New residents Dr. Ovidiu Croitoru, Dr. Sarah Allard-Puscas and Dr. Claire Hermiston are seen with program lead Dr. Sean Groves and administrator Janice Skilliter. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

Health

La Ronge medical residency program proven to be valuable asset for recruitment

Jul 3, 2025 | 4:56 PM

Three new residents have joined the La Ronge Rural and Remote Residency Training Program as it marks 15 years in the community.

“I think the real key to a great residency program is having great medical students and residents join us to do their training, and we have always been really lucky in having excellent learners coming to join us,” said Dr. Sean Groves, who leads the program alongside administrator Janice Skilliter.

“I get to work with a lot of them now, and they are excellent physicians. I think the last 15 years, if it has taught me anything, is the value of including people who are doing training in my practice. It helps me be a better physician, and I definitely feel like I get the chance to contribute to helping foster the development of the next generation of physicians in the province.”

The two-year training program is designed for those who have completed four years of medical school and who are looking to specialize in a specific area of medicine. The three new residents are Dr. Ovidiu Croitoru and Dr. Sarah Allard-Puscas, both from Montreal, and Dr. Claire Hermiston from Kearney, Ont. They are all part of the University of Saskatchewan’s Family Medicine Program.

Over the next six months or so, Groves explained the trio will spend time at the La Ronge Health Centre, as well as participate in fly out clinics and resident-led clinics in close by satellite communities. Generally, they will spend time doing what broad spectrum rural family doctors do on a daily basis.

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“We really try to give them a well-balanced approached to family medicine, so all of our residents when they start the program start with a generalist approach to medicine,” he remarked.

“They spend a little bit of time in Regina and it sets them up really well to compare and contrast what medicine in the city can look like in a more specialized practice versus what it looks like in a smaller community where we are asked to do a little bit of everything and take on lots of different roles as family doctors.”

All six program residents are pictured with Dr. Sean Groves and Janice Skilliter. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

Before coming to La Ronge, Croitoru completed medical school in Ireland, along with electives throughout Canada. He has studied rural family medicine in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Quebec and Yukon Territory.

“La Ronge is known for its very good training program,” Croitoru noted.

“I wanted to get into a program that would offer me the program that I seek of challenging medicine, but where I could also find an amazing outdoor lifestyle so I can blend both of these things together and La Ronge seemed like the perfect place.”

Hermiston grew up in a small town in Northern Ontario and took medical school at Dalhousie in Halifax. She said she met some former resident doctors from La Ronge and they told her it was the place to go to learn rural medicine.

“I came to do an elective earlier this year and I really fell in love with the community,” Hermiston added.

“I think the medicine we get exposed to is very broad and will help prepare me for a career doing rural and remote medicine, and in particular practicing in Indigenous communities. I am really interested in learning more about traditional medicine.”

The La Ronge Rural and Remote Residency Training Program has proven to be a valuable asset when it comes to attracting doctors to the community. Many doctors who train in La Ronge decide to stay, including Dr. Mark Coles and Dr. Gol Roberts who are recent hires.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com