Real-Time Virtual Support is extending a warm welcome to Dr. Scot Mountain, who is joining the team as a new pathway lead.
The physician has Family Medicine, Internist and Intensivist experience in a rural setting, making him an ideal lead for this pathway.
The pathway has been named Rural Outreach in Critical Care and Internal Medicine (ROCCi). (Pronounced Rocky).
The hope is that the pathway will recruit both Intensivists and Internists so that providers in rural areas have a broader set of skills to draw from.
Meet Dr. Mountain
Dr. Mountain grew up in Grande Prairie, Alberta. After completing his medical training at UBC, he became a family physician. He spent time in both Chilliwack and Duncan.
He later pursued additional training in Internal Medicine and Critical Care. After working for a year in Richmond, Dr. Mountain moved to Trail. He has been ICU Director in the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital for 12 years.
In addition to his on-the-ground experience, Dr. Mountain, in 2018 and 2019, was involved with providing virtual support to rural providers via videoconference.
“The fulfilling nature of the work was off the charts. When we had the opportunity, it was huge, the value we could provide,” he recalls.
He said it was a great experience and showed him what could be done.
Dr. Mountain said with RTVS, he wanted to build on that. “I’m excited about trying to make it sustainable; I want to build something that really lasts,” Dr. Mountain said. “I guess that’s what really excites me is to take this potential and to take these underlying ideas … and figure out a way to make it stick and put a structure around it that keeps it there long-term.”
I’m excited about trying to make it sustainable; I want to build something that really lasts … that’s what really excites me is to take this potential and to take these underlying ideas … and figure out a way to make it stick and put a structure around it that keeps it there long-term.
Dr. Scot Mountain
Opportunities for Intensivists and Internists
While there is not yet a date for the pathway to go live, Dr. Mountain is hard at work laying the groundwork to build a strong pathway and a strong team.
Anyone who is interested in joining the pathway should be committed to RTVS’s “calling a friend” culture and either have rural connections or be interested in learning about rural medicine. Internists and Intensivists who are interested in speaking with Dr. Mountain about the opportunity to join ROCCi can send their details to [email protected].
To learn more about RTVS’s other instant access provider pathways, RUDi (Emergency), MaBAL (Maternity and Newborns) and CHARLiE (Pediatrics), visit the RCCbc RTVS pages.
Dr. John Pawlovich, the Rural Coordination Centre of BC’s Virtual Health Lead, said: “We are really excited to have Scot join the RTVS family. We know that he brings the energy, experience and enthusiasm needed to ensure this pathway becomes a valuable resource for rural, remote and Indigenous communities in 2022 and beyond.”