It’s Discovery Week at Erie Shores HealthCare and about 20 students from Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University have been busy learning about life in a community hospital.
Some of the students are from the Greater Toronto Area, while others come from cities and towns across the province.
Two groups of 10 first-year medical students will each spend a week at the local hospital and also enjoy the surrounding area and sample local cuisine while they are here. One who did not travel as far is Will Berecz of Tecumseh, who said the week spent in Leamington is well worth it.
“I’m super excited to have the opportunity to learn in a rural centre,” he said. “It’s nice to be outside of those big shiny institutions and learn some of the finer points of medicine. I can say I’ve experienced three of the top five experiences in my life in this one year of medicine.”
Berecz says he’s ready for any challenge or assignment thrown his way and looks forward to learning all over the province. Although he’s partial to the fast-paced environments like an emergency department, he’s also got an interest in vascular surgery.
“Healthcare in a community hospital doesn’t always look the same as an experience in a larger acute care centre,” said Dr. Kenneth Ogah, Chief of Staff of Erie ShoresHealthCare. “Having the opportunity to show these future physicians what it’s like to work in a smaller centre is a significant benefit for both our hospital and the Essex County community.”
A total of 190 students from Schulich are placed in 30 hospitals across the province for Discovery Week.
The students here took turns shadowing doctors and learning about the hands-on care at the smaller hospitals and how it’s making a difference in people’s lives. On Tuesday, May 26, the students met in the cafeteria to practice and learn certain techniques. They were split into four groups, with hands-on learning on suturing, intubation, birthing and ultrasound-assisted biopsies.
