'Unique' program mentors helping to recruit clinical staff at Newmarket hospital

Southlake Regional Health Centre's clinical extern program provides valuable hands-on clinical experience for nursing and allied health students to support their transition into a fully licensed provider role.

Of the 164 externs hired by Soutlake, 34 have transitioned into permanent roles, according  to a Southlake news release.  

The program and others like it are essential to the hospital's goal of staff recruitment and retention.

“Externs are embraced as important team members at Southlake. They have developed strong relationships with existing staff, which helps them transition into registered roles with confidence,” said  Susan King, the coordinator for the program that is supported by staff mentors across the Newmarket hospital.

“The mentors at Southlake really put their hearts into teaching us," said Samuel Golubuk, registered practical nurse, surgical program and extern program graduate.

"The program allowed me to discover that the operating room is my passion and I am happy to be working at Southlake now after finishing the program.”

Nursing staff also benefit from this innovative program and have supported the externs every step of the way, valuing the extra help in their units and clinics, according to Southlake.

Heather Windecker, registered nurse, said being a mentor was  "very fulfilling" and called the experience  among externs "unique."

"The externs have seen firsthand the tremendous teamwork at Southlake.”

The externs have formed a community and supplement their clinical learning with activities such as an academic journal club and workshops on patient safety, patient-centred care and interview skills.

“My experience at Southlake has been life changing. The program has guided my growth as a future nurse, providing me with many opportunities, increased confidence and leadership skills. I loved the team collaboration, the welcoming atmosphere and the core values Southlake believes in,” said Anna Kyriacou, ICU extern.

Southlake is one of the biggest hospitals in Ontario but it has been plagued with over-crowding as the community it serves continues to grow. Like most Ontario hospitals, the pandemic aggravated already existing staffing shortages.

“The pandemic has exacerbated staffing challenges that were already present in Ontario hospitals. The extern program is a critical part of Southlake’s recruitment and retention strategy as we look toward our post-COVID recovery,” said Liz Ferguson, vice-president of clinical transformation, patient experience and chief nursing executive.

To help build up the province’s health-care workforce, the Ontario government launched the extern program in January 2021. Select hospitals are reimbursed for the cost of employing externs and extern mentor/coordinators.

The program was implemented to address COVID-19 resource challenges. The total reimbursable expense amount for each hospital from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2021 is $1,013,188.

“As we continue to build up Ontario’s health-care workforce, the extern program will provide nursing and health professional students the chance to work in hospitals. The externs at Southlake are a vital part of the hospital team, supporting high-quality care for patients in our community,” said Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, MPP for Newmarket-Aurora Christine Elliott.