Acute care in the north: Timmins conference tackles rural medicine

Physicians gathered in Timmins for a rural medicine symposium focused on advancing acute care. The first in-person event since COVID.

Physicians and medical learners flocked to Timmins for an educational symposium. The theme of the two-day conference was about advancing acute care in rural medicine.

“I think to be a good doctor, you have to realize that there’s research going on every day, and that changes the way we work and the way we practice,” said Dr. Kyle Harper, the Timmins and District Hospital’s emergency department chief and the local education group president for NOSM University.

Around 75 medical professionals were in attendance. Organizers said an in-person learning opportunity like this hasn’t happened in Timmins since before COVID.

“You know, it’s one thing to sit down and read out of a textbook and try to memorize things, but when you get these people actually talking to you and providing that concrete experience, it just sticks,” said Dr. Melissa Basso, a resident physician at the Timmins hospital.

The Timmins and District Hospital, the Timmins Economic Development Corporation and the NOSM University’s Local Education Group in Timmins brought together a well-received group of presenters.

“Even Dr. Boissoneault, you know, giving us exactly her steps on how she prepares push dose epinephrine or, you know, Dr. Genier who’s an amazing pediatrician giving us, you know, her take on pediatric asthma rate,” said Basso.

“I think some of my practice is going to be different… we’ve talked about efficiency which I think is something I can try and incorporate more into my practice, especially as a resident,” said Dr. Martine Fecteau, another resident at the hospital.

Dr. Stephane Houle, an emergency medicine physician from Greater Sudbury told CTV News that getting to hear experiences from Timmins physicians is helpful for his practice.

“I do some shifts in more rural emergency departments as well and just the very nature of those hospitals, you don’t have access to the same resources that you would have in those big hospitals - you’re it, you don’t have help, he said.

The symposium’s agenda also provided time for some recreation.

“What better way than to have, educational opportunity all morning and then to let some stress off in the afternoon by going skiing,” said Harper.

“And of course, this was all done with the help of the City of Timmins and our local sponsors to help kind of find some of that stuff just to make it a more enjoyable experience and to hopefully attract more physicians to this area.”

“We’re showcasing our hospital, we’re showcasing the city and, you know, we’re always on the sly of trying to recruit,” said Noella Rinaldo, the city’s director of economic development.

The Timmins and District Hospital serves as a regional referral centre for 11 communities across northern Ontario.