Future healthcare professionals are coming to the town of Bassano on 4-5 March 2017 to discover the advantages of living and working in a rural Alberta community. Over 60 post-secondary students studying several healthcare disciplines —including medicine, nursing, respiratory and physio therapy, and EMS—will participate in an RPAP Medical Skills event, sponsored by the Alberta Rural Physician Action Plan (RPAP), Bassano Health Centre, Bassano and District Health Foundation, and the Town of Bassano in partnership with the County of Newell.
Local healthcare professionals will instruct students from the Universities of Calgary and Alberta, Mount Royal University, Medicine Hat College, and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology to perform a variety of medical skills, including suturing, spinal immobilization, and airway management. Participants will also have the unique opportunity to experience a simulated cardiac medical intervention at Bassano High School on a computerized mannequin patient simulator.
RPAP Medical Skills events provide rural Alberta communities with a valuable opportunity to make a positive impression on future healthcare professionals through showcasing local amenities and attractions. In addition to receiving tours of local medical facilities and sites of interest, including the historic Bassano Dam and the Gentherm Global Power Technologies Manufacturing Plant, students will also be guests at a Saturday-evening community dinner (by invitation only), and a Sunday morning pancake breakfast.
Skills Days and Skills Weekend events, sponsored by Alberta Rural Physician Action Plan, are arranged by the RPAP Medical Students’ Initiative Coordinator and are scheduled throughout the year in rural Alberta communities. Visit www.rpap.ab.ca/skillsweekend to learn more about RPAP Medical Skills events.
The Alberta Rural Physician Action Plan (RPAP) is an independent, not-for-profit company funded by the Alberta Ministry of Health. Established in 1991 by the Government of Alberta, RPAP supports the ongoing efforts of Alberta’s rural physicians, their families and communities to improve the quality of rural health care.
Related:
- They know me as “Linda”: Life as a Physician Assistant in rural Alberta
- Bassano celebrates the “Present and Future” of local family physicians
- Dr. James Richards on practising medicine in rural Alberta