Professional Life
Your Medical Team…
In Chatham-Kent, you will be part of a community-wide team of medical professionals who give their all to provide the best patient-centred care:
- Family Health Teams
- Community Health Centres
- Full-service Hospital
- Hospice
- Withdrawal Management Unit
- Long-Term Care Residences
- Specialists
- Health system partners
- Children’s Treatment Centre
- Canadian Mental Health Association
- Chatham Public Health
- Chatham-Kent Ontario Health Team
You can work in a team setting
Family physicians have the opportunity to provide comprehensive care in interprofessional, team-based settings, including special interests. Family Health Teams and Community Health Centres also offer Family Physicians a back-up service so you can vacation, take advantage of continuing education and have more flexible work-life schedules.
You have the option to provide inpatient care
Family Physicians can choose whether or not to provide care for patients in hospital.
You will enjoy having easy access to health consultants, both locally and regionally
Servicing the community is Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, a 200-bed community hospital that serves the residents of Chatham and Rural Kent, including Walpole Island and Delaware First Nations. CKHA delivers quality and safe care at its two sites – in Chatham and Wallaceburg.
Chatham-Kent Family Physicians also utilize a full range of health care consultants and community services to provide the highest quality, comprehensive care to their patients.
You can do it all!
Teaching Opportunities
Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry – Distributed Medical Education partners with over 60 communities located throughout Southwestern Ontario that offer rural and regional education training opportunities to undergraduate and postgraduate learners.
Chatham-Kent is one of Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry health partners (distributed site).
Pre-clerkship Students – Years 1 & 2
Pre-clerkship summer electives assist medical students in developing their clinical knowledge and practicing their skills in clinical settings with family physicians and inter-professional healthcare providers in a community-based setting.
Summer research electives for undergraduate medical students to participate in summer research projects/electives on topics of interest to rural physicians in Southwestern Ontario.
Clerkship and Elective Students – Years 3 & 4
Year 3 Clerkship – Undergraduate medical students must complete a minimum of 4 weeks in a clinical training in a community outside of London or Windsor. Students participate in community-based practices for core clerkship rotations to gain an appreciation of the scope of community-based medicine in Family Medicine, OBGYN, Paediatrics, and Psychiatry while developing their clinical skills and knowledge.
Year 4 Electives – During 4th year, all students arrange electives to provide opportunities for in-depth study in areas of special interest. These electives encourage students to explore residency options and career interests in rural and regional healthcare.
Postgraduate
Core and Elective Rotations – These rotations provide an opportunity for residents to experience learning, living and working in Southwestern Ontario.
Chatham-Kent Family Medicine Residency Program
We are a teaching site for the Family Medicine Residency Program at Western University, Schulich School of Medicine. This is a program designed by a community of family physicians with the practice goal of comprehensive family medicine in mind. Each year we accept 3 family medicine residents to live and train in our community.
The curriculum in Chatham-Kent is a hybrid curriculum that combines a rotation-based curriculum in PGY1 and a horizontal curriculum in PGY2. This design is to allow residents to optimally experience being a family physician in their PGY2 year where they will comprehensively care for their own practice while allowing for continued enrichment experiences via longitudinal electives.
Chatham-Kent’s Family Medicine Resident Training Program Preceptorship
“Through teaching residents and students, you will be able to grow and shape the future of your profession and community.”
Dr. David Huffman, Program Director/Site Director Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
You will enrich your practice by training Family Medicine Residents in:
- Patient in-office and in-hospital care (acute, chronic, surgical, palliative, ICU, paediatrics)
- Hospitalist care for patients without family doctors
- Nursing home care
- Emergency Room shifts
- House calls
- Intrapartum obstetrics
- OR assists and Ambulatory Care minor surgical procedures
- Time spent with allied health professionals, family physicians with special interests and specialists
Happy Students
