In the Spotlight

NOSM garden provides harvest for its Culinary Medicine Labs

When the call went out for volunteers for a Green Thumbs Committee at NOSM, Natalie Lefort was quick to answer. She is the School’s Research Laboratory Coordinator and has a flair for gardening. The group started out maintaining flower beds at NOSM at Laurentian University and shortly thereafter built a full-scale vegetable garden behind the medical school building. “I signed up to take care of landscaping and later on Kate Beatty ask if anyone wanted to build a garden in the back. Of course, I said ‘Yes!’ I took the lead on that, along with anyone who wanted to help,” says Lefort. The NOSM Healthy Workplace Group (HWG) s...

Sault Ste. Marie continues to bring doctors home

Dr. Megan Culina was in her fourth year of her Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) residency in Sault Ste. Marie when she became the recipient of the Bring a Doctor Home bursary in 2013. The funds went a long way and today Dr. Culina has a full practice in Sault Ste. Marie with a 1,300 patient roster. She says returning to her home community where she had support was extremely helpful. “The bursary was a huge help,” Dr. Culina explains. “Medical school is very expensive. People don’t realize the financial implications of taking on a career like medicine. In fact, I’m still paying off my student loan. These sorts of ...

A message to learners,

From Dr. Jonathan DellaVedova, Wellness Lead Clinician, NOSM Postgraduate Medical Education: Each December I am grateful for the twinkling lights, comforting foods and Christmas party invites. A festival of lights and togetherness seems fitting during this darkest time of year. December can be difficult, especially when the connections aren’t there and the sheen of the holidays fails to live up to its promise. We residents and doctors also sacrifice our own restoration time so others can be merry. Last December we faced our most difficult period as a school when we sadly lost one of our own. A counsellor here in Sault Ste. Marie ...