TRURO, N.S. — Dr. Aruba Nurullah is excited about working in family medicine in the North Nova area. She’s one of six new family medicine residents beginning work this week.
“When you apply to Dalhousie family medicine you rank sites and I put this site as number one,” she said. “I did a rotation here in Truro and really liked it.”
Although all six residents will be working through the new North Nova Family Medicine Teaching Site in Truro, two will work with doctors in Truro, two will be in Amherst and two will be based in New Glasgow.
The physician who will act as an instructor for Nurullah is Dr. Janneke Gradstein, of Amherst.
“The community helped me find a place to stay and my husband’s company created a position for him so that he could move with me,” she said.
Nurullah is from Victoria, but studied at Dalhousie University and has friends nearby, as well as a brother living in Halifax. She said she thinks she’d be happy to stay in the area if there is a position for her once she finishes her residency.
“Physicians are more likely to practise where they train - that’s why expanding these rural programs has been a priority,” said Dr. Nicole Boutilier, incoming vice president of medicine with the Nova Scotia Health Authority. “We appreciate the collaboration with our partners to make this a reality for northern communities.”
Residency training is a joint effort of the NS Department of Health and Wellness, Dalhousie Medical School and Nova Scotia Health Authority. Residents will spend two years in a family practice.
Dr. Jamie Grandy, the associate chief resident for the site, studied at Memorial University and said his introduction to this region has been warm and his plan for the future is to be a family physician in the Truro area.
The creation of the North Nova site brings the total number of Dalhousie Family Medicine teaching sites to five, training about 80 family medicine residents throughout the year.
-
Residents and the physicians they’ll be working with:
Dr. Jamie Grandy – Dr. Steve Ellis and Dr. Nina Makkar – Bible Hill and Truro
Dr. Michael Smith – Dr. Murray McCrossin – Amherst
Dr. Martika Rodgers – Dr. Aaron Smith – Westville and New Glasgow
Dr. Jillian Jung – Dr. Bradley MacDougall – Westville and New Glasgow
Dr. Matthew Lowe – Dr. Mashalla Masoumi-Ravandi - Truro
Dr. Aruba Nurulla – Dr. Janneke Gradstein – Amherst
Discover More
- Atlantic Canada needs more doctors: Where are they?
- Gender, race and finances all factor in the search for a doctor in Atlantic Canada
- As Atlantic communities struggle to fill vacant clinics, doctors point to possible solutions
- Doctor shortage - connecting the dots and seeking solutions for Atlantic Canada
