First Northern Alberta Medical Program cohort begins their studies

On August 25, the first cohort of the Northern Alberta Medical Program (NAMP) got fitted into their white coats at their orientation.

NAMP is a program through the University of Alberta that places medical students in Grande Prairie and northern Alberta communities to complete their education. The Government of Alberta provides funding to the program as part of its effort to improve health care in northern communities and address the physician shortage.

A press release sent out on September 2 stated that increasing access to health care professionals in rural and northern communities is a priority for the government.

It also stated that “the new program in Grande Prairie is part of Alberta’s investment of about $376 million over four years to increase the number of graduates from Alberta’s medical schools.”

Myles McDougall, the minister of advanced education, said in the release that “the training centres in Grande Prairie and Lethbridge will give priority to rural applicants, host residencies, and offer clinics for the public, improving overall health care access in rural Alberta.”

The release said that once the program is fully operational, a total of 210 more seats province-wide, with 120 of those at the U of A.

“Hearing about [NAMP] opening was just a dream come true,” student says

As someone from Grande Prairie, Megan Hopkins is excited to continue her education in the community. Her background is as a pharmacist and she was working at the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital emergency room (ER) when she realized she wanted to further her education and practice.

“I really wanted to be a bit more involved and hands-on and get a bit more comprehensive education, as well as get to do a bit more comprehensive practice,” she explained.

“Hearing about [NAMP] opening was just a dream come true that I could train and fulfill those goals while also staying home in the communities that I love.”

Hopkins also mentioned that northern communities face a lot of challenges in accessing health care. One issue is the closure of health care centres multiple times a week due to a lack of physicians. 

Reporting by the Globe and Mail found that between 2021 and 2025, Alberta saw 82,281 hours of ER closures. Additionally, there were 32,242 hours in other disruptions.

“That is impacting people when the nearest health care centre [that’s open] is two hours away,” she said. 

“I truly believe that everyone in Alberta should have equal access to health care and unfortunately, right now, that’s not the case.”

But people getting exposed to northern communities and trained in the north is going to help fulfil some of those needs, Hopkins explained.

“[NAMP] allows them to see career opportunities and places they might never, ever have guessed,” Dr. Martin says

The Gateway spoke with Dr. Richard Martin, the assistant dean of NAMP and a family doctor in Grande Prairie. 

“We see this as giving back to the profession, but also growing our future colleagues who are going to come and join us, and replace us someday,” he said.

Dr. Martin said it’s a challenge to find people to come to small communities. While it’s not a requirement that students stay in the community after they complete their education, research shows that students who train in rural communities are more likely to continue their practice there after they graduate.

“In the spaces where students will be, they’ll get a chance to see that connection that doctors and nurses and paramedics and all of the health care providers have to their patients, the families, [and] the community,” Dr. Martin said. “[They’ll] figure out why it is that those people are so driven to be in their communities providing care, because they can see that connection and why it’s important.”

He said NAMP also allows for students to start their medical journey and complete it without ever having to be in Edmonton or Calgary. 

“So to be able to have experiences for students outside of Edmonton allows them to see career opportunities and places they might never, ever have guessed.”