Addressing the Gaps

Helping close the gap on psychiatry shortages

Dr. Zoe Michano-Furlotte, NOSM alumna (MD 2016, BScN Lakehead University), completed her fourth year of residency in psychiatry in Thunder Bay and is entering her fifth and final year. Zoe is a member of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg and is from the town of Caramat, which is now part of the community of Greenstone. “I’m hoping to work at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and provide outreach care with regional Indigenous communities to work together to improve access and mental health services,” says Zoe. “I have a bigger dream to expand my practice to specialize in Indigenous mental health and women’s perinatal and...

NOSM alumnus helps to end Atikokan’s doctor shortage

A few years ago, Atikokan was a town in crisis having only one full-time and one half time family physician for a population of approximately 2,800. The community relied heavily on a rotation of locums to meet its health-care needs. Today, the town has a stable physician workforce that is able to provide patient-centered care, continuity of care and, importantly, a supportive network for physicians. Dr. Shawn Minor is a graduate of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) MD Class of 2016 and completed his residency at University of British Columbia in 2018. Originally from Thunder Bay, Dr. Minor and his wife, with their young c...

Donor supports transformation of physician workforce planning in Northern Ontario

Derek Day recently donated $210,000 from his late mother’s estate—the Estate of Ruth Day—to assist in transforming physician workforce planning in Northern Ontario and support the creation of a new Rural Generalist Pathway (RGP) at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM). Since NOSM’s inception in 2002, its objective has been to graduate physicians and health-care professionals to meet the health needs across the region. With a total of 714 NOSM MD graduates to date, there is still a need for 300 family physicians and specialists in rural and remote Northern communities. “It is important to me that I contribute fro...