Advertisement 1

U of T Med students spend week at NGH

Article content

Four students from the University of Toronto’s Medical School got a first hand look at rural medicine by spending a week at Norfolk General Hospital.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

“We spent the week shadowing a bunch of different doctors, and understanding what rural medicine is like and the comprehensive care that’s practised out here,” said Matt McGarr. “It’s very appealing to me, coming from a larger city.”

McGarr was joined in Simcoe by fellow students Gianluca Sampieri, Sabrina Yeung and Tiffany Got.

Article content

Norfolk General Hospital has been involved in this Rural Medicine Week with U of T for about 10 years. The week is a means of connecting the students to hospitals outside of the city.

The students each spent a day of the week shadowing a doctor in anaesthesia, internal medicine, family medicine, ophthalmology, and a hospitalist.

“I really enjoyed shadowing family medicine. Personally, I’d like to go into family medicine,” said McGarr.

Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

McGarr said he enjoyed seeing that family doctors also have other specializations, which is appealing to him.

“One highlight for me was while I was shadowing the ophthalmologist, I’ve never shadowed an ophthalmologist before and I’ve never got to see the surgeries done on the eyes,” said Got. “It’s very delicate and takes a high degree of skill. It was just amazing to watch that.”

The students participated in workshops  including intubating, putting in IVs, suturing, and putting on casts.

On Friday the four medical students met with Simcoe Composite School’s health sciences class to discuss post-secondary education in medical fields. The SCS students asked them questions about GPA, tuition, and choosing a school or program that is the right fit.

Advertisement 4
Story continues below
Article content

The high school students also participated in the casting clinic, where they learned how to put a cast over an injury.

After the work days were done the medical students were shown around Norfolk. They went to different restaurants in the area, including Erie Beach Hotel and 211 Main, and were able to try out stand up paddle boarding and zip lining.

“I’ve learned a lot about rural medicine, a lot about Norfolk General, and a lot about the communities of Port Dover and Simcoe,” said Sampieri. “I’ve learned a lot about what happens in a rural setting compared to a more academic setting that I’m used to at the University of Toronto. This is definitely a nice change of pace.”

Norfolk General Hospital has nearly 130 students come through its doors annually for different types of programs, co-ops, and internships.

astaylor@postmedia.com

Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Latest National Stories
    News Near Tillsonburg
      This Week in Flyers