London is about to become home to a first-of-its-kind in Canada medical training program that's designed to blend theory and practice to train students to help mend broken bones and more.

Westervelt College is rollings out its new Orthopaedic Technician Program, one that's already generating interest in the medical community.

Wendy Teetzel of Westervelt says, "We've had a lot department heads that look after fracture clinics in hospital contacting us saying, 'How can we get your students to do placements with us.'"

Al Findlay, an instructor in the program, explains, "They'll be learning anatomy, physiology, the bone structures, how the body system works...Then we'll be working on bone fractures with adults and fractures also with pediatrics."

The curriculum was developed with the Canadian Society of Orthopaedic Technologists to provide a more formalized curriculum than conventional apprenticeships in what's become a changing landscape.

Alba Greco, with the society, says "There's a lack of orthopaedic technologists and technicians throughout Canada. More are retiring, more are...working in diverse areas throughout the hospital. Whereas once we were mostly in a fracture clinic setting, we are now being utilized in the emergency department, in the operating room, in walk-in clinics, in urgent care clinics throughout the community."

The first classes are scheduled to begin in March and already there's been interest from potential students from across Canada.

The program takes about nine months to complete with a combination of in-class and workplace learning.

Find more information on the Westervelt College website.