My elective rotation in Iqaluit, Nunavut : strikingly eye-opening

Recently during my residency training in family medicine and public health and preventive medicine, I had the privilege of doing an elective rotation in Iqaluit, Nunavut. My interests in health and social inequities drew me to this elective rotation. I wanted to better understand and appreciate patient care on the ground in Iqaluit and learn from community members and clinicians directly. For two months, between September and November 2021, I trained in family medicine practice. 

Prior to this amazing experience, I worked on a research project with CHEO’s Dr. Radha Jetty.  Dr. Jetty is a physician in CHEO’s Aakuluk children’s clinic. The research project was on Inuit child health.  It focused specifically on the medical and social challenges faced by the children from Nunavut who receive care in Ottawa.

Working with Dr. Jetty on this research was tremendously humbling as I learned a great deal about Inuit health issues and resiliency. I learned about the importance of community self-determination in safeguarding culture and traditions, and recognizing and acknowledging the historical and ongoing intergenerational trauma caused by past and present events. To this day, the community feels the impacts of the tuberculosis crisis of the 1950’s and the associated medical response to it and the impacts of colonization. The healthcare system is structured in a unique way that is responsive to the needs of remote fly-in communities, but is certainly not without its challenges for access to necessary healthcare services.

During my time in Nunavut, there were multiple on-going public health crises. The territory was constantly responding to outbreaks of various infectious diseases such as, COVID-19.  There was a tuberculosis outbreak and an ongoing need for housing and various other infrastructures gaps in many sectors including healthcare and the public health system

For 60 days, a public health do-not-consume water order was put in place as a precaution when petroleum hydrocarbons were found to be possibly contaminating the city’s drinking water supply. This led to a community response to provide safe drinking water by getting river water from the local Silvia Grinnell territorial park river and mobilizing resources in Canada to bring in bottled water for Iqaluit, a community of approximately 8,000 people.

The experience of learning from Inuit and non-Inuit community members, as well as public health and healthcare workers in Nunavut was strikingly eye-opening. The realities of the north were equally challenging and distressing to learn and immerse myself in.  But the beauty and warmth of the people and land were powerfully encouraging and breathtaking to take in.

It has been a cumulative professional and personal journey that led me to Nunavut to seek out more learning and growth in primary care practice and public health knowledge. I have been fortunate to connect and learn from so many different people.  These included members of community that are both caregivers and leaders, epidemiologists, health promotion specialists, physicians and home care nurses, to name a few. All these experiences are what have cemented my interests and passions for primary care and public health practice.

Although the environment and culture in Nunavut is different in so many ways than in our city, the values and objectives of the healthcare workers and families from CHEO and Nunavut are exactly alike.  Both want the absolute best for their community and the children and families they care for – an opportunity for all children to live their best life.  

I will carry with me the stories and lessons shared with me for years to come and it has and will continue to influence the clinician and public health professional and person that I am and will become.

Yipeng Ge, MD BHSc
Public Health and Preventive Medicine Resident Physician, University of Ottawa