Submitted by Prairie Mountain Health|

It’s summertime, and for some eager students, early exposure to health care careers can be a valuable experience that influences their future decisions. Discover Health Careers Manitoba (formerly the ‘Home for the Summer’ program) offers term positions to students within the health region to provide a ‘hands-on’ experience in clinical, hospital or healthcare site environments that apply to their areas of training. The program initially started with medical students and extended to nursing and allied healthcare students (including career areas like public/community health nursing and pharmacy). PMH and Shared Health cost share the initiative.

In Swan River, at the Primary Care Clinic, two local students have been active participants since May.

Brittan Yaschyshyn (pictured above), is a Midwife student, originally from Swan River. She has been working in the Clinic’s front administration area, attending to patient care, booking appointments, dealing with tasks, and making specialist appointments. She also has been able to a pair up with physicians and help with history and physicals for prenatal care, updating prenatal records and sitting in on prenatal care with the physicians.

Abby Facundo (pictured right) is a Nursing student from Swan River. She has been shadowing the LPN at the clinic and has been undertaking tasks like rooming patients, taking vitals, and updating electronic medical records with chronic disease.

Both students will complete their terms in August and will be returning to University in the Fall.

PMH offered 26 approved positions this year across the region in Pharmacy, Primary Care, Mental Health, Therapy Services, Acute Care, Public Health, and Nutrition Services.

For first and second-year medical students, PMH sponsored 10 positions in Neepawa, Virden, Deloraine and Brandon (in Brandon the areas include Anesthesia, Obstetrics-Gynecology, General Surgery, Psychiatry, Radiology, the Western Manitoba Cancer Centre, Nephrology, Orthopedics, Ophthalmology and Hospitalists).