Clinical training units are proving to be an important tool in recruitment and retention of physicians for Southern Health-Santé Sud.

One of four training units in the Southern Health, the Boundary Trails Clinical Training Unit (CTU) involves multiple partners, including the C.W. Wiebe Medical Centre, Agassiz Medical Centre, Boundary Trails Health Centre, and the University of Manitoba. "The physicians who have agreed to be preceptors, those are probably the most important partners," says Dr. Denis Fortier, Vice President of Medical Services and Chief Medical Officer for Southern Health-Santé Sud.

Fortier says the RHA also contributes by offering either some money or some administrative staff resources, and then communities are also involved. "I know that the City of Winkler, the City of Morden, and the Rural Municipality of Stanley also contribute in many ways, whether it's with housing options or many other ways to try to promote their community and help people integrate into the community."

"Since 2009, the University of Manitoba has put in place these clinical teaching units in rural Manitoba in the hopes that by teaching family medicine residents, obviously family medicine, but rural family medicine in particular, that this will give us a well-rounded physician, many of whom might choose to live and work in rural Manitoba."

Some of the benefits for residents that come through the BTHC program include an excellent resident-to-physician ratio ensuring a supportive learning environment and one-on-one time with their preceptor. "While at Boundary Trails you will not only be taught and mentored by both well-seasoned and young, hungry-to-teach family physicians, but you will also have the opportunity to work and tailor your experiences with these physicians in specialty areas such as chemotherapy, women’s health, obstetrics, hemodialysis, addiction medicine, palliative care, emergency medicine & anesthesia."

Although the clinical training unit is centred around the Boundary Trails Health Centre, Fortier says the Agassiz Medical Clinic, and C.W. Wiebe Medical Centre contributes in a big way to the well being of the institution. Fortier says they want family medicine residents in training to receive "the big picture," and not just hospital work, which is often what happens when you're in Winnipeg, but also the clinic and community work. "By offering that kind of a training experience where they have all of it all mixed in within a given day, highlights rural family medicine at its best."

Fortier says the residents that are accepted into the Boundary Trails CTU are huge contributors in offering services to people of our region. "These are not people who are coming in untrained, they are already quite well trained by the time they become residents, so it's quite helpful to have those extra pairs of hands."

In addition to the residents that come through the clinics in Winkler and Morden, and hospital, Fortier notes there are also many medical students that have come through Boundary trails. Since 2012, approximately 260 med students have done a rotation at Boundary Trails. "The purpose of the clinical teaching unit is also to have the resident in family medicine be a teacher. So the residents are learning from their teachers, but they're also becoming teachers and teaching medical students. It's a really wonderful and sustainable model."

The following are some of the statistics of the Boundary Trails Clinical Training Unit, provided by the RHA.

- Since 2012 the CTU has had 19 family medicine residents who have "matched" to our program at Boundary Trails come through our program. 3 of these residents have gone on to complete extra training in anesthesia and women’s health and obstetrics.

- In the last 10+ years, we've had 24 physicians who are working in Winkler/Morden who at one time did a rotation here in their residency. Since 2012, we've had eight residents who were "matched" to us and completed their family medicine residency here, sign on and stay in our region.