Cambrian College doctors offer on-campus health care, learning

Morning North5:31College Clinic helps students and the community

A medical clinic at Cambrian College in Sudbury is helping both students and the community, accepting patients beyond the student body. It's home to three doctors. The CBC's Martha Dillman dropped by the clinic to find out more about it.Three recent graduates from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine have set up a new practice at Sudbury’s Cambrian College.

The doctors take patients from the community, and also provide medical services to students on campus.

Dan Draper, the school's dean of health sciences, said it's beneficial on many levels. Health sciences students can now get placements on campus.

"This provides for my health science students a learning opportunity,” he said.

“We have student placements on site, so, we've got the clinical experience for them to enjoy on campus."

This unique model means there is always a physician on site, Draper added. 

Before, doctors would have to split their time between their own practice and working at the school.

This way, the school takes care of the administrative work and the doctors can focus on the patients.

"We do a lot of the work, other than the delivery of medicine, so it frees our physicians to do what they do best, which is practice medicine,” he said.

On of the doctors, Sean Sullivan, said he always wanted to set up his practice in Sudbury — but he didn't expect to it be on a college campus. So far, he likes the set-up.

"A lot of our older patients get a bit of a kick out of it. I've heard a few jokes about going back to school. So it's kind of neat,” Sullivan said.

“For the students, they get a kick out of the different types of people that are walking through the college."

The clinic is still accepting patients, and Sullivan said the best way to get in is to contact Health Care Connect.