About our Staff

Nursing Staff

The six nurses in the clinic provide services focused on pre-travel health. These Registered Nurses require a minimum of 4 years, recent public health nursing experience in order to practice in this clinic, and are required to have their university degree in nursing. They are orientated to this specialized service of travel health, by an intense 6-week orientation followed by ongoing on-site education and peer learning. 

Competence is achieved over a 6-12 week period of time. They are required to perform certain physician-delegated functions. Maintenance of competence is achieved through ongoing practice in travel health, yearly attendance at travel health conferences as well as monthly meetings with the medical director of the clinic. All six current nursing staff members have attained their Certificate in Travel Health™, and any newly hired nurses will be expected to receive this certificate in the future.

Medical Staff

The doctors in the clinic provide services to our post travel clients, who may be returning ill from their travels. They are Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Specialists, and their professional qualifications include:

• Licentiates of the Medical Council of Canada;
• Registered Members of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba;
• Fellows of Internal Medicine or Medical Microbiology through the Royal College of Physicians of Canada;
• Certificates of Special Competence in Infectious Diseases through the Royal College of Physicians of Canada;
• Associate Professors in the Department of Medical Microbiology through the University of Manitoba;
• Medical Director, Cadham Provincial Public Health Laboratory
  Chair of the Committee to Advise on Tropical Medicine and Travel (CATMAT) of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Staff Members Certified in Travel Health™

All six nursing staff have successfully received their Certificate in Travel Health™ through the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM); three at the inaugural exam in New York, and the remaining three most recently in Vancouver, British Columbia.

On May 7, 2003 in New York City, the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) hosted its first-ever Certificate of Knowledge in Travel Medicine International Examination.  This examination established the first internationally recognized credentials in travel medicine which promotes professional development; enhances quality of patient care; establishes internationally recognized standards of knowledge; and recognizes, in a formal manner, individuals who meet the ISTM standards of excellence in travellers’ health.  This exam is open to all qualified travel medicine practitioners, and is comprised of 200 multiple-choice questions, based on a standardized Body of Knowledge for the Practice of Travel Medicine.  The Body of Knowledge was developed by ISTM to help establish standards for the practice of this rapidly growing sub-specialty.  The successful passing of this exam proves these practitioners have an expertise in the profession and a solid knowledge of travel medicine. 

Since 2003, close to 1200 travel health providers from around the world, including nurses, physicians, pharmacists and physician assistants have written this exam in hopes of receiving their Certificate in Travel Health™, with around a 70% success rate.

Most recently, twenty-one individuals from the province of Manitoba sat for the exam in Vancouver, British Columbia on May 25, 2007.  Complete results are still pending.

French Language Services

We are officially designated a bilingual service, by the WRHA French Language Services, whereby the French-speaking population is able to access comparable services in both official languages.  An active offer of French is made available which ensures services are available, accessible, publicized and comparable in quality to any service in English.

When calling to book your appointment, or when seeing the nurse in the pre-travel clinic or the doctor in the post travel clinic, French services are available, and actively offered.

Client Satisfaction Survey Results

A process has been established to measure the degree of client satisfaction with the services that have been provided at the WRHA Travel Health & Tropical Medicine Services.  The intent of this survey is to gather information on the client’s own personal experience and opinion of the care they received, as determined by a series of questions. 

The analysis of the client satisfaction survey results is available for the following years:

2003/2004

2004/2005