Prospective doctors milk cows during rural medicine discovery tour
Emily Hauck can now say she’s milked a cow.
“I thought you’d go in, and honestly, make it into a bucket. That’s what I’d seen on TV,” explained the first year Western University medical student.
Hauck and her fellow first year medical students from London, Ont.’s Western University got a very hands-on tour of rural Bruce County on Thursday to try and clear up some of those misconceptions about “farm life.”
“I came into today thinking it was all manual. Like a bucket, you milk the udders by hand, and that’s it. But, there’s a lot of technology involved,” said Ahmed Abdalle, who made his first-ever visit to a large farm.
Six Western medical students toured a dairy farm, grain elevator, and tractor dealership as they learned the ropes of rural life.
Ahmed Abdalle, a first year Western University medical student, tours feeding dairy cows during Rural Medicine Discovery Week on May 25, 2023 near Walkerton, Ont. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)
“To understand some of the terminology that might come up, when someone working on a farm operation may require some health supports. Having an awareness or understanding of the farm terminology can be helpful,” explained Margaret Vincent, a representative with the Bruce-Grey Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA).
The real goal of Rural Medicine Discovery Week, locally organized by the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture, is to introduce these young prospective health professionals to country life in hopes they would come and work at local hospitals that are seeing ongoing emergency room closures, due to a lack of qualified staff.
“We’re trying to educate the new doctor recruits to entice or get them interested in coming back to our rural areas as we are under serviced. So, we would love dearly if they would consider practicing medicine in our rural area,” said Bruce County OFA Chair, Chris Cossitt.
First year Western University medical students tour Ikendale Farms near Walkerton, Ont. during Rural Medicine Discovery Week on May 25, 2023. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)
In 15 years of holding these farm tours for Western medical students, organizers weren’t sure if any participants actually returned to the area to practice medicine.
“If I had a job offer out rurally, like in Walkerton or someplace similar, I wouldn’t be opposed to it. This is a really good experience, honestly,” said Abdalle, who was astonished by the amount of technology he witnessed on the farms.
“Maybe. It’s not something I’ve completely ruled out or ruled in,” said medical student, Alisiya Petrushkevich from Richmond Hill.
“I do think this has made me a lot more open to it, even if it’s not a permanent position, maybe something temporary, like a locum,” added London, Ont. native and Western med student, Syed Mir.
First year Western University medical students get a hands-on tour of a dairy farm near Walkerton, Ont. during Rural Medicine Discovery Week on May 25, 2023. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)
“Maybe I start out in a larger centre for the volume of patients and learning opportunities. But, maybe down the line, ending up in a more rural base. We’ll see,” said med student, Emily Hauck.
Wherever they end up practicing medicine, the six med students who toured farms in Bruce County got some once in a lifetime experiences, like milking a cow, petting newborn calves, and driving tractors — it’s not something they’d ever experienced before.
“I was impressed. I didn’t think that it [farming] was that deep, that technical. It was a really good learning experience,” added Abdalle.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.