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.