Clinical placements play a vital role in a health care learner’s journey, bridging academic learning with real-world practice and helping students build confidence, competence, and professional identity. Through hands-on experience, learners develop essential clinical skills, teamwork, and an understanding of patient centred care.

As an academic health sciences centre, our Hospital is proud to support learners by providing a safe, supportive, and enriching placement environment where future professionals can learn, grow, and contribute meaningfully to patient care. Every month, the department of Academic Affairs is highlighting learners at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

Name: Izzy Malik
Hometown: Thunder Bay, Ontario

Program: Third-year Clinical Psychology, PhD Student at Lakehead University, with placements in adult mental health inpatient unit, and currently, with outpatient brief intervention treatment team at Adult Mental Health.

What does an average day during your placement look like?

When I was on the inpatient unit, my day began with a meeting with my supervisor to discuss current clinical psychology referrals from the team. I would run daily DBT and mindfulness groups and then conduct any interventions or assessments needed by the team.

As part of the outpatient team, my day involves providing evidence-based psychotherapies to patients struggling with severe mental health difficulties and conducting comprehensive psychodiagnostic assessments. Each day at lunchtime, I enjoy the company and many laughs with the team.

Is there a mentor of faculty member who has significantly impacted you?

Dr. Healey Gardiner and Dr. Kristine Knauff (both clinical psychologists), as well as Heather Kozak and Sherri Capulak-Tinnes (Psych Associates) have been incredible mentors and role models. Not only do they provide accessible and nuanced feedback, but they have helped me build confidence, autonomy, and competence in my clinical expertise as a doctoral clinical psychology student. I also echo these sentiments to the broader team at Adult Mental Health (e.g., psychiatrists, social workers, recreational therapist). I am consistently inspired by the care, effort, camaraderie, and daily work of the entire Adult Mental Health Team, which has furthered my passion for clinical psychology and eventually returning to this team in the future.

What is one interesting fact others might not know about you?I am an avid tennis player. My research centers on digital mental health tools, such as generative artificial intelligence, and I am teaching a psychology course at Lakehead University this fall.

*Spots available in the 11:45 am session*

Water is more than a resource; it is sacred, life-giving, and deeply connected to the health and well-being of all living things.

Join us for a meaningful Lunch & Learn with Elder Sheila DeCorte, a respected Water Walker, as she shares Indigenous teachings on the significance of water and our collective responsibility to care for it.

Tuesday, August 11, 2026
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
ICP Main, Room 2178

This session offers an opportunity to learn, reflect, and deepen your understanding of Indigenous perspectives while supporting cultural safety and humility in health care.

Pizza and light refreshments will be provided.

All staff are warmly welcome.

To register for this session, please email Annette Klement, Traditional Wellness Lead, Annette.Klement@tbh.net by Friday, August 7.

Tom Jones Corp will be installing new stainless steel HVAC ductwork to serve the MDRD department, along with a new fire protection main line that will serve the new CVS wing.

Both services will be routed along the 1B Corridor, extending from Stairwell F through the Main Public Corridor.

Impacts: Sections of the hallway will be temporarily closed to foot traffic during construction.
Start Date: Monday, August 10
Duration: Approximately one week per section, with an estimated total project duration of six to seven weeks.
Sequence: From Section 1 to Section 6

Hallway closures will be completed in phases, with only one section closed at a time. During Section 3, a temporary platform will be installed at the corridor intersection to maintain north-south access. Directional signage and alternate routes will be provided as required. Access to Stairwell F, Housekeeping Room 1464, and OHS Office will be maintained throughout the work. Tom Jones will adjust the hoarding as needed to ensure these doors remain accessible.

Manager Action Required:
Managers with departments located in or adjacent to the affected areas are requested to review fire safety procedures with their teams and identify the primary and alternate egress routes that will be used during construction.

For any questions and concerns, please email Daniel Sedano, Project Manager at daniel.sedano@tbh.net. 

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we complete the CVS and MDRD Renovation.

We need your help to enhance the patient experience. The Patient and Family Centred Care team wants feedback from staff to help shape the information provided in the patient information folders given out on inpatient units. Your feedback will be used in the co-design process with patients and families to identify issues and develop solutions. When you complete the survey will you have a chance to win a prize.

To participate, scan the QR code or click the link below.

Shared on behalf of Ryan Sears, Director, Capital & Facility Services

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Please be advised Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (at the 980 Oliver Road location only) will execute a planned impairment of its entire Overhead Paging System and Fire System on Thursday, July 30, 2026 for approximately eight (8) hours – starting at 11:00 p.m. to facilitate new fire system devices.

Our Facilities and Security teams will be enacting and overseeing our Fire System Impairment and Fire Watch procedures, as included in the Fire Plan for our site.

During this impairment, no Hot Work will be authorized. Further, any high risk work that could result in an elevated risk of fire, heat, or smoke should not be planned – please review this within your department and plan to discontinue high-risk activities (i.e. construction, repairs, hot showers, etc).  Should you observe activities that may be of concern during the impairment, contact your Supervisor or Manager to discuss.

While the Hospital’s Overhead Paging System is out of service, alternate measures will be applied to notify the organization of Emergency Codes and Alerts. Staff will continue to activate all Codes using extension 55. Please see the attached policy for guidance.  

Key things to remember during an outage:

1. Regularly monitor email for emergency code and alert notices issued by Switchboard.
2. Respond to emergency codes and alerts through alternate communication measures, e.g., paging, radios, emails, runners, etc., as appropriate – and activate response as required.
3. Be vigilant in reviewing department activities during the period of fire system impairment.
4. Clinical leads are encouraged to collaborate with their teams to consider alternatives to paging patients back to units, such as collecting Patients’ mobile phone numbers.

Further, in event of fire during this impairment, please execute all steps as outlined in Code Red Policy (EMER-30) and your area sub plan. Should you discover a fire – “REACT”:

R – Remove persons in immediate danger
E – Ensure doors are closed to confine fire or smoke
A – Activate the fire alarm by pulling the nearest pull station
C– Call Switchboard at Ext 55 to report the location of the fire
T– Try to extinguish the fire if trained to do so or continue to evacuate

The contractor for the fire system work is Troy Life & Fire Safety. The Building System Operator is onsite and reachable at cell number 807-629-7005. Further support will be provided by Security (684-6509) and the on call Facility Manager (cell number 807-629-3119) as required.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the above, please contact Ryan Sears at ryan.sears@tbh.net.