April 7, 2011
Province Moves Ahead with Brandon Medical Education Study
– – –Dr. Deborah Poff, Dr. Brian Postl to Lead Review into Options to Enhance Brandon Medical Education
The Manitoba government is investing $350,000 to determine how enhancing medical education in Brandon can help to increase the number of doctors across the province, Premier Greg Selinger announced today.
“Improving medical training is critical to ensuring all Manitoba families in all parts of our province have access to a doctor,” said Selinger. “We are pleased to work with Brandon University, the University of Manitoba and other key partners to launch this thorough study to explore which education and recruitment initiatives, including reviewing the feasibility of a Brandon Medical School, will most effectively increase the number of doctors working in Brandon and rural and northern Manitoba.”
Dr. Deborah Poff, president of Brandon University, will serve as chair and Dr. Brian Postl, dean of the faculty of medicine at the University of Manitoba, will serve as vice-chair of the steering committee for the Brandon Medical Education Study. In total, the committee will include three representatives from Brandon University and three from the University of Manitoba, plus one from each of the Brandon Regional Health Authority, Assiniboine Regional Health Authority and the Office of Rural and Northern Health, and one member-at-large selected by the Council on Post-Secondary Education.
“We are excited the province is funding this study to identify the best initiatives to support medical education in Brandon,” said Poff. “This will be a comprehensive review that will include input from local communities, health professionals and other stakeholders and we anticipate completing the study as expeditiously as possible.”
“While the University of Manitoba has increased rural enrolment and increased the opportunities for our medical students to study in rural and northern areas during their education, we look forward to reviewing how we can all best support medical education in Brandon,” said Postl.
The review will include the following options:
- the potential for a medical school in Brandon,
- the potential for a satellite program expansion of the University of Manitoba in partnership with Brandon University, and
- the potential for continuing or expanding existing models of rotational and educational experiences.
These options will be considered in the broader context of medical training needs of the province and will consider undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing education components of the medical educational continuum.
“Since 1999, we have increased medical school spaces by 54 per cent, brought more health services to Brandon and rural communities, as well as introduced recruitment and retention grants to help attract more doctors to these communities. These investments have helped us see a net gain of 111 doctors outside of Winnipeg,” said Selinger. “This is a good start and we look forward to the recommendations from Dr. Poff, Dr. Postl and their team to build on this success.”
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