UNews - Bill Flanagan

Expanding physician training across Alberta

trevor.kenney — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 21:03:10 +0000

Rural communities across Alberta are facing a shortage of physicians, forcing rural Albertans to travel long distances to seek medical care. The Government of Alberta is working with post-secondary institutions to train more physicians in rural areas because students who learn in rural communities are more likely to stay and work in them after completing their training.

Alberta’s government is supporting collaborative efforts from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Northwestern Polytechnic to develop new Rural Medical Education Program Training Centres in Lethbridge and Grande Prairie. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary will partner with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge to develop the new training centre in Lethbridge, and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta will partner with Northwestern Polytechnic to develop the new training centre in Grande Prairie.

ULethbridge President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Digvir Jayas shakes hands with Minister Rajan Sawhney following the announcement of the Rural Medical Education Program.

“Albertans deserve access to timely medical care in every corner of our province. Establishing the new training centres in Lethbridge and Grande Prairie is the first of many steps to solve the rural physician shortage. Advanced Education is committed to increasing support for Alberta’s medical schools and providing significant support to encourage more physicians to live and practice in rural settings.”

Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Advanced Education

“Addressing health care staffing challenges in rural Alberta is one of our top priorities. We are implementing a wide range of actions to attract and retain physicians in rural communities, and these regional training centres are part of that work. They will provide excellent training opportunities for rural medical students and at the same time, will strengthen the local primary health care system and help take pressures off local emergency departments.”

Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Health

Together, the training centres will contribute more than 100 practicing physicians every year and will offer hands-on learning experiences in rural communities surrounding the training centres. Students will train alongside other health professionals, gaining practical medical experience while serving rural patients.

Once up and running, the training centres will provide primary care in Lethbridge and Grande Prairie, with each general practitioner in the teaching clinic caring for approximately 1,200 patients. These clinics will also operate after regular hours to reduce congestion in local emergency departments, adding much needed primary-care capacity.

“Access to a family physician is an incredible challenge for many families in small- to mid-sized centres across southern Alberta – including rural and Indigenous communities. Investing in a program that recruits local students, and trains them in areas across southern Alberta, will lead to more doctors practicing in those areas for decades to come.”

Digvir Jayas, Ph.D., president and vice-chancellor, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge

“There has never been more demand for dedicated and skilled medical professionals with ties to rural communities. Northwestern Polytechnic is grateful for the opportunity to be part of a collaborative way forward that will help attract, educate and retain the physicians needed in our northernmost communities and across Alberta.”

Dr. Vanessa Sheane, president and CEO, Northwestern Polytechnic

Budget 2024 investments would be used for both capital and clinic operations in Grande Prairie and Lethbridge. This includes renovations to accommodate local student training, including the addition of classrooms as well as simulation and clinical training to meet accreditation standards. Of the total funding, $43.2 million in capital funding will be provided for the new training centre in Lethbridge, $55.6 million will support operating expenses for the training centres in both Lethbridge and Grande Prairie, and an additional $126 million will support the overall physician training expansion.

"This is an important investment in medical education and primary healthcare in our province. These regional training centres will give more students access to a world-class education with hands-on training in rural settings. I'm proud that we can play a leading role in building a more robust healthcare system in Alberta."

Bill Flanagan, president and vice-chancellor, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta

“We’re excited about this important program expansion between the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, which will open more doors of opportunity to attract, educate and retain the health workforce that is greatly needed in rural areas. The collective efforts of this post-secondary network will help to deliver quality health care and continuity of care across our province for years to come.”

Dr. Ed McCauley, president and vice-chancellor, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary

This investment builds off work funded in 2023, when Advanced Education provided $1 million to a Working Group on Rural Physicians to explore the feasibility of expanding Alberta’s medical training pathways with the goal of improving access to physicians in rural and remote areas of the province.

Quick facts

• The Ministries of Health and Advanced Education are jointly responsible for the education of physicians in Alberta.

• Currently, there are two Doctor of Medicine programs in Alberta: one at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and one at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary.

• Since 2022, Alberta’s government has invested more than $225 million to create more than 12,500 new seats at post-secondary institutions across the province, including more than 3,700 seats in healthcare related programs.

• Alberta’s government is working with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary to increase the number of undergraduate medical training seats, residency positions for newly graduated doctors and residency positions for international medical graduates.

• The Rural Medical Education Program Training Centres will use a distributed medical education model - a program in which universities partner with local institutions to develop regional training campuses where medical students complete most of their medical education outside metropolitan regions.

ULethbridge joining provincial partners to form Quantum Horizons Alberta research network

trevor.kenney — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 20:03:28 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is partnering with ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary to form Quantum Horizons Alberta (QHA), a new $25-million Alberta-wide initiative to expand our foundational knowledge of quantum science and pursue transformational research into the potentials of quantum physics. Initiated by a group of visionary donors, QHA will grow Alberta’s considerable capacity in quantum research.

“Quantum research is transforming our world by offering solutions to difficult problems much faster and better, opening up new opportunities in areas like security, finance, drug development and studying climate change,” says Dr. Mike Mahon, ULethbridge president and vice-chancellor. “Supporting fundamental research today is absolutely vital to achieve major scientific breakthroughs tomorrow.”

QHA will bring together world-class scientists to deepen our understanding and unlock the mysteries of quantum mechanics, where the rules of classical physics do not apply. Quantum science studies the properties and behaviours of the very small or very cold building blocks of the universe, exploring the world beyond what we perceive around us. From creating Bose-Einstein condensates at the lowest temperatures in the universe, to understanding the mysteries of spooky action at a distance with entangled particles, quantum is the field of novel discovery.

While there are practical applications today, such as medical imaging, lasers, electron microscopes, and new approaches to computing power and cybersecurity, dedicated foundational science is required to extend the horizons of knowledge in the quantum realm and open untold and unpredictable possibilities.

“We are very excited to be partnering with Alberta’s major research universities to bring this new pan-Alberta initiative into existence and continue on the path of having a globally recognized hub of excellence for foundational quantum research based here in Alberta,” says Richard Bird, speaking on behalf of the group of donors. “Quantum science is an increasingly critical area of study around the world, and we have the opportunity to establish our province as a key source of research and discoveries in a field which promises to be transformational to the human condition.”

Initially joining Bird as QHA donors are Patrick Daniel, Joanne Cuthbertson and Guy Turcotte, with the expectation that the group will continue to expand as supporters from across Canada join the initiative.

The initial annual operating budget for QHA will be $5 million spread across the three nodes, committed for a minimum of five years and supported by the donors, the universities and other partners.

"These community leaders have stepped forward to invest in foundational quantum discovery because they understand how critical new knowledge is to Alberta’s future. Quantum Horizons Alberta activates our provincial research ecosystem, leveraging the talent across our universities, and enabling us to elevate and expand our capabilities,” says Dr. Ed McCauley, president and vice-chancellor, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary. “Creating new knowledge to move society forward is foundational to the purpose of great research universities.”

“Quantum Horizons Alberta’s research funding will enable us to recruit more high-calibre research scientists and graduate students in this field,” says Bill Flanagan, president and vice-chancellor, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta. “We have a strong history of discovery and research excellence in Alberta. We can build on this history thanks to the visionary philanthropists involved in QHA. Advancing a collaborative quantum research network increases the potential for more made-in-Alberta discoveries that will benefit people worldwide.”

Alberta is already home to quantum research and innovation excellence, and, in partnership with industry, a quantum innovation hub dedicated to growing the quantum tech sector in the province. Funding through Quantum Horizons Alberta is intended to build quantum science capacity in Alberta, by supporting existing expertise and attracting new talent with the goal to recruit a minimum of eight new quantum research professors to Alberta over the next two years along with funding for many postdoctoral scholars and graduate students.

QHA enables a long-term and sustainable path for Alberta’s leadership in quantum research and innovation, creating impact that will reach far beyond Alberta.

Website: quantumhorizonsab.ca

UNews - Bill Flanagan

Expanding physician training across Alberta

Related Topics

ULethbridge joining provincial partners to form Quantum Horizons Alberta research network

Related Content

��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Quantum Alberta researchers pushing towards a second quantum revolution

Related Topics

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Quantum Alberta researchers pushing towards a second quantum revolution