Submitted Story | Swan River hosted another medical student Rural Interest Group (RIG) weekend on October 3-5, 2025 for 26 first and second-year medical students.
Students were exposed to ‘hands on stations’ such as casting and suturing with physician preceptors from Swan River and Brandon. The preceptors provided many opportunities for the students to ask questions about practicing in a rural community and what work life balance could look like. PMH also provided an Indigenous Health presentation, which concluded with a smudging ceremony at the Swan Valley Health Centre.
Members of the Swan Valley Medical Professional Recruitment and Retention Committee (SVMPRRC) provided an afternoon and evening of local activities such as boating, fishing and hiking to allow the students the opportunity to experience recreational options in the Swan Valley area. PMH collaborated with the community to arrange the weekend for the students. The entirety of the weekend was funded by SVMPRRC and will continue as an annual event. Tamara Kemp-Boulet, PMH Physician Recruitment and Retention Coordinator, says the community once again went above and beyond to host an excellent weekend experience.
“RIG is an excellent opportunity for students who are early in their education to gain both hands on experience in areas such as casting and suturing, but also have the opportunity to understand what a rural physician practice could look like. There have been several times that RIG weekends have been an influencing factor on a student to consider rural family medicine.
We are grateful to this community for all of their efforts and working with us to provide this opportunity to the students.”
Prairie Mountain Health also partnered with the SVMPRRC to host a RIG workshop in Swan River in early February. Some 19 first and second-year medical students from the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine participated in the first rendition. RIG workshop events were also held in late January 2025 within the communities of Brandon and Killarney, where PMH hosted a record-breaking 75 students between the two rural centres at that time.