MD Rural Ambassadors

The MD Rural Ambassadors function on a three pillar model of outreach/awareness, support, & research. Our target audience are the rural high school and undergrad student populations. As such, the majority of our efforts are focused within campuses and rural high school classrooms dispersed throughout central and northern Alberta.

Ultimately, we are University of Alberta medical students from rural backgrounds who want to encourage students from other small communities to consider pursuing a career in medicine as well.

We are collaborating with the Rural Physician Action Plan, promoting the MD program through volunteer recruitment (including our class colleagues), and delivering our message through career fairs, presentations, a website, and social media - all aimed at providing opportunities and resources for students, parents, and teachers to learn and ask more about the path to becoming a physician & ultimately serving their community.

We also aim to bridge the gap current rural medical students face, between their community and medical education, by providing opportunities back home to impact the next crop of learners. Class demographics and perceptions of rural medicine are also surveyed and analyzed annually as a measure of where our work requires focus, ultimately toward the future generations of medical students.

Previous Leaders: Topher Mostert, Kendra Raffael, Ashleigh Rozsa, Julie Saby

Contact: mdruralambassadors@gmail.com