Rady Faculty students go rural and remote

By Danica Hidalgo Cherewyk

One afternoon after coming home from school, 12-year-old Delanee Hawkins watched an episode of Oprah featuring a child psychiatrist.

“It started a years-long special interest and hyper fixation on psychiatry and mental health,” she said.  

18 years later, Hawkins is now a first-year psychiatry resident at the Max Rady College of Medicine. Born and raised in New Mexico, she moved from Vancouver, where she completed medical school, to Winnipeg in July 2025 to pursue her residency training.

“While doing the CaRMS (Canadian Resident Matching Service) process and exploring all the different programs across Canada, I found that the University of Manitoba had the warmest community feeling,” she said. “I knew that I would feel at home here. And I'm happy to say that has been the case.” 

Exploring psychiatry care in Thompson

In October and November 2025, Hawkins travelled to Thompson for a work placement at Thompson General Hospital.  

Hawkins is one of thousands of Rady Faculty of Health Sciences students who complete work placements in rural and remote areas of Manitoba, ranging from two to 12 weeks. They work under the guidance of preceptors—health-care professionals who supervise learners in hospitals, clinics and other primary-care settings.

Accommodations and travel expenses are covered, and for northern regions, a meal per diem is also provided.  

“I felt extremely well supported when setting up this rotation. My flights—which were quite expensive at over $1,000—were completely covered and arranged by UM staff,” Hawkins said. “I was connected with the Thompson community. Someone picked me up from the airport, they gave me a stack of taxi vouchers, and I had access to a fleet of cars on the weekends.”

Hawkins said city centres like Winnipeg can learn a lot from communities such as Thompson.  

“In Winnipeg, if you're seeing an outpatient psychiatrist, most of the time you're only seeing them once and then the care is redirected back to the family physician,” she said. “But in Thompson, over the month I was there, I was able to see people multiple times. I think that’s a better way to practise psychiatry.”

One outpatient she met in her first week struggled with severe anxiety.

“We gave the patient medication that isn’t an antidepressant, so it acts more quickly, and we checked on the patient each week and provided resources,” she said.  

“Though the patient was not fully better at the end of the month, it was a really special experience to see someone struggling and then start to see signs of sleep and mood improving, seeing them not feeling so anxious.” 

Supporting maternal health in Morden

Near the small town of Swan Lake, Lindsey Gundrum grew up on a farm surrounded by animals.

“Watching cows give birth during calving season is always the most exciting part,” she said. “That’s what drew me to midwifery.”

Gundrum, who secured one of the eight competitive seats in the College of Nursing’s midwifery program in 2023, is now in her fourth year and set to graduate soon.

“Midwifery gives me the opportunity to really get to know my patients,” she said. “I’m helping somebody bring a life into this world and it’s one of the most magical moments. It’s especially rewarding helping them heal from traumatic births in the past and providing a completely opposite experience.”

She has completed rotations in several rural and remote communities, including The Pas, Brandon and Grand Rapids. At Opaskwyak Cree Nation, she worked with Indigenous doulas on the maternal child health team. 

In her current Morden placement, where she has worked since September 2025, Gundrum supports mothers from prenatal to postpartum care. The team serves residents from Morden, Winkler and nearby communities.

“Interprofessional collaboration is phenomenal here,” she said. “Because it’s a smaller centre, the midwives, OBs and nurses work together so well.

“This experience has been so great. I’m really hoping to get a job here after.”

She said rural and remote placements open doors for system-wide improvement. “It opens people's eyes up to these places.”

Rady Faculty’s rural and remote learner experiences

When the office of rural and remote learner experiences (ORRLE) was established in 2021, managing director Melissa Balness said its purpose was to remove financial barriers.

“We wanted learners across the Rady Faculty’s colleges and programs to have the same opportunities,” she said.

Rady Faculty learners can now work in more than 90 rural and remote communities.

In the 2024-2025 fiscal year intake alone, more than 2,300 Rady Faculty learners completed rural and remote placements.

Improving access and support for students

Balness said many communities are unaware they have UM learners in their region—until they find out and are eager to support them.

The City of Morden was the first to provide dedicated housing: two two-bedroom units launched in November 2025.

“We have a lease with them at a really great rate—they’re taking a portion of the cost and the Rady Faculty is paying a portion,” Balness said.  

Jason Dyck, economic development officer for the City of Morden, said the city learned only recently about the number of Rady Faculty learners in the region.  

“It was great to meet the ORRLE team and work with them to see how we can best serve students and employers,” he said. “We’re a growing region with lots of vacancies in health care, and our medical infrastructure is constantly expanding."

In another community, the Portage la Prairie General Hospital Foundation donated funds in March 2026 to purchase all furniture and household items needed to fully set up two apartments in Portage la Prairie. They committed additional funding over the next two years to support operational costs, including utilities, cleaning and repairs. Dufresne Furniture and Appliances also donated to furnish the apartments.

Balness hopes more communities across Manitoba will provide greater support for students.

“It’s an opportunity to include Rady learners as part of a talent attraction pipeline, engaging them early in their careers,” she said. “Even if a student doesn’t end up staying in that community, they still contributed to its health and well-being.”

ORRLE continues to collaborate with regions across Manitoba, encouraging more social and financial support for students.

“We’d love to see this program expand into a community-driven effort,” Balness said. “When community leaders create welcome packages or take learners to farmers’ markets or community events, they build connections that could attract learners to want to practice there in the future.”