This week, a group of UNBC, CNC and UBC medical and health professional students will be hitting the road, travelling to rural and remote communities across B.C. Although they’re bound to enjoy the breathtaking scenery along the way, this isn’t any ordinary road trip. Instead, they’re on a mission: to educate elementary and secondary students about the incredible range of career opportunities in healthcare.
The Healthcare Traveling Roadshow started as a grass-roots initiative in 2010 to address rural healthcare workforce shortages. As part of this year’s Roadshow, they’ll be stopping at Nisga’a Villages, Gitlaxt’aamiks and Laxgalts’ap, as well as the communities of Terrace, Kitimat, and Hazelton.
During their stay, they’ll be speaking to students about careers in healthcare and giving them a first-hand look at some of the exciting technology advancements. Students will also be given an opportunity to interact with model patients and learn everything from how to read an X-ray to how to take blood pressure and intubate.
Not only that – but UNBC, CNC, and UBC’s medical and health professional students will be documenting their visit, live tweeting as they travel through the communities of B.C. Interested in following along? Simply search the hashtag #BCHCRS14 on Twitter and Instagram.
The Healthcare Traveling Roadshow was conceived at a Rural Health Workforce Symposium held in Prince George in 2009, as a grass roots initiative to address rural healthcare workforce shortages. It involves a multidisciplinary group of healthcare students travelling to a rural community to showcase career opportunities from the perspectives of the students training in those programs.
Over the course of its short history, the Healthcare Travelling Roadshow has visited communities from Clearwater to Fort Nelson. Last year’s Roadshow was the largest yet, and saw students from six different healthcare training programs visit five communities in just one week.