Northern Ontario School of Medicine and U of T Faculty of Medicine Announce Collaboration Agreement

Earlier today, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) and the University of Toronto (U of T) Faculty of Medicine signed a Collaboration Agreement which will allow the two parties to collaborate and share expertise and resources in the areas of applied health sciences and research.

During an event held today at the University of Toronto, the two organizations announced their shared commitment to providing high standards of medical education which is socially accountable and responsive to patients and the populations in which they originate. In addition, the partners highlighted their complementary resources and objectives with respect to research, education, and expertise.

Working together, NOSM and U of T have established (with the Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences), a Consortium to deliver a Bachelor of Science Physician Assistant education program. This program is the second PA program in Ontario. The mission of the Consortium of PA Education is to deliver Physician Assistant education programs built on a foundation of social accountability, particularly to rural, remote, and underserved communities. The Consortium welcomed the first students to the program in January 2010.

The Agreement between NOSM and U of T lists a number of additional areas of potential collaboration, including the following:

• Undergraduate Medical Education Electives and Selectives;
•  Postgraduate Medical Education Residency Programs – Community Medicine and other specialties;
• Aboriginal Health;
• Medical Radiation Sciences Program;
• Continuing Education and Professional Development;
• Simulation in Education and Research; and,
• Research, including fields of study such as Primary Health Care, Cancer, and Aboriginal Health.

“The mission of the University of Toronto and the Faculty of Medicine is to prepare future leaders, to contribute to our communities, and to improve the health of individuals and populations through the discovery, application, and communication of knowledge,” stated Dr. Catharine Whiteside, U of T Faculty of Medicine Dean. “Partnerships like the one we have formalized today between the University of Toronto and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine are among our most important enabling assets.”

“A significant component of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s social accountability mandate is to build and cultivate relationships with organizations to facilitate common goals,” said Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean. “This Collaboration Agreement between the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine will allow us to pursue education and research initiatives and opportunities that maximize the positive impact our organizations are having on the populations we serve,” he said.

Founded in 1843, the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine catapulted onto the world stage with Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best’s discovery of insulin in the 1920s. In recent years, the Faculty has led the way in the quest to link genes to disease. Today, with over 5,000 faculty members, 6,000 students, 10 fully-affiliated hospital partners and 19 community affiliates, the Faculty of Medicine ranks among the top academic medicine institutions in the world, whether measured in peer-reviewed publications, number of PhD candidates and post-doctoral trainees, or research funding totals.