Lilly Groszman is a Medical student and McGill Global Health Scholar supported by the Dr. Kenneth Remsen Global Health Scholar Award. This summer, she evaluated trauma and acute care in Northern Quebec under the supervision of Dr. Evan Wong.
"As a recipient of the Dr. Kenneth Remsen Global Health Scholar Award, I was granted the opportunity to travel to two northern Inuit communities in Nunavik, Quebec. In these villages, I performed data collection on all incoming trauma patients from 2014 to 2021 in Kuujjuaq’s Centre de Santé Tulattavik de l’Ungava (CSTU) and Puvirnituq’s Inuulitisivik Health Centre (IHC).
Having grown up in Montreal, most people are oblivious to just how bad the challenges are that remote communities in our own province face. In medical school, we learn about tangible statistics- disproportionately high levels of mortality, violence, substance abuse, malnutrition, cardiovascular illnesses, HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. But it was only coming out here that I truly understood what those statistics meant. I think it is vital for medical trainees of all levels to experience working up North. This journey has impacted my view of our healthcare system, and it is something that I will carry with me throughout the entirety of my medical career.
Dr. Wong and I hope that we can use this study to identify targets for meaningful policy and practice-changing interventions to ultimately improve outcomes and provide guidance for funding priorities and system modifications at the governmental level.
I am proud to have been part of the McGill Trauma and Acute Care team. All the staff up North constantly spoke about Dr. Wong’s commitment to patient care and dedication to research. I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to work alongside such an inspiring physician."
Learn more about the McGill Global Health Scholars Undergraduate Program.
