Discovery Week

Discovery Week 25 Years

Discovery Week 2024 Dates

Week One: Monday, May 27 - Friday, May 31, 2024
Week Two: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 7, 2024

Download the presentation from January 8 Information Session

Discovery Week Student Participation Form

The Discovery Week Student Participation form will open on January 8, 2024, and will close on January 31, 2024.

Discovery Week is for first-year medicine students. The last day of class is scheduled for June 7, 2024, and students are expected to be available up until this date. If you have a specific date-related accommodation or absence during Discovery Week due to health/compassionate or other reasons, please submit your request via the Schulich Hub for consideration no later than January 31, 2024. Please identify the week that you do not wish to be assigned and provide sufficient detail to allow a decision to be made. Please note that flex days cannot be used for Discovery Week.  For all other accommodation requests that do not pertain to a specific week assignment but are related to health or compassionate circumstances, please feel free to connect with the Learner Experience Office.

About Discovery Week

Discovery Week is a mandatory one-week placement at the end of the first year for all undergraduate medical students at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Learners are placed in more than 60 rural and regional communities in Southwestern Ontario.

Students will have the opportunity to:

  • shadow physicians and healthcare professionals and learn what their typical workday encompasses
  • networking with the various healthcare teams
  • experience rural and regional living in communities throughout Southwestern Ontario
  • Students please visit the Discovery Week Elentra Page for updates.

Discovery Week Goals

Introduce all undergraduate medical students at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry to the opportunities and challenges of living and working in a rural or regional community. Involve students in first-hand inpatient care in rural regional settings while developing an understanding and appreciation for rural regional medicine and health care providers. The long-term goal is to inspire students to practice in small and mid-sized communities in Southwestern Ontario upon completion of their medical training.

Discovery Week Objectives

Every placement is unique. These four areas of focus will vary depending upon the site. Students will have opportunities for these experiences through varying disciplines and with a variety of healthcare professionals.

  1. Orientation and Awareness: This will provide an opportunity for students to become familiar with the parameters, dynamics, and systems involved in rural/regional medical practice.
  2. Inter-Professional Education/ Inter-Professional Care (IPE/IPC): This experience is to provide exposure to teamwork and collaboration undertaken within a rural/regional site.
  3. Medical Care in a Rural/Regional Site (with a focus on acute or chronic disease): This will allow an opportunity for students to develop an understanding of the challenges of delivering and receiving acute or chronic care within a rural/regional site.
  4. Working with Diverse Populations: This will provide an opportunity for students to develop an awareness of the challenge of chronic/acute disease management in diverse patient populations.

Claiming a Travel Expense for Discovery Week - deadline is June 15

Complete the Travel Expense Form before the deadline.

Questions? Email distributed.education@schulich.uwo.ca

Discovery Week Videos

St. Thomas - Elgin 2023

Sarnia 2023

Hanover 2023

Owen Sound 2023

Ingersoll 2023

Woodstock 2023