National Indigenous Peoples Month

Dr. Richard Martin, Assistant Dean of the Northern Alberta Medial Program and Paulette Dahlseide, Program Lead of the Wâpanachakos Indigenous Health Program, were honoured to deliver the keynote address at the Indigenous Peoples Month Opening Ceremonies held at the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital on June 3. We are deeply appreciative of the opportunity to talk about the important work happening within both programs.

Meet the Team

The opening of the Northern Alberta Medical Program is a dream come true and I am very excited to be helping recruit, train, and retain the next generation of rural doctors to do this much-needed, challenging and rewarding work!

Dr. Rob Greidanus, Admissions Lead

Make an impact, teach for NAMP

Inspire the next generation of physicians by teaching in the University of Alberta’s MD Program, an innovative medical school dedicated to training diverse, competent and compassionate physician leaders to serve the health needs of all Albertans. Share your expertise, shape future healthcare leaders, and make a lasting impact where it’s needed most!

Teach in the MD Program

Patient Mentors Wanted – Join the Patient Immersion Experience

This fall, the Northern Alberta Medical Program (NAMP) in Grande Prairie will launch the Patient Immersion Experience (PIE) with its first cohort of medical students. PIE is a unique opportunity for volunteer patient mentors to help shape the education of future doctors.

NAMP is seeking local individuals who have experience living with illness or disability, connect regularly to healthcare, and are open to sharing their stories. Patient mentors will be matched with a pair of first-year medical students for three visits over the academic year. During each meeting, students will guide the conversation with questions about their mentor’s medical journey.

Mentors must live within 40 km of the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital.

Mentor insights help students better understand the patient perspective. To learn more, please complete a volunteer interest form. 

NAMP extends a warm thank you to all who express interest. While we welcome every submission, participation depends on student matching and program capacity.

Questions? Contact NAMPcse@ualberta.ca

NAMP Opportunities 

The Northern Alberta Medical Program has a number of exciting opportunities for faculty, administrative support staff and preceptors! 

Faculty Positions 

Administrative Positions 

Teaching Opportunities

Feature Story: Wâpanachakos Indigenous Health Program

By Wayne Clark, Director

The Wâpanachakos Indigenous Health Program at the University of Alberta is advancing a bold and necessary transformation in medical education by centring Indigenous leadership, knowledge systems, and community priorities. As we approach the 150th anniversary of Treaty No. 6 in 2026, Wâpanachakos plays a critical role in fulfilling the treaty’s original spirit and commitments, especially the promise of healthcare embedded in the “medicine chest clause.” Rooted in this legacy, the program is redefining how future physicians are trained, ensuring that Indigenous health is not a peripheral topic but a foundational element of medical education. Through its comprehensive work in curriculum development, community engagement and distinction-based recruitment, Wâpanachakos lays the groundwork for reconciliation in healthcare.

The Northern Alberta Medical Program (NAMP) emerges as the next frontier in this effort, providing a vital opportunity to extend the Wâpanachakos vision into regional and rural contexts. NAMP’s location in northern Alberta offers a unique vantage point to deliver culturally safe and community-informed physician training that reflects the lived realities of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities. Supported by the leadership and frameworks developed by Wâpanachakos, NAMP can embed distinctions-based pathways, land-based learning, and Indigenous-led curriculum into its structure, making it a transformative model for rural medical education.

The legacy of colonial health systems in Canada, particularly those that segregated Indigenous patients and eroded trust, underscores the need for this shift. Programs like Wâpanachakos and NAMP provide the foundation to rebuild relationships through education that affirms Indigenous sovereignty and promotes equity in health outcomes. At the core of this work is a commitment to training Indigenous and non-Indigenous physicians who can support self-determined approaches to care, uphold treaty responsibilities, and engage meaningfully with Indigenous knowledge and healing practices.

Wâpanachakos brings deep experience in working with Indigenous Elders, leaders, and communities to shape medical education that is relational, ethical and culturally grounded. Its collaboration with NAMP creates a powerful pathway to adapt these principles regionally, allowing for localized teaching, land-based experiences, and direct engagement with northern Indigenous communities. This approach enables medical students to develop a deeper understanding of the social, political and historical factors that influence Indigenous health.

Through this partnership, NAMP becomes a vehicle for embedding Wâpanachakos’ proven strategies into clinical training environments across the north. It strengthens the University of Alberta’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 24, which calls on all medical schools to integrate Indigenous health and the history of residential schools into their curriculum. Together, Wâpanachakos and NAMP offer a model for community-engaged education that is responsive, respectful and responsible.