Now in its fourth year, a unique partnership between Lindsay Collegiate and Vocational Institute (LCVI) and Ross Memorial Hospital (RMH) is providing local students with an immersive, hands-on look into the healthcare sector.
The health and wellness program, which runs during semester one each school year, is one of the school’s Dual Credit Specialist High Skills Majors (SHSM) programs, blending traditional classroom learning with real-world hospital experiences to help students determine their future career paths. Additionally, it shows students that a hospital is made up of a wide variety of vital professions beyond just doctors and nurses.
The 2025-2026 class took place in the fall, and had 18 students enrolled. Each week the class is exposed to different departments in the hospital, meeting with healthcare professionals who present to students and take them through hands-on activities to give a sense of what the department is responsible for and does on a day-to-day basis. Following these interactive lessons, students were given a case study with questions to look into. They would then return and conduct research, preparing a presentation on their findings to present to the healthcare professional the following week.
“One of the best parts of the course is that the presentations are completely student-lead and are done in many interesting and engaging ways. RMH staff have commented on how much they enjoy the creativity and engagement of the students after presentations,” expressed LCVI health and wellness teacher, Warren Graves. “Some examples of their presentations were a Doc McPuppet show on Obstetrics, a Magic School Bus video on Heart Block, and the Medical Device Reprocessing Department rap performed live by the students.”
Student Ella Wilson said her favourite case study was the Intensive Care Unit, “I found learning about different types of heart blocks and how to read an electrocardiogram very interesting.”
Each semester ends with a roundtable discussion involving the students sharing with their peers and RMH staff about how the program has impacted them and what their future plans are.
Out of the 18 students who completed the program, 15 are already committed to entering healthcare-related fields in college or university this coming September. For many, the experience has reassured them of their chosen career path.
Student Faith Duran said her biggest takeaway was, “hearing directly from professionals gave me a real sense of what their work looks like day to day, including both the challenges and rewards, and how they work with people from different departments.”
“This program is unlike any other I have taught after 25 years in education,” said Graves. “The staff at RMH are incredible to work with and the students and I have learned so much this past fall.”
