Jonathon MacKay
Advanced Care Canadian Paramedic, Nova Scotia
What is your background?
Working in remote environments, mostly in the Canadian Arctic and offshore for the last 9 years.
What did you get out of the programme?
Tropical Medicine helped me diagnose dengue fever. It taught me how to do research properly, how to make better medical decisions, how to network. It improved my communication. I learned a great respect for occupational work. I honestly can’t think of a way that the programme hasn’t influenced my practice actually, and I don’t know where I’d be or who I’d be clinically without it.
Were there any particular highlights for you?
Definitely coming to the Residential and putting faces to names. I’ve already finished all of my coursework so it’s kind of a definitive end to the programme for me. Having conversations with people who's context, world views, and points of view are literally foreign to me. I would be challenged by others perspectives that I likely wouldn’t have considered on my own and that was the strength to the programme, in my opinion.
What was your favourite module and why?
Probably the first module, getting to know the programme, learning the format and the people, it really challenged me. There was far more to it than I had anticipated, but once I got through it really made me hungry for what was to come next.
How did you get on with the online learning?
I was self-motivated, it’s definitely a programme where no-one else is going to do it for you. The forums, the perspectives, and the classmates, really made my education, and I felt that I owed them to contribute, to be there and put feedback in so that we could all discuss, and it was quite a privilege to meet such wonderful people.
Would you recommend the programme to others?
I will talk on end about this programme every chance I get to the point that my colleagues at home at probably sick of hearing about it. But the short and succinct answer is absolutely and how can I? If there is anything I can do, I’m happy to.
One piece of advice for students joining the programme?
Absolutely it will make you better at Remote Medicine, but realise that it is a lot of work, it takes commitment, but through that commitment you will get out of the programme what you put into it, and I would hate to see anybody partake in the programme without the intention of fully participating. The rewards far outweigh and cost in time and money to myself and I‘m sad that it’s over.
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