Northern Routes

Season’s Greetings

What a year it has been! We’ve all experienced another long stint with the pandemic having to persevere in our professional and personal lives. I’m reminded by staff, faculty, and learners daily that our responsibilities extend well beyond the walls of our institution. In 2021, through it all, we’ve seen some of the best in ourselves. I think many of us have experienced a resiliency and a renewed level of care for each other that we didn’t know we had. Keep it up –that caring spirit is what sets NOSM apart. Although the effects of the pandemic are bound to linger for a long time—impacting the way we work, the way our kids ...

Winter is coming. Are we ready?

With snow, wind, and all the challenges associated with it now here, I have to ask: Are you ready for winter? The ten-foot snowbanks, the blizzards, the -38 oC with wind chill, the bad roads, and all the other elements of winter that we would rather not even think about. What is your state of readiness for winter? Like it or not, winter is coming! Are your winter clothes in good shape? Check. The furnace is in good working order? Check. Got the winter tires on? Check. Personally, I’ve always been comforted by winter and welcomed it. There’s nothing quite like the beauty and stillness after the first snowfall when the landscap...

Focus on Public Health and Countdown to PGME Accreditation

The face of Public Health in Northern Ontario •Guest blog by Dr. John Tuinema• In every residency program, residents train for “the big one”: that one situation that is rare, life-threatening, and can happen suddenly. For example, anesthesiologists train to be ready for malignant hyperthermia which is complex, deadly, and can happen in an instant. They’re well trained to handle this even though they may rarely see it in their career. Public health physicians also train for “the big one,” but typically it may only appear once, if at all, in a career. Long before the arrival of COVID-19, Public Health and Preventive...