Interest Groups
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Emergency medicine is an exciting branch of medicine that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of acute injuries and diseases. The emergency department at any hospital is an integral part of the health care available to residents of a community. The NOSM EMIG was created to foster an interest in the specialty and keep medical students up-to-date on emergency medicine. During the year, we host workshops, invite guest speakers, attend conferences, and facilitate learning in EM.
New members are always welcome. Sign-up during Clubs Day in September.
Visit our website for frequent updates and upcoming events! Contact Meg Garnett (Meghan.Garnett@NorMed.ca) with questions.
The Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) is a student-run group at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM). The FMIG, comprised of an East and West Executive Committee, has the collective mission of promoting the specialty of Family Medicine in all of its glory to NOSM medical students through speaker series, workshops and special events. In previous years, the FMIG has hosted numerous events on both the East and West campus, with many of the events being video-conferenced between the two campuses. Previous events have included speaker series on such topics as pain management and cancer care in family medicine and family medicine in clerkship; workshops on suturing; and special events such as the East Campus Wine and Cheese Social and the West Campus Networking Dinner. These two special events are highlights of the year for NOSM students, allowing students to ask questions and build mentoring relationships with local physicians. Are you a medical student who wants to be part of the FMIG’s Executive Committee? Contact Kristine Woodley (Kristine.Woodley@normed.ca) to get involved!
Physicians and other health professionals have a vital role to play as advocates for, and allies to, people whose right to health has been denied. In Canada and abroad, there is a long and rich tradition of doctors and medical students engaging in the pursuit of more equitable global health and addressing the health disparities that face the underserved, the marginalized and the poor.
The Global Health Interest Group (GHIG) is a student-run, non-profit organization at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) that aims to provide students, staff, and health professionals with a forum in which to engage in global health. It aims to provide members with international health opportunities, forums for discussion about global health issues, and avenues to advocate for greater global health equality and justice. We seek opportunities to partner with likeminded groups and occasionally raise funds for organizations whose work supports our vision for better health around the globe.
The GHIG supports NOSM students in accessing international exchange and elective opportunities. Students are provided with predeparture training, logistical assistance and debriefing and reintegration support upon their return. We organize activities and events for international days of observation such as World AIDS Day and International Women's Day.
Every year, the student body elects two Global Health Liaisons (GHL) to facilitate the activities of the GHIG and serve as representatives of NOSM’s global health program to the Canadian Federation of Medical Students.
We welcome all students who would like to join us, whether you have a long-standing passion for global health or are just curious to learn more. For more information please contact this year's GHLs, Amanda Moore at amanda.moore@normed.ca or Julie Zalan at julie.zalan@normed.ca .
From the members of the GHIG, congratulations and welcome, as you embark on this very exciting journey of medical school at NOSM!
Myths in Medicine is a series of short seminars researched and presented by students in order to debunk common medical misconceptions. We’re not talking about misconceptions about which cytokine pathways end up most affecting the HLF-1a gene, we mean old wives tales, water cooler babble, and falsehoods your mom told you when you were little. Does coffee really stunt your growth? Will eating chocolate actually give you acne? Is aspartame truly bad for you? That kind of thing.
Participants get to research, present, discuss and learn about a wide variety of interesting topics. Myths in Medicine is committed to making sure that NOSM students won’t be the suckers spreading potentially harmful myths and that they’ll be equipped to call others on them.
The Myths in Medicine series will continue in the 2008-2009 school year in the form of a number of weekly student seminars. Each participant must soundly research and present on a topic as well as attending a certain amount of seminars. It’s not much of a time commitment and a great way to hone public speaking skills and critical thinking.
We’d like to recruit some keen first years to help run and expand this group so if evidence-based medicine, debunking pseudoscience, and not being a chump is your cup of tea, we’d love to have you onboard as an organizer.
For more information, please contact:
Jade Coyne – Jade.Coyne@normed.ca
The public health system seeks to put us out of a job! As concerning as that thought may be, most doctors will agree that a strong public health system is one of the most powerful tools we have to improve quality of life. Some fantastic advances have been made in the field and it is these forward steps--not antibiotics, MRIs, or defibrillators--that are attributed with most of the improvements in health over the last centuries.
This group will include a seminar component where students will research and present heroes, outstanding achievements, challenges, and current mysteries in public health. Furthermore, the PHIG aims to get students involved in the local community and to help design a school outreach program that can be administered by first year students during their aboriginal community placements.
September 2008 begins the second year for the PHIG. Goals for this year include familiarizing students with the school outreach programs in their campus communities, learning more about public health via the seminar series, as well as enhancing and further developing our own outreach curriculums.
The group is very much open to new ideas and we are eager to have first year students as participants and contributors to the group's direction. For more information please contact Stacey Erven at Stacey.Erven@NorMed.ca or Jade Coyne at Jade.Coyne@NorMed.ca.
SIG (Surgical Interest Group) will be a student-run organization designed to provide learning experiences and greater exposure for medical students interested in surgery. We are hoping to include opportunities to explore career issues, to obtain exposure to the breadth and extent of surgical fields, and obtain information regarding clerkship experiences and residency programs. We are hoping to have SIG group gatherings at certain times throughout the school year to discuss topics of interest related to surgery. We are also planning on implementing a variety of events not only within the group itself but ones that would be inclusive to the entire student body at NOSM. These events may include informational talks by physicians/students and workshop opportunities (i.e. suturing; instrumentation) that would provide exposure to various surgical related skills. We hope to be a resource to students at NOSM as well as get students excited about surgery!