Skip to McMaster Navigation Skip to Site Navigation Skip to main content
alt=

Mount Forest (Rural)

Mount Forest Overview

Mount Forest is our most “rural” teaching site! Being the only residents in the community means every learning opportunity goes directly to our rural family medicine residents with preceptors that are keen to allow you to embrace every procedural/learning opportunity. Located on the beautiful Saugeen River and just south of the Bruce Peninsula, Mount Forest is a small town of 5,000 people. The hospital and clinic serve not only the residents of Mount Forest and its surrounding area but also the nearby Mennonite community. This feature allows physicians and the health care team the opportunity to practice thoughtful clinical medicine, since most Mennonite patients are non-OHIP as well as promote cultural safety.

Residents are expected to live in Mount Forest during their residency and will attend academic sessions in Guelph. Their core-family medicine preceptor will be in Mount Forest with off-service rotations being in Guelph, Fergus, and Orangeville.

For more highlights about the community, visit website: Township of Wellington North

Program Highlights

In Mount Forest, there are seven family physicians who are incredibly supportive of one another and their medical learners. You have one main preceptor, but there are six others willing to pull you into a room to perform a procedure or observe a unique finding! All preceptors in Mount Forest are excellent and continuously make learning a priority.

  • Rural Emergency Medicine 
    • Louise Marshall Hospital consists of a small ER and 15 inpatient beds. 
    • Rural ER is integrated into local physicians’ family practice lives and allows advanced use of clinical skills, increased volume of procedures for learners including intubation, point of care ultrasound, and chest tubes
  • Satellite oncology care for Grand River
    • Four Mount Forest family physicians obtained advanced training to provide subspecialized oncology care to this rural community with collaboration and support available through the tertiary care centre providing this care. 
  • Exposure to Visiting specialties
    • Visiting specialties include general surgery, obstetrics & gynecology, ENT, urology, and gastroenterology. With Fergus and Guelph being a short drive away, additional medical resources and support for patients are also available if needed, but without consistently being “in-house” we have the opportunity to collaborate with specialists without handing off care for specialized acute medical issues 

Key info

CaRMS Positions

CMG CaRMS Position: 1

IMG CaRMS Position: 1

Academic Hub

Guelph Family Health Team

649 Scottsdale Dr, Guelph, ON N1G 4T7

Practice Information

Primary Preceptors: 5

All primary preceptors are located directly in Mount Forest

Affiliated Hospital:

Louise Marshall Hospital – 630 Dublin St, Mount Forest, ON N0G 2L3
– 15 bed hospital with catchment area of 15,000; 13,000 ER visits per year

Contacts

Chris Rowley

Assistant Clinical Professor

Site Education Lead, Mount Forest

Lisa Law

Senior Education Associate

lawl4@mcmaster.ca
Rural

Resident Perspective

“Get involved in the community by joining the annual medical curling club, community gym, or by attending its festivals. Once you immerse yourself in the community, going to work, even on your continuity days back when off service, will feel like home.

There is a lot of driving and Mount Forest is situated in Ontario’s snowbelt! Though you are not expected to drive through dangerous conditions, having a safe car with winter tires definitely alleviates some anxiety.

Mount Forest has a solid medical team. You will learn to rely on your clinical skills, utilize resources thoughtfully and work as a team with your colleagues to overcome barriers to patient care.”