Federal health minister visits Memorial

By Sharon Gray | Sept. 22, 2004

The federal minister of health Ujjal Dosanjh met with about 50 health sciences faculty members and student representatives for an hour on the morning of Sept. 21 at the Health Sciences Centre.

President Axel Meisen introduced Minister Dosanjh, who gave a short presentation on the recently-developed ten year plan to strengthen and enhance the country's health care system.

Dr. James Rourke, dean of Medicine, then facilitated a 40-minute discussion between members of the audience and Mr. Dosanjh.

A large number of concerns were touched on briefly. Dr. Linda Hensman, director of the School of Pharmacy, raised the issue of reimbursement to pharmacists for consultation. Dr. Sandra LeFort, director of the School of Nursing, outlined an innovative new nursing program for Inuit.

Dr. Norah Duggan, Family Medicine, shared her experiences from six years of practice in Twillingate and described some of the problems, such as the sense of isolation, that leads to difficulty in retaining physicians. Dr. Sharon Peters, vice-dean (professional development) for the Faculty of Medicine, spoke about the training program for international medical graduates which has already prepared about 70 physicians for licensure in the province. The problem, she said, is that each year it is a scramble to find funding for the program.

Dr. Maria Mathews, Community Health, spoke about access to care issues, particularly for rural cancer patients. Dr. Max House, professor emeritus, described a new teleoncology program which will help to address some of those issues and provide a model for other telehealth programs.

Minister Dosanjh also heard from a few students. Amy Bromley, a second-year medical student from St. Anthony, said that community sees a six to eight month turnover in physicians for a population which is largely elderly and where continuous care is important. She said the curriculum of Memorial's medical school is paramount to producing rural doctors.


Contact

Marketing & Communications

230 Elizabeth Ave, St. John's, NL, CANADA, A1B 3X9

Postal Address: P.O. Box 4200, St. John's, NL, CANADA, A1C 5S7

Tel: (709) 864-8000