Med students experience the ‘frontlines’ at ESHC

Ten Western University students will spend a week placed at Erie Shores Healthcare as part of the school's 'Discovery Week'

Students on track to become Ontario’s physicians of tomorrow are spending time learning the ropes on the floors of Erie Shores HealthCare (ESHC).

First-year medical students from Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry began their introductory lesson on life in a rural healthcare setting this week.

Ten physicians-in-training, with the help of established professionals, learned how to suture, intubate, and scan on Tuesday afternoon.

For Tecumseh’s Will Berecz, it’s an exciting opportunity to show his classmates the strength of facilities in Windsor-Essex.

“It’s an awesome opportunity to go and learn in a more rural setting, get a better idea of what medicine looks like outside of the big fancy academic centers, and try to understand how do we kind of deal with and help our communities when we don’t have all the resources we need. We’re really on the frontlines,” Berecz told CTV News.

The opportunity at ESHC is part of the annual Discovery Week, where students can experience life in regional and rural communities in southwestern Ontario.

With potentially years of schooling to go, Berecz said he’s open to whatever opportunities lie ahead.

“I love being able to be somewhere where I can be in nature and have that sort of experience,” Berecz said. “I don’t know that a big city is for me, but I’d also love to spend some time in a big city to figure out whether or not it really is for me.”

In recent years, ESHC has seen significant improvements in recruitment and retention, according to Dr. Ken Ogah, the hospital’s chief of staff.

“Because we have something special to offer. We offer a work-life balance. I see that as unique and very difficult to replicate in any other part of Ontario,” Ogah told reporters.

Over their time in Leamington, Ogah said the goal is to highlight to students the different types of community care given in a small and tight-knit region.

Admitting many students will still choose to practice in large regions, Ogah believes there’s still a value in having the added experience from ESHC.

“We believe and we know that coming to the community hospital is an opportunity for us to show how you can take healthcare to those steps,” he added.

Once the students have completed their learning at the end of the week, a second group of first-year medical students will have a similar experience at the hospital.