It's ROMP Week at NHH
Pictured (L-R): First year medical students Tasneem Patel, Neha Tangri, and Amrit Marwaha with Dr. Emma Smith, Northumberland-based family physician and NHH’s Medical Quality Physician lead, NHH ROMP Week Medical Education Lead and preceptor. Photo courtesy of Northumberland Hills Hospital.
By Cecilia Nasmith
Cobourg
Northumberland Hills Hospital is once again participating in ROMP Week, giving medical students valuable hands-on clinical experience and potentially recruiting new family physicians to the community.
This is an opportunity for students from Ontario medical schools to gain valuable hands-on medical experience while highlighting the medical and geographical benefits of practicing medicine in rural communities like Northumberland County.
This year, NHH welcomed first-year medical students Amrit Marwaha, Tasneem Patel and Nehae Tangri – all currently enrolled in the new Queen's University-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program.
Launched in 2023, this unique collaboration is designed to help address the shortage of family doctors in the province while providing medical students with immersive clinical experiences in a variety of Family Medicine practice settings.
The students began their week with a warm welcome from Dr. Emma Smith, local family physician and NHH Medical Quality Physician lead. Dr. Smith will also be serving as their Medical Education Lead. The students will also be paired with local family physicians Dr. Michelle Long and Dr. Marcus Cunningham, who will act as preceptors for the week.
Dr. Smith called ROMP Week “a real win-win.
“It's very beneficial to new medical students, because it provides early exposure to rural medicine inthe hopes that more students will choose to work in rural communities.”
This has happened with previous ROMP Week students, she added, making this a primary recruitment opportunity for both the hospital and the community.
NHH President and Chief Executive Officer Susan Walsh extended Drs. Smith, Long and Cunningham for taking the time from their busy work weeks “to educate and inspire the next generation of family physicians.
“We know from our collaborative efforts with the Ontario Health Team of Northumberland, and anecdotally from family physicians who have practiced here for some time, that it is communities that attract professionals and their families. As one physician, Dr. Kate Everdell, highlighted so eloquently in our recent People First documentary, 'NHH has been a terrific fit for my career and Northumberland has been an amazing fit for my family, and ROMP provides a great opportunity.'”
Chief of Staff Dr. Mukesh Bhargava mentioned the personal impact of these first impressions.
“We have a strong history in Northumberland of successful recruitment through the ROMP experience, and we are very much looking forward to demonstrating to these students the diverse opportunities this hospital and community have to offer,” Dr. Bhargava said.
To learn more about the Rural Ontario Medical Program or ROMP Week, visit https://romponline.com/.
