Grant Sweeny is one of 32 students enrolled at McMaster University's Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine Niagara Regional Campus to start rotations this summer. Niagara Health has welcomed 38 learners from the DeGroote School's three campuses doing rotations this summer.
A year ago, Grant Sweeny was about to start medical school with his mind open to the many fields of medicine he could pursue.
These days, the student at McMaster University’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine Niagara Regional Campus (NRC) is leaning more decidedly toward becoming a family medicine hospitalist, internist or an oncologist.
Sweeny has rotations to thank for the clarity on his future career. Known more formally as pre-clerkship electives, rotations, which started in July, give students the chance to get up close and personal with a specialty for two weeks at a time before rotating to something else. All the while, they learn from physicians and surgeons and get their first hands-on experience with patients.
“This is the first time we’re getting a full two-week block of time to get to know a specialty, rather than just observe. This summer is about getting a sense of practice as a physician or surgeon,” Sweeny says. “It’s a great opportunity to see how medicine works in the real world.”
Sweeny is one of 32 NRC students shadowing and learning from physicians either at Niagara Health, or in Hamilton or Waterloo where the DeGroote School also has campuses. Placements can happen in both the hospital or community and students are matched using an algorithm based on their ranking of electives.
Niagara Health has supported 38 learners from across the three campuses doing their rotations this summer.
“Early exposure to clinical settings at Niagara Health is a key opportunity for first-year medical students to consolidate their learning, get an insider’s glimpse of clinical practice and become more connected to the healthcare community in Niagara,” says Dr. Amanda Bell, NRC Regional Assistant Dean. “These enthusiastic students bring their energy, their excitement and their curiosity to their placements that enhance patient care and physician engagement. We’re grateful to the physicians, staff and patients at Niagara Health, who welcome these learners so warmly.”
“If you have a student in your appointment, just know that we appreciate being there. We’re here to positively impact patients. If we can do that for the patients of Niagara Health, that’s a success.”
While Sweeny’s placements are all in Hamilton, he’s a familiar face at the St. Catharines Hospital, where the Burlington resident spent his first year at NRC studying and taking every opportunity to observe physicians and surgeons during optional half-day placements called horizontal electives.
His first week of rotations this summer was in orthopedics, seeing patients in a fracture clinic and getting “scrubbed in and assisting surgery as much as the instructor wants.”
Sweeny also clocked four weeks in family medicine, which gave him some important insight into his future.
“Being in the operating room (OR) was daunting, that’s for sure,” he says. “It was great but I’m not sure it calls to me, so I’m leaning toward clinical practice. One of the first decisions you have to make as a student is whether you want to cut or not cut. It’s choosing between being a surgeon or physician.
“Every single day, there’s always a new learning opportunity and there’s always something going on,” he adds. “The preceptors I’ve had have been great at being teachers and taking care of patients simultaneously. Finding that balance isn’t easy.”
All in the family
Family medicine is a family affair for Sweeny. His late grandfather, Dr. George Patrick Sweeny, was a much-loved family physician in Burlington. Dr. Sweeny was an innovator in his time, bringing the concept of the family health team to his community after doing a practice swap with a physician in England where the concept of family doctors and nurse practitioners working together in a clinic was common.
After Dr. Sweeny’s death in May, his grandson was regaled with stories about the indelible impact he had on his patients and that helped him choose family medicine as a likely specialty. As a family medicine hospitalist, the younger Sweeny would work with patients inside a hospital.
If he chooses to open a family medicine practice instead, he says he would be happy to do it in Niagara.
“I’m a Niagara student and fond of being in Niagara,” Sweeny says. “The rural-ish setting is more appealing than an urban setting like Hamilton.”
It’s an about-face for someone who previously studied finance, which can lead to careers in big city office towers. But after graduating in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, Sweeny’s plans were thwarted by a limp job market. He kept busy by working as a personal trainer and launching a health coaching business.
Helping people improve their health and wellness turned out to be a fulfilling endeavour.
“But I was looking for something more structured and with an emphasis on continuous learning,” he says. “I thought about the career my grandfather had and the insatiable curiosity he had to fulfill. Medicine seemed like a good fit.”
The small class size at McMaster’s NRC and being able to spend so much time at the St. Catharines Hospital during his studies made the choice easier.
“There’s something to be said for studying in one room and down the hall they’re doing what you’re studying,” he says.
Come January, Sweeny will spend more time applying his knowledge and helping Niagara Health deliver high-quality care when clerkship begins, bringing with it more time in clinical settings.
“All of the staff at Niagara Health and particularly the patients at Niagara Health have been fantastic and make our medical education what it is,” he says. “If you have a student in your appointment, just know that we appreciate being there. We’re here to positively impact patients. If we can do that for the patients of Niagara Health, that’s a success.”
