Northwest Territories Medical Association
nwtmda@gmail.com
September 22, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Yellowknife hosts ‘PEER North’ an inaugural medical conference for northern healthcare providers.
(Yellowknife, NT) PEER North, an inaugural medical conference for northern healthcare providers, will be hosted in Yellowknife this weekend. The Northwest Territories Medical Association (NWTMA) along with partners, Practice NWT and PEER; Patients, Experience, Evidence, Research, are expecting more than 100 physicians, nurses, medical learners and other allied healthcare providers to attend.
This northern educational event will be free from industry bias, and will provide a culturally relevant forum for connecting and strengthening relationships among Northern healthcare providers. We will focus on current, evidence-based, primary-care topics of interest from the unique perspective of Northern medical practice.
After years of communications with other leaders in Northern healthcare, the Northwest Territories Medical Association identified a need for greater collaboration to share experiences and knowledge unique to Northern practice.
“We are thrilled to see this event take shape and we couldn’t be more excited to host so many northern physicians, nurses and other healthcare providers. This is a wonderful opportunity to share medical knowledge, but it is also a chance to show the strength of our medical community and share what it is we love about practicing in the North” says Dr. Katherine Breen, executive member of the NWTMA and conference planning committee member.
Beginning on Friday, September 23, the conference will launch with a Medicine Walk guided by indigenous leaders Lila Fraser Erasmus, Felix Lockhart and Rassi Nashalik. Spending some time on the land with these Elders and knowledge keepers will provide the group with a glimpse into alternate ways of knowing and communicating. Following the medicine walk the conference will include evidence-based presentations on a wide range of northern healthcare topics. From updates around Emergency Care at Community Health Centres, to virtual healthcare, diabetes management, and treatment of alcohol use disorder, this conference will host speakers from all three Territories, as well as northern Alberta and British Columbia.
With plans already underway for a second annual conference to be held next year in Yellowknife, Dr. Breen says she hopes that PEER North will eventually travel to the Yukon and Nunavut. “I hope that this forum continues to provide an opportunity to connect with other physicians and healthcare providers. Many of us are passionate about sharing our knowledge and experiences and we know that doing so helps improve the care we provide to patients.”
For more information please visit our website:
https://peernorth.ca or contact: Dr. Katherine Breen (506)457-8655, nwtmda@gmail.com
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Northwest Territories Medical Association (NWTMA)
