Our medical doctor Year 3 students return to clerkship on May 25, a date we arrived at working together with the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

That is coming up very quickly and—just as with our shift to learning remotely and stepping away from undergraduate clinical rotations in March—the efforts to coordinate and support this transition again show the dedication and stellar capabilities of our team. Thank you to all those students, staff, faculty and academic leaders, as well as our partners in the health system, who are working to make this happen!

Before we had a date, we had two working groups, one composed of learners, the other of staff and academic leaders, develop proposals for what this return could look like. Their work was exceptional, and positioned us well for the work that’s now been done by our clerkship committee on a clinical rotation plan that will enable our current Year 3 students to complete years 3 and 4 of their degrees for a June 2021 graduation and July 1, 2021, residency start date.

For our clerks and those working in the health system, as you know, much has been done in Saskatchewan’s health system already to address safety in the delivery of care in light of COVID-19, and our college will also be working with our learners, the health authority and other health system partners to align with safety measures for a safe learning environment and an excellent clinical learning experience. As with all areas of life right now, the return to clerkship is not a “return to normal,” but a return to the new normal since the pandemic became part of our daily reality.

As well, our undergraduate and student affairs offices will be working closely with our clerkship students to support their return and help address individual circumstances.

One of our college’s biggest commitments to our learners and our province is this continuous progression of learners through our undergraduate and postgraduate medical doctor programs every year. Keeping these physicians of the future moving through the ranks of undergraduate students, then residents, and ultimately licensed physicians, ensures we can support patient care and the health system today and tomorrow. It is certainly no less important in a COVID-19 world; I think most would agree that it is more important.

With that in mind, I can’t stress enough the need for our medical faculty around the province to be involved as teachers. We need you to take learners into your practices and clinics. Our students today are your physician colleagues of the future.

Finally, I just want to reiterate how impressed I am by our students, staff, academic leaders and faculty in these extraordinary and difficult times. I am thankful for your diligence and responsiveness, and incredibly proud of the resilience and excellence of our team here at the CoM.