Hanover and District Hospital is hosting eight medical students from Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario.
Hospital President and CEO Dana Howes explained the students are participating in Discovery Week.
"We want them to spend some time in our emergency department, as well as our acute care unit, obstetrics," Howes said. "And here, we do have a satellite dialysis, so they do get to get some exposure to that. In addition, we want them to learn about our community, learn about the rural aspect of our hospital, and what that means in the broader context of healthcare."
For the past 26 years, as part of Discovery Week, all first-year medical students have participated in immersive, one-week placements in health-care settings across Southwestern Ontario. Howes added the students are living and working in the community alongside local physicians, which allows the students to see themselves as integral members of the healthcare team.
"One of the things that we want the students to walk away with, is that rural health care is important that they play a vital role in the overall health care system delivery, and that we do important work here in rural Ontario for the healthcare system," stressed Howes.
Discovery Week began last week in Hanover, and continues this week. Schulich medical students Ishita, Arani, Vipra, Alina, Rokhshid, Carmine, Amrit, and Ahmed became temporary members of the Hanover community, giving them the opportunity to meet patients, experience the unique health-care systems and interact with colleagues getting at taste of what a day in the life of a local health-care provider looks like in Hanover.
"They have had a blast is what we're hearing they really enjoyed their learning experience, which is always great news," Howes said. "We have also tried to show them the rural aspects a you know of our surrounding areas."
"I think for a lot of the students, this is maybe their first exposure to really having some significant time in a rural setting," she continued. "Many opportunities for learning not just in their medical education, but beyond."
She pointed out Discovery Week placements expose medical students to the teamwork and collaboration undertaken within a rural or regional site
" I think this is a really important partnership for HDH to have with the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry because it's the hope that one day you know from this exposure, they will choose a rural community to launch their careers," she elaborated.
“After getting a taste of life and medicine in a rural or regional community through opportunities like Discovery Week, many Schulich medical students return to practice upon completion of their training,” confirmed Dr. Victor Ng, Assistant Dean, Distributed Education, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.
“We’re so grateful to collaborate with partners who welcome our medical students and give them unparalleled first-hand training experiences in their communities,” said Dr. Ng. “Working together, we’re creating a cohort of physicians who are ready, willing and able to care for people across Ontario in a variety of settings.”
During Discovery Week 2024, more than 170 Schulich Medicine students will be placed in 31participating communities from Owen Sound to Windsor-Essex and Woodstock to Lake Huron.
