London, Ontario - "The Forest City"
Nestled between Toronto and Windsor, London is a city of about 350 000 residents. Big enough for great dining, an active nightlife, many parks, and excellent shopping, London also retains a more personal feel than some of its larger neighbours.
As tertiary-care centers, London's hospitals draw patients from all over Southwestern Ontario. University Hospital, Victoria Hospital, St Joseph's, and London Regional Mental Health are all easily accessible by bus, as is the Medical Sciences Building on campus. University hospital is located directly on campus (it is the big building on the far right in the picture) and has a huge array of academic medicine facilities.
Founded in 1878, The University of Western Ontario is one of Canada's oldest universities. A vibrant centre of learning, Western is home to approximately 3,500 full-time faculty and staff members and approximately 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Through its 12 Faculties, and three affiliated Colleges, the University offers more than 400 different majors, minors and specializations. Research is an integral part of the University's mission and external support for research projects exceeds $250 million per year. Western is located on 155 hectares of land along the banks of the Thames River.
For more information on London, Western, and the London hospital network check out:
Windsor, Ontario - The City of Roses
Windsor, Ontario, situated on the Detroit River, is the southernmost city in Canada with a population of 220,000. It is the final stop on the Windsor-Quebec City 401 corridor. The city is connected to Detroit, Michigan with the Ambassador Bridge, the busiest trade border crossing in the world.
The City of Roses, Windsor, boasts 3000 acres of green space with many beautiful gardens, including extensive riverfront park and trails such as the Ganatchio Trail, Dieppe Gardens and Jackson Park. Essex County bounded by Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River and Lake Erie offers many outdoor attractions, including Ojibway Nature Reserve in Lasalle, and Point Pelee National Park in Leamington. Due to its southern climate, Essex County is sprinkled with wineries, including the Pelee Island Winery, accessed via a ferry across Lake Erie.
Windsor and Essex County are brilliant gems of Canadian and American history. The city was first settled in 1749 mostly by French settlers, making it the oldest inhabited settlement west of Montreal. The first road in Ontario, now County Road 20, connected small settlements along Lake Erie from Windsor to Leamington over 200 years ago.Today, twenty percent of Windsorites are foreign-born. In fact, Windsor is the fourth largest multicultural centre in Canada. Famous for its Little Italy Erie Street dining experience, the city boasts a great palate of international cuisine, including Middle Eastern, European, and Asian cookery. Each year, Windsor hosts the Carousel of the Nations, which is two weeks of flavourful food and delightful entertainment from around the world.
Windsor has an extensive night life. Caesar’s Windsor Casino, newly opened in the Summer of 2008, sells out many top-notch entertainers such as Chris Rock, Celine Dion, and Ringo Starr. The city’s cultural scene includes the Art Gallery of Windsor, the University Players theatre group, the Windsor Symphony and many music cafes. With Detroit easily accessible via the Ambassador Bridge or Windsor-Detroit Tunnel, many Windsorites take advantage of the proximal shopping, theatres, concerts and sporting events.
Windsor has two hospitals: Windsor Regional Hospital and its three campuses, and Hotel-Dieu Grace. In Leamington, a rural centre 40 minutes from Windsor, Leamington District Memorial Hospital offers services to its residents.
The University of Windsor and St. Clair College are the area’s major post-secondary education institutions. The SWOMEN Windsor clerkship program was established in 2002. Since this time, some clerks from the University of Western Ontario spent either 6 months or 1 year in Windsor hospitals. This initiative was expanded, when in 2008 the Windsor program welcomed its first cohort that will complete their entire medical education in Windsor. The first Schulich Medicine Windsor Program class will graduate in 2012. Attending a smaller academic center provides many unique benefits and opportunities. There are less residents at Windsor hospitals which provides ample opportunities to gain valuable experiences with additional responsibilities which are assets when completing electives. In having such a small class, it is also much easier to get to know everyone and organize well-attended class events.
