MINNEDOSA — Karen Aquino received a guided tour of the local hospital Friday, including its patient, treatment and operating rooms, as she prepares to practise medicine at the site in the fall.

The doctor is one of seven internationally trained doctors who were recruited by Prairie Mountain Health through the University of Manitoba licensure program for international medical graduates.

“I got very lucky to be placed here,” she said after being shown around the health centre by its acute-care manager, Lana Hogg, and the recruitment co-ordinator from Prairie Mountain Health.

Aquino was accepted into the program at U of M in 2024 and is expected to graduate in June.

She completed her medical education in the Philippines and worked as an anesthesiologist and family physician before she moved to Winnipeg in 2013.

She said she fell in love with the idea of living in a small community when she moved to Brandon in 2018 to work as an anesthesia clinical assistant at the city’s hospital.

“That’s how I got to know the doctors in Minnedosa as well,” Aquino said. The town is about a 30-minute drive north from Brandon.

The physician said she looks forward to the variability of the practice.

The peaceful, tight-knit community and lack of noise and traffic drew her in and prompted her to name Minnedosa as her first choice for her four-year return-of-service contract.

Aquino said she’s happy and thankful to be granted the opportunity. She wants her future patients to know she’s easy-going and approachable.

“I kind of want to be connected to everybody because I want to succeed here as well. I want the people to love me,” she said.

Dr. Moazzam Raza will also be based in Minnedosa.

The arrival of two internationally trained doctors means the Minnedosa ER can be open 24/7 starting this fall, said Hogg.

With the two additions, Minnedosa will have a complement of six doctors.

Aquino was also shown the laboratory and X-ray area and the three-bed emergency department, which currently closes every Thursday, Hogg said.

Only three of the four family physicians provide ER coverage, so when the ER temporarily closes, it adds pressure to the hospitals in nearby Neepawa and Brandon, she said.

“We had one lady that was upset because she had to call the ambulance from just down the street. We were closed, so she ended up in Neepawa, so then she couldn’t get a ride home,” Hogg said.

“Being open 24/7 is going to open those doors a little more to even local citizens.”

It will also alleviate the strain on the other physicians at the hospital who juggle patient appointments, see residents in the personal care home, manage the ER and perform surgery.

Knowing there will be ER coverage when other doctors are in surgery will “be a nice change,” Hogg said.

Prairie Mountain Health identified a handful communities with a shortage of family doctors in November, including Ste. Rose du Lac, Russell, Rossburn, Shoal Lake and Killarney. Five additional doctors have been recruited to practise in those communities. Dr. Saleema Arif in Ste. Rose du Lac, Dr. Porimol Debnath in Russell, Dr. Ana Hernandez will provide care in Rossburn and Shoal Lake. Doctors Shamsudeen and Olamide Usman, who are husband and wife, will practise in Killarney.

The international medical graduates program receives upwards of 1,000 applications every year and only 30 applicants are accepted.

The regional health authority typically places seven to eight graduates in rural communities on an annual basis.

Prairie Mountain Health organizes site visits with doctors, so they can get accustomed to relocating to an area that suits their needs. The visits can include checking out daycares, schools and recreation activities, touring the health facility and meeting with council members and real estate agents.

Hogg, who manages the health facilities in Minnedosa and Hamiota, said she meets with medical residents and students to encourage them to work in either of the rural communities.

“I feel like sometimes when you come out of nursing school or med school, there’s just so many opportunities, you don’t know what’s out there,” she said.

Having conversations with residents or students on practicum helps them decide the right fit for themselves and can open their eyes to working in rural areas, she said.

— Brandon Sun