Two communities are about to host a camp designed to drum up interest among young people about pursuing a health care career in small, rural communities.
Students from Grey-Bruce high schools are taking part in the MedQuest Health Careers Exploration Camp in Walkerton this week.
Walkerton Mequest Chair Myrna Inglis says there was enough enthusiasm from students and the local community to expand to Owen Sound this year, where 18 students are taking part.
That camp runs the following week.
Allison Whyte looks after recruitment at Grey-Bruce Health Services.
She says the students come from all over the western and northern parts of Grey Bruce, including Owen Sound, Wiarton, Markdale, and Meaford.
For the Walkerton camp where 30 students are signed up, Inglis says there are five students from Kincardine District Secondary School, 6 from Walkerton District Secondary School, 14 from Sacred Heart in Walkerton, two each from Chesley and John Diefenbaker Secondary in Hanover, and one home-schooled student.
86 applications were received for spots in Medquest.
During the week-long camp, the students will learn how to look for vital signs and do sutures on patients, take part in a mock obstetrics session, and participate in a mock disaster in Kincardine.
MedQuest is run by the Southwestern Ontario Medical Education Network and is led by medical students at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario.