PEEL DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
PDSB and TMU Pioneer Future of Healthcare Program, Connecting Students in Grades 7 to 12 to Careers in Healthcare

The Future of Healthcare is a first-of-its-kind program designed to introduce healthcare career opportunities to Peel District School Board's (PDSB) underserved and underrepresented middle school and high school students. The partnership between PDSB and Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) allows students to plan for their future while providing dynamic collaborative experiences, and exposure to higher education and diverse healthcare representation.  

"A lot of thought has gone into this program. Together with TMU, we wanted to address an industry need for talent that reflects the communities they serve, while also exposing students to the diverse range of opportunities in the healthcare field. We are excited for the students, their career potential and the contributions they will make in their communities," said Rashmi Swarup, Director of Education, Peel District School Board. 

A three-phase launch 

This pioneering program comprises of three parts: a speaker series, a course offering and an experiential component. The course offering and experiential aspect will be finalized when TMU's new school of medicine in Brampton opens in 2025. The Speaker Series launch coincides with the Future of Healthcare program launch on October 24, 2024. The series gives over 1,100 students, from diverse communities, the chance to hear from and meet distinguished healthcare professionals, such as: Dr. Trudy McFarlane, Black Health Lead, School of Medicine, TMU and Dr. Jamaica Cass, Indigenous Health Lead, School of Medicine, TMU. These professionals will share their unique experiences and insights, offering perspectives on how they navigated their academic and career journeys.  

"When students see themselves represented in healthcare, they can imagine new career possibilities. We hope that hearing from physician panelists like Dr. Cass and Dr. McFarlane will inspire students from diverse communities to envision the contributions they can make as future healthcare leaders," said Dr. Teresa Chan, Dean, School of Medicine and Vice-President, Medical Education, TMU.   

Growing the diversity of medical professionals 

One of the goals of the Future of Healthcare program is to grow the diversity of future healthcare professionals in the Peel region and in Canada. Ultimately, having a diverse medical community that reflects the population it serves will help ensure all ethnicities, beliefs, backgrounds and perspectives are represented in the healthcare industry. Better representation allows for more empathic and personalized care for patients. Our collective hope is that the Peel region will be the next hotspot for the next generation of talented, diverse and caring medical professionals through their involvement in the Future of Healthcare program and the Brampton TMU School of Medicine. 

With a growing demand for healthcare professionals across Canada, the Future of Healthcare program, aims to tackle this challenge head-on. By offering students from middle school to secondary school opportunities to explore medical careers, the program empowers the next generation to become future healthcare leaders, contributing to the long-term solution for the country's healthcare workforce shortage.