Estevan's St. Joseph's Hospital is welcoming another longitudinal integrated clerkship (LIC) program student, Marlize Hipwell.
An aspiring physician, she is following the path of Lindsay Richels, the 2018 LIC student, and Paige Baldwin and Brianna Hutchinson, who were a part of the program in 2019.
Hipwell came to Estevan at the end of the summer. She started at St. Joseph's Hospital on Aug. 13 and will be receiving first-hand education and experience until July 2021.
In the interview with the Mercury, she said that she's been enjoying the opportunity.
"It's been really good. The staff here is really, really nice, everyone's been really supportive and really invested in my learning, which I really appreciate. So it's been a really great experience so far."
Hipwell said she's been busy doing a little bit of everything around the hospital and worked alongside a variety of doctors.
"Some of my favourite things have been participating in deliveries and then meeting in the clinic with patients and being involved with their care more than one time, seeing them over time ... I really appreciate the longitudinal care that I can have with patients here."
She added that so far she was able to try on different roles and receive some experience in different emergency and essential services provided at the hospital.
Hipwell is in the third year of her medical education, which she is receiving from the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine. She was born in South Africa but lived most of her life in Manitoba. Hipwell moved to Saskatoon for her undergraduate and medical degrees, which brought her to the LIC program.
"I heard about this opportunity to do my third-year medical school in Estevan, and I thought it would be great," said Hipwell.
"The reason I chose this program, in general, is because it was an opportunity for me to get a lot of hands-on experience."
She added that Estevan was a bit closer to her and her husband's families that reside in Manitoba; besides, she heard good reviews about the program from past LIC students.
After four years of basic medical education, Hipwell intends to apply for family medicine and also do additional training in surgical skills so that she could perform C-sections.
And while Hipwell's experience has been great, because of the pandemic-related restrictions and regulations, it was somewhat different from what the previous LIC students went through.
"For me as a student (the pandemic) has affected whether I can see patients or not," said Hipwell.
She went on to explain, that as a student she can't be in contact with anyone who is potentially COVID-19 positive or was in contact with a person who may have been exposed to the virus.
"And the other thing that I've noticed as a student here at the hospital is when I have half of my face covered it can be really difficult to connect with patients because they can't see my emotional expressions unless it goes to my eyes, but the only way that happens is if I'm smiling. So I found that it's really difficult to show my empathy with the face covered," Hipwell said.
"Although (masks) are very necessary and I'm perfectly fine complying with that, it's just that it's been a challenge in providing patient care."
A lot of appointments with patients take place over the phone these days which also affects the experience. But Hipwell said that in general it wasn't too difficult, and since the pandemic hit while she still was in her second year, by the beginning of her practical term she was already ready for a different set-up.
Despite some challenges posed by the pandemic, Hipwell said she is pretty happy with the experience and education she is currently receiving.
"My experience in the hospital has been amazing. Everyone here is extremely knowledgeable, they've seen a lot of things and they are eager to teach. That's been amazing. I've learned a lot in a few months that I've been here."
Hipwell added that while she hasn’t had much time to spend out in Estevan as she is steadily busy at the hospital, the Energy City also seemed friendly and nice.
"I'm in the hospital lots, so I don't see a lot of the community, but the stuff that I have seen has been great. Everyone is really nice and really welcoming," Hipwell said.
The LIC program was launched in Estevan in 2018 and has been going strong and steady since then teaching young and aspiring physicians medicine.
