Health Profession Learners

Clinical Nutrition

Registered dietitians are important members of our health-care teams at Sinai Health. Dietitians work across all areas of care to help patients meet their nutritional needs.

At Mount Sinai we often have opportunities for placements in the Leadership Sinai Centre for Diabetes, Intensive Care Unit and our Inflammatory Bowel Disease program, among others.

At Hennick Bridgepoint, dietitians work across all inpatient units to provide nutritional care to every population.

We offer internships to students from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) and the University of Toronto (U of T). 

Learners in Clinical Nutrition at Sinai Health can expect to:

• Work in a variety of patient care services
• Work in a fast-paced setting with interprofessional teams
• Gain experience in medical nutrition therapy, enteral and parenteral nutrition and nutrition counselling
   

Dentistry

Mount Sinai’s Department of Dentistry is the most academically active hospital-based dental program among the University of Toronto-affiliated teaching hospitals. 

The department serves as a training ground for dental students, dental specialty residents and medical residents. Dentistry placements offer invaluable clinical experience and exposure to diverse disciplines of dentistry. The department also offers continuing education opportunities for dental professionals in the community.

Dentistry learners can receive specialized dental training in:

• Oral and maxillofacial surgery
• Emergency dentistry
• General dentistry for people with disabilities
• Oral medicine and pathology
• Periodontal surgery

Laboratory Medicine

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PLM) supports patient care at Sinai Health by providing diagnostic and laboratory testing services.

Our department trains more than 70 learners a year through undergraduate placements, specialized fellowships and doctoral programs.

PLM faculty also teach many of the undergraduate courses in the U of T medical school program and offer research supervision for both MSc and PhD graduate students and pathology residents. 

Our learners have the opportunity to shadow a lab medicine health-care professional and to participate in elective training.

PLM often recruits from our pool of learners, so students and new graduates are encouraged to explore career opportunities with PLM.

Midwifery

Mount Sinai welcomes midwifery students as part of our interprofessional care teams in the Women’s and Infants' program. Midwifery students from TMU, McMaster University and Laurentian University are supervised by Sinai Health obstetricians, nurses and paediatricians.

As the practice group which holds privileges at Mount Sinai, the Midwives Collective of Toronto offers 18-week to 10-month clinical rotations for students engaged in learning and participating in the clinical care of patients under their preceptorship. Approximately four students per year are supervised by staff midwives.

Midwifery students experience hands-on learning and clinical care in:

• Labour and Delivery
• Neonatal Intensive Care
• Postnatal clinics

Pharmacy

The Department of Pharmacy supports patient care at Sinai Health through the distribution and oversight of patient medication. 

Our department offers a variety of hands-on educational placements, from early to post-graduate studies. We train learners from the U of T and University of Waterloo, Humber, Centennial and Georgian Colleges, as well as Canadian Forces pharmacists.

We accept two Pharmacy residents per year to complete a one-year post-graduate pharmacist training program. Beginning each September, residents join the Department of Pharmacy at Sinai Health to train as hospital pharmacy practitioners. The application process for pharmacy residencies in Canada is coordinated by the Canadian Pharmacy Residency Board (CPRB).   Find more details about the residency at the CPRB. 

Pharmacy and pharmacy technician students are welcome to volunteer, complete required courses and rotations and enhance their learning in a practical and encouraging environment.

Pharmacy learners will:

• Practice pharmaceutical skills under supervision
• Learn a hospital dispensing system
• Work in an interprofessional environment with other health-care professionals

Physical and Occupational Therapy

Physiotherapists (PTs) and occupational therapists (OTs) are important members of our health-care teams at Sinai Health. 

We also have advanced physiotherapy practitioners (APP) who offer their expertise as part of the Orthopaedics and Rheumatology interprofessional teams.

PTs and OTs help patients maximize their physical function, often working with patients after an injury, surgery, prolonged hospital stay or a medical event like a stroke.

Occupational therapist and physiotherapist assistants (OTA/PTA) are dually trained to support our Rehabilitation programs across both disciplines.

At Mount Sinai, we offer PT, OT, OTA/PTA and APP placements within our dedicated Rehabilitation Department. Students will have opportunities to work across many areas of care, including Psychiatry, the Emergency Department, the Wasser Pain Management Clinic and the Neonatal Follow-up Clinic.

At Hennick Bridgepoint, PT, OT and OTA/PTA students work with patients in both the Rehabilitation and Complex Continuing Care programs, including our Stroke, Acquired Brain Injury, Orthopaedic Rehab, Medical Rehab and Palliative Care units.

We offers placements to students from universities and accredited colleges such as Humber College and Centennial College. (Please note that PT and OT placements at Mount Sinai are only open to students from the University of Toronto.)

Physical and Occupational Therapy learners will:

• Care for a wide variety of patients across various areas of care
• Integrate their theoretical knowledge with practical, hands-on training
• Collaborate with other health-care professionals

Respiratory Therapy 

Respiratory therapists (RTs) are important members of our health-care teams and are part of the centralized RT Department at Sinai Health. RTs manage patient airways and mechanical ventilation in many different areas of care, including our Critical Care programs (ICU and NICU) at Mount Sinai and across all inpatient programs at both Mount Sinai and Hennick Bridgepoint.

Our RT teams also oversee and manage the Pulmonary Fuction Lab, the Ashthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Clinic and the Smoking Cessation Clinic.

The RT department offers educational opportunities and work placements for RT students where they will:

• Work closely with RT educators and receive clinical oversight from RT preceptors
• Apply classroom learning into practice 
• Work with different members of our health-care teams
• Experience a variety of clinical settings

Anesthesia assistants (AAs) are part of the Respiratory Therapy (RT) Department and are regulated RTs by background. AAs work closely with anesthesiologists to form the Anesthesia care team at Mount Sinai. They also work in the collaborative care model at the Kensington Eye Institute.

AAs care for various patient populations, including those in Surgery, Labour and Delivery, Endoscopy, Cardiology and the Emergency Department.

Mount Sinai offers educational opportunities and work placements for AA students, in which they:

• Evaluate patients before, during and after surgery
• Assist with the administration of a wide range of anesthesia
• Work with different members of our interprofessional health-care team
• Gain experience in a fast-paced hospital setting

Social work

Hospital social workers support patients and families and our health-care teams by helping patients navigate complex systems and challenges, and connecting them with the right supports.

Both Mount Sinai and Hennick Bridgepoint offer field placements to Master of Social Work students. These practicum placements may take place in one area of the hospital or rotate through two or more areas.

All Social Work learners will have the opportunity to:

• Work with other health-care team members as part of an interprofessional team
• Work directly with patients and families to provide education, counselling and advocacy
• Help support the discharge of patients as they transition out of our hospitals
• Work in one or more area of the hospital, including Women’s and Infants' Health, Orthopaedics, Emergency Medicine, Psychiatry, General Internal Medicine, Rehabilitation, Complex Continuing Care and Palliative Care

We have affiliation agreements with the Faculties of Social Work at the University of Toronto, Wilfred Laurier University and the University of Waterloo. These placements are organized by the universities in collaboration with Sinai Health. 

For more information, please speak to your university placement coordinator about requesting a social work placement at Sinai Health.

Speech-Language Pathology

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) evaluate and treat a variety of communication and swallowing disorders.

At Hennick Bridgepoint, they also work closely with communicative disorders assistants (CDAs) to provide therapy to a wide range of patients.

We offer student placement to SLP learners from universities and communicative disorders assistant (CDAs) learners from accredited college programs. (Please note that SLP placements at Mount Sinai are only open to students from the University of Toronto.)

All learners will have the opportunity to:

• Work with patients under the supervision of an SLP
• Work with different members of our interprofessional health-care team
• Attend events and small-group clinical sessions

Spiritual Care

Spiritual care providers are important members of our health-care team. They provide individualized care based on the core beliefs of patients and caregivers.

The department of Spiritual Care offers clinical pastoral educational programs recognized by the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care and College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario.

The application process includes enrolment in a post-graduate degree program, application to our pastoral education program and an interview.

We welcome learners form a variety of educational programs, including U of T and Tyndale University.

Spiritual Care learners will receive the opportunity to:

• Learn about clinically-based spiritual care in a multi-faith, multicultural setting
• Engage in group work with a focus on self-awareness and skill development
• Practice spiritual care in clinical settings and work with a diverse patient population
• Work with different members of our interprofessional health-care team
• Support the spiritual needs of our patients across different areas of our hospitals, including Women’s and Infants', the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the Hennick Bridgepoint Palliative Care Unit 

Therapeutic Recreation

Recreation therapists use functional intervention, education and recreation activities to help our rehabilitation patients improve or maintain their physical, cognitive, emotional and social function. 

At Hennick Bridgepoint, recreation therapists are an important part of our Rehabilitation team, helping patients develop a better quality of life and optimal health through meaningful participation in recreation.

We offer clinical placement opportunities for recreation therapist students and recreational therapy assistant students. Our learners will have the opportunity to:

• Work with patients under the supervision of a recreation therapist
• Work with different members of our interprofessional health-care team
• Apply classroom learning in a hospital setting

Affiliated post-secondary schools and institutions

Sinai Health is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. We also have academic partnerships with many different publicly funded educational institutions including:

• Anderson College (formerly Westervelt)
• Brescia University College 
• Brock University 
• Cambrian College of Applied Arts and Technology 
• Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College 
• Centennial College of Applied Arts and Technology 
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) 
• Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning 
• Dalhousie University 
• Durham College of Applied Arts and Technology 
• Fleming College 
• George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology 
• Georgian College of Applied Arts and Technology 
• Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning 
• Laurentian University of Sudbury 
• Loyalist College 
• McGill University 
• McMaster University 
• Michener Institute of Education at UHN 
• Niagara College 
• Nipissing University 
• Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU)
• Ontario Tech University (formerly UOIT) 
• Oxford College of Arts, Business and Technology 
• Queen’s University at Kingston 
• Renison University College (affiliated with the University of Waterloo)
• Saskatchewan Polytechnic
• Seneca College 
• St. Francis Xavier University 
• St. Lawrence College 
• The Hospital for Sick Children 
• Toronto Art Therapy Institute 
• Toronto Metropolitan University 
• Trent University 
• Tyndale University 
• University of Alberta 
• University of Manitoba 
• University of Ottawa 
• University of Toronto 
• University of Waterloo 
• Walden University, LLC 
• Western University
• Wilfred Laurier University 
• York University