UBC Northern Medical Program Associate Professor Dr. Andrea Gingerich Right: Robin Roots, co-investigator on the studies
Angelina Ravelli Reporter/Anchor Published Wednesday, August 14, 2024
DAWSON CREEK — Practitioners in rural communities face numerous challenges every, and now new research from UNBC’s Dr. Andrea Gingerich sheds light on the question “How can practitioners in smaller communities navigate care delivery as professionals while also maintaining their social relationships?“.
Her project had two studies that came out of it. In the first, she spoke with physiotherapists and found a truth for many practitioners.
“Having too much permeability between our personal and professional life, that can be associated with burnout. It is a rural reality to have to navigate interacting with people through different roles, socializing with patients or treating people you know,” says Dr. Gingerich.
Regional Council Member for the Northeast BC Nurses Union, Dannette Thomsen explains how this can be challenging for practitioners when those recognizing them may not be happy, such as during hospital diversions, which northern B.C. is quite familiar with.
“It’s hard for nurses in small communities when you face everyone at the grocery store and a community may be on diversion, and you’ve worked 16 days straight and can’t pick up another shift. Yet people are looking at you like the hospitals on diversion why aren’t you working?” says Thomsen.
In the second study, Dr. Gingerich spoke with family doctors of rural communities. Here she learned about strategies used to help navigate relationships.
“Being able to signal to people when they are in their doctor role compared to when they’re in their parent role or in their teammate role,” says Dr. Gingerich.
She says that even then, things can get grey so they monitor when things can get “clouded” and a relationship may need to end. But even with all the challenges practitioners face in rural communities, there are reasons they choose to stay.
“We can see that the practitioners who stay and are happy, have that sense of belonging in the community and are really connected in their community, which means we’ll be interacting with people in various roles,” says Dr. Gingerich.
Dr. Gingerich herself grew up in a farm region and experienced what it was like to know people in professional and personal ways at the same time. Going through this challenge herself and now seeing her students experience it played a role in this research and the future of the research.
“We might be able to talk about them when we’re preparing students to go and learn in rural communities or new graduates to go and practice in rural communities. It’s a starting place to build on. What would we like to see and what can help keep patients safe, and then also keep practitioners have the quality of life that they deserve when living in these rural communities”
