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In Canmore, family physician Dr. Emma Morin is doing more than caring for patients. She is helping train the next generation of rural doctors in the same community where her own journey began. 

A member of the 91做厙輦⑹���s ) class of 2011, Morin, MD, PGME, credits her early training experience with shaping not only the kind of physician she would become, but also where she would choose to practise. 

���Some of the patients that I saw as a student, I still know them now,��� says Morin. ���That continuity of care and those relationships really stayed with me.���  

Fifteen years later, Morin is a family physician and hospitalist, as well as a UCLIC preceptor ��� a practising physician who teaches medical learners in clinical settings ��� and UCLIC's newly appointed assistant director, guiding learners through the same rural-focused clerkship that launched her career. 

A different model of medical training 

UCLIC, part of the 's , places medical students in rural and regional communities for an immersive, eight-month clerkship. The program is grounded in social accountability, with a goal of addressing health-care needs in underserved communities across Alberta.  

UCLIC launched in 2007 and since then, the program has been steadily expanding, and now serves 15 rural and regional communities across Alberta. 

Unlike traditional, block-based clerkships that rotate students through short stints in different specialties, UCLIC follows a ���longitudinal model,��� allowing learners to experience multiple areas of medicine over time in a single community. 

���Instead of doing four weeks in one specialty at a time, students learn multiple areas all at once over several months in the same community, with the same patients and preceptors,��� says Morin. 

This model fosters continuity, not only in clinical exposure, but also in relationships. Students follow patients through different stages of care and build sustained connections with their mentors and community. 

Why rural settings make a difference 

For Morin, rural and regional communities offer a unique learning environment that is difficult to replicate in an urban setting. In urban centres, there are many medical learners competing for the most interesting cases and learning opportunities. Students in rural and regional communities don���t face this competition.  

���They���re often one of only a couple of learners, so they get to be hands-on and involved in a much broader range of cases,��� Morin says. 

From emergency medicine to obstetrics, learners are exposed to the full scope of rural generalist practice, often within a single day, while gaining a deeper understanding of patients��� lived experiences. This helps build confidence, clinical judgment and independence before students even enter residency. 

���Learners are able to see patients repeatedly and in multiple settings, which helps them understand the full patient journey,��� Morin says.  

A full-circle journey: student to mentor to leader 

Morin���s own experience in UCLIC played a defining role in her decision to return to Canmore to build her career. 

���My rural medical training showed me what kind of physician I wanted to become,��� she says. ���I have added new skills over time based on what my community needs, to support my patients better.���  

Shortly after completing her family medicine residency in Calgary in 2011, Morin took on a preceptor role in the UCLIC program and has been teaching ever since. 

���I met all of my most valued mentors through UCLIC, so it felt natural to stay involved as a preceptor,��� she says. 

Now, as assistant director, Morin brings a unique perspective shaped by every stage of the program, from learner and educator to leader. 

���I hope to remember what it was like as a new learner coming into a community,��� she says. ���The personal connections between students, preceptors and communities are key to a successful program.��� 

Strengthening communities through education 

Programs like UCLIC are not only transforming medical education, they are helping address physician shortages in rural and regional Alberta. Approximately 68 per cent of UCLIC graduates go on to practice in rural or regional communities, with 78 per cent practising family medicine. 

Morin has seen this impact first-hand. 

���It���s important for communities to be actively involved in training, because it helps students see what these communities need and how desirable they are to live and work in,��� she says. 

At the same time, having learners in the community benefits patients and health-care teams, alike. 

���They bring enthusiasm, new knowledge and [have] more time to spend with patients,��� Morin says. ���And many of them come back later as physicians.��� 

Looking ahead 

As rural communities across Canada continue to face health-care challenges, Morin says programs like UCLIC offer an important pathway forward, not only by training physicians, but by inspiring them to stay. 

���What gives me hope is the people involved; the students, the preceptors, the advocates,��� she says. ���There are so many passionate individuals working to strengthen rural health care.���  

Morin���s journey serves as an example of how rural health care is not just about service delivery; it is also about leadership, relationships, mentorship and community connection.