Communities

A Window on Northern Ontario

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine has a mandate to be socially accountable to the cultural diversity of the region it serves including: Aboriginals, Francophones, remote communities, small rural towns, large rural communities, and urban centres.  Evidence of this mandate can be found in the School's curriculum, administrative structure, research program, student demographics, continuing education program, and more.  

NOSM faculty, staff and students do not function in a traditional medical school building.  Rather, the walls of the School are the boundaries of Northern Ontario, spanning thousands of kilometres, with two main campuses and countless communities that are linked in some way to the School. 

Whether through an affiliation agreement with a community hospital or health centre, a local physician or student placement, NOSM's virtual walls touch communities in a wide variety of ways.  The model of distributed medical education and research instils a complex understanding for rural health and an educational experience that is grounded in the realities of community based health care. Learners receive clinical training in a variety of settings – hospitals, health centres, family practices – where they witness health challenges first hand and are introduced to the distinct cultures, lifestyle opportunities and learning environments of Northern Ontario.