The Rural Coordination Centre of BC (RCCbc) is delighted to announce the publication of its 2021-22 Year-end Report. In their annual message, RCCbc's executive directors, Dr. Ray Markham and Leslie Carty, write: "We continue to live in interesting times and...it has been a blessing for us to see our team and partners be able to respond, as opposed to react. At RCCbc, we continue to build our relationships to improve the health of rural people and communities...Innovation and nimbleness within the system has been a creative unintended consequence of this time."
Other key highlights from the Year-end Report include a message from the Rural Doctors' UBC Chair in Rural Health, Dr. John Pawlovich, and highlights from RCCbc's and its partners' programs and initiatives.
Whistler to Host RCCbc's 2023 BC Rural Health Conference
Mark your calendar and set your compass towards Whistler for RCCbc's 2023 BC Rural Health Conference (RHC) on June 2–4. "The rural community of Whistler will provide a spectacular backdrop for rural and remote doctors to reconnect, learn, and socialize," says RCCbc's Elisa Chow. "Stay tuned for more details about the conference in the coming months."
Mark your calendar!
RTVS MaBAL and PoCUS Education Paused for Summer
Weekly sessions designed to facilitate remote learning and communities of practice using Real-Time Virtual Support (RTVS) have been paused for the summer.
Midwives on the Maternity and Babies Advice Line (MaBAL) RTVS team have been providing coaching sessions for nurses. The coaching sessions, which took place on Thursdays at noon, were geared towards nurses supporting maternity care in rural sites. They wrapped up in June and will be relaunched in September.
June is National Indigenous Peoples' Month, a time to recognize the history, heritage, resilience, and diversity of Indigenous Peoples across British Columbia and the rest of Canada.
RCCbc is committed to working with Indigenous and non-Indigenous doctors, partners, and communities across our province to build a culturally safe health care system.
Here are some resources on how to celebrate, engage, and participate in your own learning journey of Indigenous Peoples:
Seeking Rural General Practitioners for PoCUS Study
The Intelligent Network for Point-of-Care Ultrasound (PoCUS) project is conducting a study to examine the quality and effects of PoCUS in rural communities.
The researchers, Dr. Jude Kornelsen, Anshu Parajulee, and Dr. Virginia Robinson, are seeking rural general practitioners who use PoCUS to participate in the study. The study results may strengthen support for rural PoCUS.
REAP's San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Bursary: June 30 Deadline
Since 2013, through the Rural Education Action Plan's (REAP) San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Bursary, the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues has provided funding to eligible UBC medical students and residents, as well as BC physicians, who complete the San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training program offered through the Provincial Health Services Authority. The $500 bursary that supports eligible participants who work or train in Rural Subsidiary Agreement Communities will no longer be available after June 30, 2022. If you are interested in applying for the bursary, please review the eligibility requirements here and submit an application to REAP before June 30, 2022.
REAP's BC Rural Interest Award: June 30 Deadline
The Rural Education Action Plan's (REAP) BC Rural Interest Award aims to support rural students in UBC Medical School by providing additional financial support during the years of training. Students of rural origin or with strong rural connections and students who have repeated rural exposures during their training are more likely to consider rural locations for their medical practice. REAP hopes that the Rural Interest Award will encourage these students to consider rural placements and allow ongoing contact with them as they progress through their training, which will also enhance eventual rural recruitment. For information about the Award, including eligibility requirements, visit https://rccbc.ca/education-and-cmecpd/medical-students/reap/british-columbia-rural-interest-award. Applications will be accepted until June 30, 2022.
Upcoming Events
Registration Deadline for TUFH 2022 Conference Fast Approaching
This international and intersectoral conference, co-hosted by The Network: TUFH, RCCbc, and the BC Patient Safety and Quality Council, will explore the theme, Moving Forward Together: Unity for Health for All. Discussions will centre around key sub-themes that are relevant to rural practice in British Columbia:
Building Better Together
Harmony for a Healthy World
Social Responsibility: Healthcare Conducted Where People and Place Matter
Learning with Indigenous Peoples Towards Advancing Equity and Wellbeing
The four-day conference will offer engaging keynote sessions, TUFH documentaries and talks, workshops, and oral abstract presentations. You can also participate in networking sessions on specific topics with colleagues, partners, and students from around the world.
The Rural POCUS Rounds series aims to increase the use of, experience with, and community surrounding point-of-care ultrasound for rurally based healthcare providers. Our next session is on Friday, June 24, 2022, from 12–1 pm PDT, with Dr. Virginia Robinson, who will speak about Ultrasound for Heart and Lung. Click hereto register.
Job Opportunities
Do you have a passion for improving the health of rural people and communities? Explore these job opportunities with RCCbc and join our team!
Project Coordinator
Virtual Care and Systems Super User
People and Culture Assistant
Explore our Rural Health Innovations website to find hundreds of grassroot models, programs, initiatives, and work-arounds that British Columbia communities have created to improve citizens’ health. Visit the website and submit your innovation today!
The Rural Continuing Medical Education (RCME) Community Program funds collective learning opportunities for groups of physicians living and delivering care in Rural Subsidiary Agreement (RSA) communities. Learn about the Program's impact in its 2021–22 annual report.
The Isolated Medical Provider Aftercare Team (IMPACT) offers peer-to-peer support to rural physicians and nurses in remote nursing stations within the Northern Health Region who have experienced a potentially challenging incident in the course of their work.
We respectfully acknowledge that our workplaces are located within the ancestral and traditional territory of the Syilx/Okanagan Nation, commonly referred to as Penticton; the ancestral and traditional territory of the Dakelh People, including the territory of the Lheidli T’enneh Nation, whose lands on which Prince George was built; the ancestral and traditional territory of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, commonly referred to as Victoria; and the ancestral and traditional territory of the Coast Salish Nations, commonly referred to as Vancouver.
