Camille Mutukistna, Daniel Antonenko and Natalie Tinney are the newest resident doctors in La Ronge. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

recruitment

Three new resident doctors join La Ronge training program

Jul 10, 2024 | 3:18 PM

The La Ronge Rural and Remote Residency Training Program has welcomed three new students to Northern Saskatchewan.

Camille Mutukistna and Daniel Antonenko, both of Toronto, and Natalie Tinney from Lima, Peru, are the latest residents joining the two-year program. The training program is designed for those who have completed four years of medical school and who are looking to specialize in a specific area of medicine.

All three residents are part of the University of Saskatchewan’s Family Medicine Program.

“We are really excited to have them,” said Dr. Sean Groves, who leads the program alongside administrator Janice Skilliter.

“They all come from different training backgrounds in different parts of Canada. We are excited to see how they integrate into the community and to have them get a chance to see patients and really grow their skills as doctors.”

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As part of the orientation, the residents have spent time at a cabin on the lake and will be participating in a paddling trip this weekend.

“Other than that, it is really just getting them used to the hospital environment, the clinical environment, doing some northern fly outs to our outpost communities, as well as getting involved with some of the resident-led clinics we do in and around town,” Groves explained.

The program, which began in 2010, accepts three new residents per year and, since inception, most of the physicians who have decided to work in La Ronge have come from the program. Dr. Jessica Froehlich and Dr. Kristi Galloway, who have just completed the second year of the program, have both decided to stay in La Ronge to practice medicine.

“I think that speaks to the value of having a training program in our community,” Groves noted.

“We’ve got our current three second-year residents who are all back from Regina. They do some block training in Regina to get some more volume-based experience in specific areas of medicine. They have just come back towards the end of May to spend the last year of training with us, so they basically work alongside the doctors and, by the end of their training, the expectation is they are functioning like one of us and we’re just providing a bit of oversight.”

Tinney is excited to be in La Ronge and she added all three of the new residents come from unique walks in life. She added the three of them also have a passion for primary care, as well as for underserved communities.

“I think La Ronge is a very unique program for family medicine that is going to give us very one of a kind opportunities to see all different kinds of patients and fields of medicine,” Tinney said.

“I think what really brings us to La Ronge is to just have both the medical training and also to experience the outdoors, nature and everything that Northern Saskatchewan has to offer.”

Tinney mentioned everyone has been very kind, welcoming and supportive since they arrived in La Ronge last week. She also wanted community members to know herself and the other residents are approachable and are open to feedback to suggestions or any comments.

“For folks, if there is something they specifically want us to keep in mind or something that they need, please let us know and we are looking forward to building a strong bond with this community,” Tinney said.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com