Even as a child, Elijah Van Dinther was aware of health care gaps in his rural community.

Growing up in Watford, Ont., near Sarnia, Elijah had limited access to doctors. As a member of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, he also came to understand how his community was historically misunderstood and underserved within the health-care system.

Now, he’s doing his part to help address those gaps.  

Elijah is a member of the Rural Medicine Outreach Club (RMOC), an initiative that provides Western University students a first-hand look at practicing medicine outside big cities.  

“Rural areas are underserved because they aren’t close to health-care facilities,” says Elijah, who just completed his second year of medical school at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. “I can personally attest to this. From grade two to grade eight, I was without a family physician. Having that experience, I now see we don’t have the same opportunities those in the big cities do.”

He believes the challenge in attracting young health professionals to rural areas is simply the need for more exposure to rural medical practice.

RMOC addresses this through a number of initiatives and events. Doc Talks gives medical students deeper insight into being a physician at a rural hospital and Saturday Scrubs provides high school students with hands-on learning opportunities in their local communities in procedures such as suturing and performing CPR.

Elijah also volunteers with Schulich Medicine’s Discovery Healthcare Camp which offers high school students a deeper understanding and appreciation for rural-regional medicine through interactive placements in hospitals and clinics in small and mid-sized communities across Ontario. “We expose students to rural medicine and the benefits that come from it. Hands-on experience is vital because you can really only tell them so much.”

Elijah wants to break the stereotype of rural areas being boring. In fact, he believes it’s easier for physicians to see they are making a difference in a rural setting.  

“One of the joys of working in a rural area is you have this personal relationship with your patient. You don't have a time constraint where you have back-to-back patients. You can understand the patient to their core.”

He also feels a special drive to improve health care for Indigenous communities.  

As one of three Indigenous students in his first-year class, Elijah was eager to get involved with Medical Learning in Community Settings (MedLINCS), a program designed to inspire Indigenous high school students to see medicine as a possible career. It is hosted by Schulich Medicine, in collaboration with the Chippewas of Nawash Community Health Centre and the Sarnia-Lambton Ontario community health team.  

Elijah feels helping Indigenous young people to see how they can make a difference in their communities by becoming medical professionals will go a long way to improving health care for a population he says has long been misunderstood by the health-care establishment.  

"It's important to rebuild trust with Indigenous communities in terms of their experiences with the health-care system. We can learn from them and be more inclusive of their beliefs and practices."

No matter where he lands after medical school, Elijah is motivated by a desire to help people with their health.  

“When you’re developing your career, it’s important to have a passion for it. I love medicine and knowing that, in the end, this will help many people. That is what really drives me.”