A group of medical students from Western University have become temporary residents of Chatham-Kent and staff members at Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA).
From June 2 to June 5, the first-year students are taking part in Discovery Week 2025.
The Discovery Week program has been going on for 27 years. It sees students from Western's Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry enter into one-week placements in health-care settings across Southwestern Ontario. This year, more than 190 Western students have been placed in more than 30 participating communities, from Windsor to Owen Sound.
"Immersive placements like this give future physicians a real sense of what it’s like to live and practice in our community," said Dr. Zeke Milkovic, Acting Chief of Staff CKHA.
During their placements at CKHA, the students are exposed to teamwork and collaboration within a non-urban setting, but Milkovic noted that the experience is about more than just work.
"It's more than just clinical experience," he said. "It's about building connections, understanding the local culture, and seeing firsthand how rewarding it can be to care for the people who live here."
Assistant Dean of Distributed Education at Schulich Medicine and Dentistry Dr. Victor Ng shared that Discovery Week helps students develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for rural regional medicine and health-care providers.
"Together, we're training and inspiring a cohort of physicians who are eager and prepared to practice in small and mid-sized communities across Ontario," he added. "Many return to practice in the communities they trained in."