New Magrath physician set up for success thanks to rural experience, RhPAP funding

Paying for a medical degree isn’t easy, especially with a young family in tow. For Spring Coulee’s Dr. Zach Gorham, RhPAP’s focus on supporting rural healthcare helped ease his financial burden—not just once but four times—while attending the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. “You do accumulate lots of debt by the time you are finished,” explains Dr. Gorham, who grew up in the small Alberta hamlet southwest of Lethbridge. “Having the help and support from RhPAP to alleviate some of that has been a huge stress relief.”

When Dr. Gorham’s residency wraps up at the end of this month, he will return to Spring Coulee with his wife, 2-1/2-year-old daughter and son, three months. Four years ago, Dr. Gorham received a $5,000 RhPAP Rural Medical School Award to assist with tuition, accommodation, living, and/or professional development expenses during his second year of medical school. He was later able to access free RhPAP accommodation for him, his wife and young daughter while he did a six-month clerkship in Cardston, as well as a two-month residency in Claresholm.

“It’s a great thing for the rural trainees not to have to worry about accommodation during their rotations,” notes Dr. Gorham, explaining he had to retain his home in Calgary during that time since his medical studies weren’t complete.

His latest RhPAP support comes in the form of the Rural Education Supplement and Integrated Doctor Experience (RESIDE) Program. Dr. Gorham says RESIDE, designed to support new physicians who set up clinics in rural and remote Alberta, will aid his transition from medical resident to family doctor. He will practise at the Dahl Clinic in Magrath and take on additional hospital shifts in nearby Raymond.  

“With the combination of the rural medicine award I got in medical school, housing that’s been provided and then now with the RESIDE program, it’s been a huge part of my success in training to be a rural family doctor,” he says. While rural practice has always been his passion, Dr. Gorham suggests others check it out for themselves if they are still contemplating their medical future.

“I would say to anyone strongly consider rural medicine in Alberta because of the support you get from RhPAP and the quality of experiences that you get in a rural setting. Training in rural medicine is unique; you just get so much more hands-on experience and one-on-one experience with preceptors and patients. “It’s just a really good opportunity to learn.”