Third-year medical students at Laval University received a shock ten days ago: their faculty told them that some of them would be forced to move to the regions to do their externship there for a year. .
The decision, announced by email on January 12, aroused strong discontent within the student community. “I can no longer defend the heads of this faculty by saying that they care about us”, denounces a third-year student joined by The duty and who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals. “The reasons for this decision were never communicated to us. »
He adds, however, that the process was put on hold by the Faculty following the sending of a petition opposing the decision and signed by more than 300 students. For her part, the director of public relations and protocol at Université Laval, Andrée-Anne Stewart, indicates that “means to remedy the situation are currently being discussed”.
A crucial internship
After their first three years of study, medical students begin their externship, that is, they practice in hospitals for a period of two years. At Laval University, the majority of students spend these two years practicing in Quebec hospitals, where they change establishments every six weeks.
However, a minority of students opt for the “longitudinal integrated clerkship” (ELI) program. This program takes place in regional hospitals for the first year, such as in Gaspésie or Bas-du-Fleuve, and the majority of the internship period takes place in a single establishment. The second year takes place in Quebec.
This program is however not very popular. “For two years, we have not found enough volunteers to fill some ELIs. These sites are at risk of closing,” said Ms.me Stewart from Laval University. “The Faculty wishes to fill all places in regional internship settings to meet the significant health needs in these settings. […] “, she adds. An email sent to students and obtained by The duty indicates that cities shunned by students include Baie-Comeau, Chandler, Rimouski, Rivière-du-Loup and Thetford Mines.
In order not to leave them vacant, the faculty decided that a lottery would determine which students would fill these places.
The Faculty wishes to fill all places in regional internship settings to meet the significant health needs in these settings.
“Going to the regions has always been presented to us as an option, deplores the student contacted by The duty. It is a decision that is discussed with those close to you and that you normally have a lot of time to take. »
The student considers that the mental health of some students, particularly during externship, can be fragile. In the past year, two day students from Université Laval and McGill University took their own lives.
“I consider that I have good mental health, but I can’t imagine going to a region far from Quebec that I don’t know, where I don’t know anyone and where they impose a demanding work schedule on me,” he laments. “It can make already fragile students even more fragile. »
Plan changes
The initially firm position of the Faculty is now in abeyance. The initial email announcing the news to students urged them to “be careful in renewing [leur] lease [puisqu’ils pourraient être sélectionnés] for an ELI”.
After multiple protests, the Faculty notified the students a week later that the draw would take place the following day. “In order to quickly reduce the anxiety that this situation generates, we have advanced the process […] “, can we read in the email sent that day. This hasty draw was canceled, however, and no new date has been confirmed.
For its part, Laval University does not confirm how it intends to resolve the situation. “We are in listening mode and in solution mode,” said M.me Stewart, Sunday.
As requested by the petition, the students want the one-year internships in the regions to be divided into six-week internships and distributed to several students. “I think it’s a solution that brings together a lot of people, believes the student. Doing six more weeks in the regions isn’t that bad. Those who do their externship in Quebec City already have a six-week regional internship scheduled on their schedule.
Laval University counters that “these proposals do not take into account the uniqueness of each ELI environment”.
The institution seems to want to continue this program of regional internships. “Laval University’s Faculty of Medicine intends to deploy the community-type ELI formula throughout Eastern Quebec in order to enhance and promote medical practice outside major centers and help serve these populations”, we say by email.
The student contacted by The duty, for his part, does not have much hope that the situation will change: “I no longer really trust the Faculty. In my head, they will go all the way. »