From field to stethoscope: Ontario farm leaders help future doctors experience rural life

By Greg Dietrich, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

Healthcare is a top-of-mind issue for many Ontarians, especially at times when we’re in need of medical care. Lack of services, long wait times or the family doctor shortage often make headlines in all parts of the province, but these challenges can be especially acute in rural Ontario.

I live in one of these rural Ontario communities – I manage a dairy and calf-raising farm business with my family near the town of Mildmay in southern Bruce County. I’m also a director on the provincial board of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), where I represent farmers in Bruce and Grey Counties.

The OFA is first and foremost and advocacy organization; one of our main responsibilities is to represent our members and make sure farmers’ needs and concerns are brought to the attention of decision-makers. One of the key pillars of our advocacy work has been encouraging government to make investments in rural infrastructure.

This primarily includes rural roads, bridges and drainage, as well as affordable energy, reliable high speed internet access and better mobile connectivity. We also, however, focus on what we call social infrastructure – schools, community services, and yes, healthcare. These are all services that people and businesses rely on when they decide where to make investments and build their lives.

As much as we rely on government to take action in these areas, however, I also believe that as farmers and rural communities, we have a role to play in helping to solve these challenges and be proactive in coming to the table with solutions.

That’s why I was thrilled to participate in hosting a group of medical students on our family farm recently and help give them an understanding of what Ontario agriculture is about.

This was part of a program called Discovery Week, a mandatory one-week placement at the end of the first year for all undergraduate medical students at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University in London.

The students are placed in more than 60 rural and regional communities in Southwestern Ontario where they shadow physicians and healthcare professionals to learn about their work life, network with various rural healthcare teams, and experience living in communities in the region.