
The Island Healthcare Travelling Roadshow team.
The Healthcare Travelling Roadshow (HCRS) became a truly provincial initiative this year with the inclusion of a Vancouver Island-based trip, which began on Sunday, May 5.
Led by UBC medical students with the Island, Southern, and Northern Medical Programs, the HCRS brings together a multidisciplinary group of healthcare students from post-secondary institutions from across BC. Together, the students showcase careers to rural high school students in BC and the Yukon with the goal of inspiring the next generation of healthcare professionals in rural communities.
At each high school, students and graduates representing medicine, nursing, physical therapy, midwifery, pharmacy, dental hygiene, respiratory therapy and cardiology technology present hands-on demonstrations and answer questions about their chosen careers.

Students at Timberline Secondary School gather around stations to learn about different healthcare professions.
“Rural high school students on Vancouver Island need to know that they have career options in healthcare, and likewise healthcare students need to consider working in these amazing rural communities,” says Hamish Frayne (IMP Class of 2021), who helped organize the Island Roadshow as part of his FLEX project.
“After participating in the HCRS in my first year of medical school, I recognized it as a unique way to encourage rural youth to enter healthcare,” he says. “I have learned so much from my experiences with the roadshow, both about myself and about healthcare, and I want to allow other IMP students the same opportunity.”
Including the Island trip, the HCRS will visit the following communities this month:
- Island Roadshow (Campbell River, Port McNeill, Port Hardy) – May 5–11, 2019
- Kootenay Roadshow (Cranbrook, Invermere, Golden) – May 5–11, 2019
- Northern Roadshow (Chetwynd, Mackenzie, Vanderhoof, Fort St. James) – May 12–18, 2019
- Yukon Roadshow (Whitehorse, Dawson City, Atlin) – May 26–June 1, 2019
Though it is now a provincial initiative, the HCRS began at UNBC as a grass roots initiative to address rural healthcare workforce shortages.
“The HCRS was born at the University of Northern British Columbia a decade ago. It has grown from a small pilot project into a significant provincial initiative to address the rural healthcare workforce,” says Dr. Sean Maurice, senior lab instructor, Northern Medical Program.

Getting ready for some hands-on demonstrations.
“The roadshow team collaborates broadly with many different provincial partners to run this innovative project. In 2019, we are for the first time running four different week-long trips, involving 50 healthcare students visiting over 2,000 youth in numerous rural communities. We strive to put healthcare careers into the minds of rural youth, and put rural practice into the minds of healthcare students.”
The HCRS is delivered in partnership with UNBC, UBC Faculty of Medicine, Northern Medical Programs Trust, Rural Education Action Plan, Interior Health Authority, and Island Health.
Since its inception in 2010, the HCRS has connected with more than 8,500 high school students in 43 communities.
“Last year, I attended the Northern Roadshow and visited the communities of Terrace, Kitimat, New Aiyansh, Prince Rupert, and Lax Kw’alaams. We received hugely positive feedback from all the high school students and teachers we interacted with. High school students found it easier to engage and connect with the healthcare students, who are often only a few years out of high school themselves,” says Hamish.

The team gets a taste of the Island lifestyle by going on hikes and other activities.
This year is no exception. “You’re a hit,” wrote Timberline Secondary School teacher Diana Camerin after the Island Roadshow’s stop at the Campbell River high school on Monday. “The teachers thought it was great, and the students also voiced that they enjoyed it immensely. High praise doesn’t always hit my desk, so thank you for a great presentation and engaging our young people.”
To learn more, visit https://www.unbc.ca/healthcare-travelling-roadshow