Watching her “baba” navigate cancer in a small rural Alberta community with few healthcare options prompted a Willingdon woman to study medicine.
“This lack of equality in healthcare inspired me to pursue medicine and work towards filling the healthcare gap in rural areas while advocating for sustainable change,” explains Rachel Stefaniuk of her efforts to help people like her grandma.
The second-year University of Alberta student was recently awarded an RhPAP Rural Medical Student Award. The award provides a one-time contribution of $5,000 to assist with the student’s tuition, accommodation, living, and/or professional development expenses.
Stefaniuk grew up northeast of Edmonton on a cattle and grain farm.
“As a result of my rural upbringing and being involved in rural medicine/public health in many capacities, I have come to know that I would love to have a rural practice after residency,” she notes in her award application.
Next year, Stefaniuk will begin her eight-month clerkship in Bonnyville where she previously spent a month on a placement.
The experience was eye-opening. “I loved the sense of community and wide range of practices that I saw amongst the group of physicians,” she says.
“Prior to medical school, I didn’t know that specialists such as gynecologists and surgeons practised in rural areas, so I am excited to better understand their scope of practice and how they serve their rural community.”
Stefaniuk, who has a degree in public health, has volunteered since a young age earning the Vegreville Junior Citizen of the Year award.
Today, she continues to volunteer, including as an MD Ambassadors Volunteer and Rural Co-Lead organizing presentations and workshops for rural high schools. Through their Taste of Medicine event, participants can network with medical students and physicians.
“Our goal is to inspire medical students and high school folks to consider practising medicine and healthcare roles in rural Alberta,” she says.
Check out the full list of RhPAP Medical Student Award winners here.