Veterinary students join pilot project in Nunavik

Last November, he and Evan Galpin-Lebreau, a general intern in companion animal practice at the CHUV, visited the Kuujjuaq clinic, the first-ever for animals in Northern Quebec, erected at the municipality's request with support from the Quebec government's Société du Plan Nord.

Backed by research published by faculty physicians André Ravel and Cécile Aenishaenslin, the clinic provides basic veterinary services for animals, mostly pet dogs, living in the local community.

"No veterinary services were available in Kuujjuaq even though there were new facilities available and the community urgently needed preventative and curative care for their pets," said Martin.

During their 10-day stay in Kuujjuaq, Martin and Galpin-Lebreau installed and calibrated the clinic's as-yet unused equipment. They also made sure the facility had enough supplies to operate effectively.

Once that was done, they completed approximately 60 consultations, mainly in preventive medicine, and performed more than 20 surgeries. Northern dogs accounted for 80 per cent of the cases they saw.

The general interns heading to Kuujjuaq will have "a unique opportunity to show initiative, test their clinical acumen and gain new skills in managing a clinic independently," said Martin.

They’ll have a chance to discover the region's breathtaking landscape and meet the exceptional people who live on this land, but they'll also face the challenge of running a clinic, he added.

"Even though they'll get valuable support from a team of volunteers, the veterinarians will be on their own to manage the patients and the clinic, which has no technicians or pharmacist on staff."

Although the clinic also lacks medical imaging or ultrasound equipment, it does have an anaesthesia machine, a blood analyzer and other basic equipment.

"Being resourceful will be key," said Martin, as the interns "may sometimes need to look for alternatives. But with remote support from the team at the CHUV, they'll be able to offer care that simply wasn't possible before."

While  planning the clinic's logistics was quite challenging, the physicians remain optimistic. "The community seemed happy with our services and our general interns are sure to find this initiative very gratifying," said Galpin-Lebreau.