Rural week

About Rural Week

Medical students are introduced to the unique rewards and challenges of rural practice at the end of first year, through Rural Week. This program sends the students to distributed learning sites throughout the Maritimes, to spend a week observing rural physicians at work. In addition to learning about medical practice, they are introduced to friendly communities and beautiful places. During this week, the students will reflect on the unique characteristics of a rural lifestyle and clinical practice.

Purpose

The purpose of this unit is to identify characteristics of clinical practice in a rural setting as well as health care delivery and resource access/utilization in a rural setting and determinants of health unique to the community in which the student is located and reflect how health care delivery, including collaborative multidiscipline care, addresses or does not address these needs. Students will also focus on physician wellness and lifestyle in a rural setting and identify the physicians' role in a rural setting including leadership responsibilities.

It is our hope that Rural Week will allow students the opportunity to witness experienced clinicians in action, to practice their interviewing and basic examination skills, and to allow gradual exposure, under supervision, to more challenging clinical tasks as their comfort and level of proficiency allow.

Become a preceptor

If you are intested in becoming a preceptor, please contact the Undergraduate Medical Education Office: ugme@dal.ca.