main hospital building at night

Newsroom

A New School Year Begins at CCH

2024-09-21

As the air cools, leaves change colour, and days grow shorter, school buses return to our roads, signaling the start of a new school year. Traditional classrooms are not the only places welcoming students this fall.

Cornwall Community Hospital (CCH) is a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Ottawa, Queen’s University, St. Lawrence College, Nipissing University, and Algonquin College. Each year, we welcome over 200 students from these institutions, offering them the opportunity to learn and gain hands-on experience under the guidance and supervision of our regulated staff.

These students come from programs such as Nursing (BScN), Practical Nursing, Personal Support Work, and Paramedicine, as well as those completing internships and co-op placements in non-clinical areas. This practical experience provides the opportunity to learn directly in a hospital setting while contributing to patient care.

Our university and college partnerships help keep CCH at the forefront of evidence-based practices, medical advancements, and health research. Educating and training the next generation of healthcare professionals is essential to our mission of collaborating to deliver exceptional, people-centred care, and aligns with our strategic priority to engage and cultivate a high-performing team.

At CCH, students and post-graduate trainees are valued members of our healthcare team, learning and providing care alongside our experienced and skilled professionals. If you are a patient at CCH, students may be involved in your care, but your attending physician or a hospital staff member remains fully responsible for your treatment and care at all times. Our team-based approach to education ensures that you receive high-quality care from a dedicated and well-supported group.

CCH also offers a Clinical Extern program, where students work part-time at CCH outside of their regular academic requirements under the supervision of registered staff. We recently welcomed 15 new externs, providing them with additional opportunities to gain experience while studying. The program strengthens our pipeline of future healthcare professionals, many of whom may join CCH as full-time staff after graduation.

Physician shortages are a national issue, especially in smaller communities like ours. CCH welcomes dozens of medical residents (doctors in training) each year from Queen’s University and the University of Ottawa for rotations lasting 4 to 6 weeks in our obstetrical, emergency, medical, and surgical departments. We frequently welcome medical residents from other universities as well, including residents from Cornwall who choose to come home and complete electives at CCH.

A unique feature for a community hospital of our size, CCH is home to numerous preceptors (experienced physicians who mentor and supervise medical residents), helping bridge the gap between theoretical learning and clinical practice. We often hear from medical residents who complete their training or electives at CCH that they benefited from a more personalized, hands-on experience with their preceptors compared to a larger hospital in a big city, where a single preceptor may be responsible for mentoring several residents at once.

With students back on site, the hospital hallways are certainly busier than a few weeks ago. It’s exciting to see the next generation of healthcare professionals learning here at CCH, and we wish them great success in their studies and careers. We hope that through their experiences at CCH, many will choose to make this hospital their home once they complete their studies and training.