Discovery Healthcare Camp trying to fill rural healthcare jobs of the future

Future doctors, nurses and paramedics attend Goderich’s ‘Discovery Healthcare’ camp this week. CTV London’s Scott Miller reports.

Nathan Skinn has been a paramedic in Huron County for the past four years. The Wingham native said living and working in his home community has been a great experience.

“It’s great commute-wise. Huron County is a wonderful place to work. The service itself has great morale; we all get along really well. We work really well with the other allied agencies. Everybody is like, super positive. Not having to drive to the city is nice, too,” said Skinn.

Today, Skinn is trying to recruit the next batch of Huron County paramedics at the Discovery Healthcare Camp in Goderich.

It’s one of eight such camps put on by Western University across southwestern Ontario to try and expose high school students in rural Ontario to careers in healthcare.

“This is actually the biggest camp we’ve ever run in Goderich. We’re 26 students this year. Last year we were only 16,” said Camp Co-ordinator and second-year Western med student Allegra Ferrara.

Neda Unal is one of the campers. She’s a local Grade 9 student with an interest in helping people.

“Healthcare can be pretty hard mentally and academically. So, I wanted to see if I was really, really passionate about it. And I think it looks like I am,” said Unal.

And that’s music to organizers’ ears, who are trying to fill, amongst others, the current shortage of more than 20,000 nurses in Ontario, according to the Registered Nurse’s Association of Ontario.

While quite as acute as that, there aren’t enough paramedics in Ontario either. Skinn said he hopes to entice a few of Goderich’s 26 Discovery Healthcare campers to consider joining him at the Huron County Paramedic Service.

“The staffing issue is definitely no joke in healthcare as a whole. In paramedicine, like I know that we’re recruiting. I think we’ve done three hires this year, and it’s still not enough. So, we’re trying to get more. If we can even get like one or two out of this, that would be awesome,” he said.

Skinn said it really is the best of both worlds. He gets to do something worthwhile and rewarding, and hang out with family and friends in a community he’s incredibly comfortable in when he’s not on shift.

“There’s a little bit less instance of burnout due to our lower population. Like, we’re busy, but not run off our feet like a city can be. It’s just a really cool place to work. The area is beautiful. Like, you really can’t complain,” said Skinn.

Discovery Healthcare camps wrap up in Goderich, Woodstock, St. Thomas, and Chatham this week, and start in Stratford, Hanover, Sarnia, and Windsor next week. You can learn more online.