Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) welcomed 12 post-secondary students this summer to conduct applied health research exploring a variety of vital issues affecting patient care and healthcare delivery in the region, all aimed at improving patient outcomes.
Among them was Elsa Salathiel, a third-year medical school student studying at University College Dublin in Ireland, who returned to her hometown of Barrie to explore how RVH’s unique skin cancer biopsy clinic might be improving patient care in rural and remote areas.
Melanoma, a serious and increasingly prevalent skin cancer, requires early detection and treatment to improve survival. Unfortunately, residents who live in rural and remote communities often experience significant delays in accessing basic healthcare services.
Elsa’s research focuses on whether rural and remote residents face longer wait times for melanoma surgery compared to those in urban areas, and whether RVH’s innovative regional skin cancer biopsy clinic has helped detect melanoma earlier among rural populations.
RVH’s clinic is the only one of its kind within the province. In 2021, Ontario Cancer Advisory Committee conducted a major review recommending that more hospitals across the province adopt programs like RVH’s to improve access to specialized skin cancer care. RVH was recognized for its ability to provide timely skin cancer diagnoses and connecting patients to teams of specialists. The clinic also serves as a valuable training site for family medicine residents, offering hands-on experience in diagnosing and treating skin cancers.
As the recipient of the 2024 Laura E. Crook Scholarship for Community Health Research, Elsa’s work builds on a commitment to understanding and addressing health inequities.
“Community-based research is all about finding meaningful information that has the potential to inform better resources and care for patients,” says Dr. Crook, the Scholarship’s namesake and retired long-time family physician with a strong passion for community-based research. “Developing homegrown medical professionals and researchers, like Elsa, who can help to identify inequities that lead innovative care solutions is the icing on the cake. I can’t wait to see what her work uncovers.”
The study’s findings may offer critical insights into the effectiveness of RVH’s biopsy clinic in reducing delays and improving treatment outcomes for patients across Simcoe Muskoka.
“Receiving this scholarship and being recognized by such a well-known and respected physician like Dr. Crook is an honour,” says Elsa. “It has been inspiring to apply my passion for medicine by participating in research that will have immediate impact right here in my very own community.”
If successful, it could serve as a model for expanding specialized services to meet the unique needs of rural communities across the province. By validating the clinic’s effectiveness, this research could help reduce healthcare disparities like ensuring rural patients receive the same timely, high-quality care as urban patients.
“It’s encouraging to see younger students so keenly interested in research,” said Dr. Renee Hanrahan, Chief of Surgery and RVH research supervisor. “This work is vital in helping us better understand how we can tailor healthcare interventions to improve access and outcomes for all patients, regardless of where they live.”
Applications for RVH’s 2025 Summer Student Research Program will open in January, continuing the hospital’s tradition of developing the next generation of clinical researchers.
