece,” she says. “It really is to support students, who don’t have to leave at all, they can come from day one of post-secondary, get their undergraduate degree, go into medicine, do their residency all in the north.”
Dr. Sheane adds that additional residency spots are being offered across Northern Alberta as a result of the new partnership, making it even easier for students to secure a spot at an established medical facility upon completion of their education.
Following the signing of the MOU, both NWP and the U of A have said recruiting plans are in place to fill 30 seats in the first class of the Doctor of Medicine Program.