Dr. Grant McKercher, an Assistant Professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and family physician in North Bay, was the recipient of the 2018 College of Family Physicians and Canadian Geriatric Society Award of Distinction in Health Care of the Elderly.

The award honours Canadian family physicians in active practice who had made substantial contributions to the highquality, patient centred care of Canadian seniors.

Many health-care professionals and community members in North Bay will recognize McKercher in that description. He has he has been practising in the area for the past 30 years, initially working in a solo family practice, then taking on a focused practice in care of the elderly and seniors’ mental health in 1998.

“I had a lot of seniors in my practice at that time, and I also worked in long-term care facilities, so it was an area of interest right as I was starting out in family practice,” he says. “Then, in 1995, I did a one-month geriatric fellowship sponsored by the Royal Canadian Legion. That really sparked my enthusiasm for working with this population, and that’s when I made the decision to do an extra year of training in Care of the Elderly at the University of Western Ontario.

After completing the training, he took a job with the North Bay Psychiatric Hospital’s seniors’ mental health program, now part of the North Bay Regional Health Centre, where he has been for the past 20 years.

McKercher has been involved in clinical teaching throughout his career, first taking students from the University of Ottawa, then joining the faculty at NOSM in 2007. He is also the former program director of the School’s Family Medicine Care of the Elderly Enhanced Skills Program.

“I think it’s very, very important to be able to pass along that clinical expertise and geriatrics knowledge, because we don’t always receive that specific training in our undergraduate and residency years,” he says. “We see a lot of older adults in our family medicine and specialty rotations, so it’s important to gain expertise in the care of that population that we will carry forward into our practices.”

Since NOSM’s founding and the introduction of the Family Medicine Care of the Elderly Enhanced Skills Program, McKercher says he has seen a big change in the health-care landscape in Northern Ontario.

“We’ve had a number of family physicians who have graduated from the program, and who are now practising in various communities across Northern Ontario,” he says. “We’re developing that network of physicians and clinical resources to support family physicians and other health practitioners throughout the region.”

As for his award, he says he feels particularly honoured by the fact that he was nominated by his peers and colleagues.

“A career is something that grows organically, it’s a day-by-day process,” he says. “As individuals, we may not see that until it’s pointed out to us. Having your colleagues come forward and provide that recognition is a very special honour.”

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine was founded on the idea that if health professionals are educated in the North, they will stay in the North.

In order to educate learners in the North, there is a need for clinical teachers in communities across the region.

The Rehabilitation Studies Program at NOSM has developed Preceptor 101 sessions to help increase the number of clinical teachers in the North. The sessions are designed for health professionals including audiologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech language pathologists who are interested in becoming preceptors, or have experience but want to improve their knowledge of best practices.

Brock Chisholm, a Clinical Learning Liaison with the Rehabilitation Studies Program at NOSM, developed the first version of the sessions with Kirsten Pavlich in 2001, before the establishment of  the School.

“We would have a clinical education workshop twice a year, but they were usually pretty advanced topics,” he says. “We created Preceptor 101 based on the idea that we would consolidate all of that into a shorter session with just the new or need-to-know information.”

Over the years, the sessions have evolved from a full day in one location, to smaller, half-day sessions in communities across the province.

“Considering our geography, it’s easier for health professionals to attend education that has come to them, than to take multiple days to travel,” says Grace King, a Clinical Learning Liaison with NOSM and co-host of the Northeast sessions. “It makes it far more accessible, not just in terms of convenience, but also in terms of being able to take that time away from direct patient care.”

In the fall of last year, Chisholm and King, along with Regan Buldoc and Cindy Davis-Maille, hosted six sessions in North Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, Kenora and Sioux Lookout.

Chisholm says clinical education opportunities, including the Preceptor 101 sessions, play a crucial role in the recruitment of learners in the North.

“The more expert preceptors we have, the more clinical placements we’ll be able to offer, and the more clinical placements, the more likely we are to recruit learners who have an interest in coming to the region,” he says.

He says the Preceptor 101 sessions have also played a crucial role in the retention of health professionals practising in these communities.

“Health-care providers in the North are geographically and professionally isolated, so attending a course like this allows them to make connections with other people, and feel that they’re less isolated and more involved in professional learning,” he says. “Teaching is also one of the best ways to maintain your skills, so having opportunities to stay current and active and involved is fundamental for clinicians.”

Davis-Maille says the sessions are a testament to the fact that there is a renewed excitement about learning and practising in the North.

“There are always lots of students interested in coming, and there are so many excellent health professionals who want to teach them and share their knowledge,” she says.