Next stop: Vanderhoof.
With a focus on inspiring the next generation of healthcare professionals, the Healthcare Travelling Roadshow has been visiting rural communities across B.C. and the Yukon.
After visiting Mackenzie on Tuesday, the roadshow will be making its next stop in Vanderhoof today (Wednesday), followed by Fort St. John on Friday.
“We really try to be a seed-planting mission above all else,” said Dr. Sean Maurice, a senior lab instructor with the Northern Medical Program based at the UNBC. “If people have clear ideas of what they want to do, we want to encourage them and offer more information because we know there are barriers for rural kids.”
Each spring, the roadshow brings together a multidisciplinary group of healthcare students from post-secondary institutions from across B.C. to showcase careers to rural high school students. Led by UBC medical students with the Island, Southern, and Northern Medical Programs, the roadshow is visiting various regions throughout the month of May.
So far, it’s been a rewarding experience according to Maurice, who said just the other day in Mackenzie, the principal told him that a student had decided to pursue physiotherapy as a profession following the roadshow.
“There’s value in that too,” said Maurice. “If we can help in refining your aspirations.”
At each high school, students representing medicine, nursing, physical therapy, midwifery, pharmacy, dental hygiene, X-ray, Med lab science and midwifery present hands-on demonstrations and answer questions about their chosen careers.
The roadshow is a provincial initiative with trips taking place annually across B.C.