Tumbler Ridge has to be one of the finest places on the planet for a conference, and a unique one at that. We are still coming off the high produced by co-hosting the 6th Tumbler Ridge Medical Conference on July 5-7.
Our co-host was Jayleen Emery, Rural Continuing Medical Education Community Coordinator for Northern Health. Including families, we managed to attract 120 people to Tumbler Ridge for an action-packed weekend of serious academic pursuits combined with fun recreational activities (mostly with a dinosaur theme). We think we could have doubled that number if we had not run out of accommodation options and were forced to stop advertising for the whole month prior to the conference.
Residents and students are the future of health care in BC, and they and their colleagues attended in droves from Prince George, Tumbler Ridge, Quesnel, Chetwynd, Vanderhoof, Dawson Creek and Fort St John. We all know the challenges facing health care in rural and remote British Columbia, and we think the best way to counter that is to show off what we have to offer, and hopefully encourage new applicants (physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, allied health professionals) to one day work in the Peace Region communities.
We invited a talented array of speakers from across BC and Alberta. Highlights and keynote topics included a First Nations experiential learning session, a hands-on workshop on suturing techniques and tendon repair, a focus on environmental health, a dive into what has worked well healthcare-wise in other rural communities, and management of heart failure. Three sessions on Day 3 were devoted to the possibility of remission for Type 2 diabetes (Tumbler Ridge is one of two BC communities involved in this pilot project). We mixed academic topics, such as cancer care in the north and how to prepare for community ‘apocalypses’, with practical hands-on sessions on ultrasound and CPR skills. And once again, Marsha Dufresne gave an inspiring traditional welcome to all delegates.
The District of Tumbler Ridge made a generous donation for the Saturday evening ‘Feast’ at the Lions Flatbed Creek Campground, and Conuma Coal covered the expenses of the much-appreciated jet-boat rides to Kinuseo Falls for all the speakers. MD Management generously funded the Friday evening ‘Dinnersaur’ at the Tumbler Ridge Museum. Further funding was contributed from physician Rural Continuing Medical Education Community funds from Tumbler Ridge, Fort St John, Dawson Creek, Hudson’s Hope, and Chetwynd, as well as Northern Health, and the Rural Coordination Centre of BC (RCCbc) via the SPIFI fund. Our own Dr. Ife Akanegbu donated one copy of his latest book for every delegate.
During refreshment breaks participants were also able to visit and enjoy no fewer than seven booths in the facility at the Trend Mountain Hotel, with representation from the newly-formed South Peace Division of Family Practice, the Tumbler Ridge Global Geopark, Northern Health Physician Quality Improvement, Doctors of BC, Northern Health Recruitment, the Institute for Personalised Therapeutic Nutrition, and RCCbc.
Dinosaurs and hiking formed prominent themes for the recreational activities. These included backstage tours of the Museum collections, an adventure hike to the site of BC’s first dinosaur excavation, the Wolverine River dinosaur tracksite, and early morning runs to the Cabin Pool dinosaur tracksite and Tumbler Point. The Museum, the Geopark, volunteer guides, and local and regional businesses and organizations (Wild River Adventures, The Meat Doctor, Lions Club, 242-BREW) were essential to the success of these activities. A new feature this year was ‘pool-jumping’, led by our own Dr. Claire Lenouvel. With a maximum number of eight participants, it was booked out within days… And kids (of all ages) were entertained through afternoon games, face painting, and the presence of Crow the donkey and Bucket the pony, who even gave some lucky ones rides. Another novel feature this year was live music at the Feast from Tumbler Ridge’s ‘Mechanical Botanicals’.
The weather was perfect. If no wind-breakers are needed on the jet-boat ride, it has to be good weather. And almost inevitably, a new set of dinosaur tracks was discovered. This resulted in one family being overjoyed by the thrill of discovery, and the comment: “We are absolutely thrilled beyond words about this news… we just couldn’t believe our luck. Tumbler Ridge is truly an incredible place. We had so much fun exploring and imagining the dinosaurs that once lived there. The area and the museum have a way of creating excitement about getting out there and finding evidence of the things that lived before, which is very special and unique to Tumbler Ridge. Thanks again for hosting such a wonderful conference.”
This is “the conference with a difference”, with abundant networking opportunities, face-to-face time with colleagues we seldom get to meet, and celebration of families. The feedback we have received indicates that participants indeed found the event to be unique, and an experience they will not soon forget.
A Tumbler Ridge conference is good for economic development and for local businesses and organizations. It is also good for health care in the north. Tumbler Ridge is ideally placed to become a Canadian conference destination with a difference. We hope that the Tumbler Ridge Medical Conference can serve as a template and can build on the great work done by other conference organizers here in the past.
Above photo: A group of happy hikers—mostly delegates from the conference—at the Wolverine River.
