News
CPR ‘Hands-Only’ Guidelines May Not be best for Rural Areas
Hands-only CPR (CPR without mouth-to-mouth resuscitation), may not be the best method for rural or remote areas or for anyone who has to wait more than a few minutes for an ambulance, a new study suggests. New guidelines released by the American Heart Association in 2010 permit the use of simpler hand-only or compression-only CPR in some cases instead of conventional CPR. If ambulances come quickly, experts believe that instructing people to just "push hard, push fast" saves more lives. But a literature review by Dr. Aaron Orkin found little evidence to support those guidelines outside of urban settings or in communities with no 911 ...
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NOSM Learners to Reach Out to Secondary and Post-Secondary Students to Promote Health-Care Related Careers
This spring, medical students from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) will continue their outreach program through the Ontario Medical Association (OMA). The program, calledAltitude: Health-Care Mentoring, is aimed at encouraging students in their final year of secondary school to seriously consider a career in the field of health care. "The first year of our program was a success. We provided them with unique networking opportunities with professionals to encourage their passion for a career in health care," explained Kayla Berst, second-year MD student and Outreach Coordinator for the Thunder Bay Altitude team. "It is an a...
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Directors Vote to Modify Board Composition to Advance NOSM
Balance, Expertise, and Range of Perspectives are Key to Effective Governance Using a combination of video- and tele-conference connectivity across Northern Ontario, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held a regular meeting of the Board of Directors on Wednesday, March 20, 2013. After presentations by the Board's Governance Review Working Group, Directors of the Board voted to accept recommendations made to modify the size and composition of NOSM's Board. Comprised of 19 Directors, the new structure will give priority to the recruitment of different skills, expertise and experience of Board members, while still refle...
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Another Successful Year of Resident Matches
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) has received notice from the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) that the School has successfully filled all spots in the first year of the Family Medicine Residents of the Canadian Shield (RoCS) program for the first time since the program began in 2006. Orthopedic Surgery, General Surgery and the newest program, Anesthesiology also filled all their positions in the first round of CaRMS. Overall, NOSM has filled more than 80% of the positions in its nine residency programs. NOSM offers residency training in nine major general specialties in addition to the Family Medicine prog...
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A Banner Year for the Bring a Doctor Home Hockey Tournament and Bursary
From January 21-26, 2013, the Essar Steel Algoma Bring a Doctor Home Hockey Tournament took place at the John Rhodes Arena in Sault Ste. Marie. Every year, volunteer players raise funds for the Bring a Doctor Home Student Bursary, which provides financial support to eligible medical students with ties to the community of Sault Ste. Marie and area studying at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM). At a volunteer recognition event on January 24, Tournament Director, Hal Mogg, and NOSM's Advancement Manager Gail Brescia unveiled hockey "banners" or pennants featuring the annual fundraising successes and the growing support of th...
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NOSM Faculty Members Honoured by College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
Each year the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) honours members of the College who demonstrate outstanding achievement. Candidates for the CPSO's Council Award are nominated for demonstrating excellence in the categories of: Medical Expert/Clinical Decision Maker; Communicator; Collaborator; Gatekeeper/Resource Manager; Health Advocate; Learner; Scientist/Scholar; and, Person and Professional. Recently, the CPSO released the names of the 2013 recipients of the Council Award. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is thrilled to announce that two out of the four recipients this year are NOSM faculty members. ...
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NOSM Announces New Regional Program Director of the Obstetrics Gynecology Northern Stream Residency Program
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is pleased to announce Dr. Frank Potestio is the new Regional Program Director of the School's Obstetrics Gynecology Northern Stream Residency Program. Based in Thunder Bay, Potestio has operated a Consultant Obstetrics and Gynecology Practice since 1998 and has also worked as an attending physician at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC). With a medical degree from the University of Toronto, Potestio completed his residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at McGill University and Western University. Since 2007, Potestio has worked as an Assistant Professor in...
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Collaboration Advances Understanding of the Mechanisms of Drug Resistance to Dual-Agent Chemotherapy in Recurrent Ovarian Cancer
More than half of all patients with ovarian cancer experience recurrent disease and will eventually fail to respond to chemotherapy. The failure of chemotherapy is usually due to the development of resistance to the two main classes of chemotherapy agents used to fight it - platinating agents and taxanes. Now, a study reported in the open-access Journal of Ovarian Research provides novel information that further adds to clinicians' understanding of the mechanisms involved in the development of resistance to dual-agent chemotherapy. It was not known whether mechanisms of resistance to dual-agent chemotherapy are a combination of single...
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