For Applicants

This initiative provides funding for travel and accommodation for postgraduate trainees from any Canadian residency program to undertake electives in Northern Ontario.

Northern Ontario is defined as all communities in the Territorial Districts of:  Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay or Timiskaming and including the single-tier municipality of Greater Sudbury.

Muskoka District (which includes Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Huntsville) is not designated as Northern Ontario. While medical residents, interested in pursuing elective placements in Muskoka District may continue to apply for these opportunities through the NOSM U elective portal, they will not be eligible for enhanced funding through NOR-STAR.

All applications electives must be submitted through NOSM University’s Medical Electives Program. Although, placements in specific communities are not guaranteed at the time of application, every effort will be made to connect Residents with a similar community if the community of interest does not have capacity or alternatively we will work to find alternate elective timing to fit their needs.

For information regarding all the elective opportunities across Northern Ontario, please visit NOSM U’s Interactive Clinical Electives Catalogue.

View the NOSM U PGME Elective Opportunities Poster.

Application Process:

General Application Rule:

• All Elective Applications must be submitted 12 weeks ahead of the placement start date.
• If coming from outside of Ontario, please allow additional time for the licensing process.
• The elective must be a duration of 2 weeks or more

Application: Apply through the NOSM U’s Visiting Resident Elective Application website.

NOR-STAR Program Highlights:

• The NOR-STAR Program is specifically designed to help Family Medicine and Specialty Medicine Residents learn through electives in Northern Ontario by providing supplemental travel and housing funding. This funding is available effective July 1, 2023, and will continue for a duration of 3 years, ending March 31, 2026.
• Applicants complete a minimum of 2 weeks in a Northern Ontario community

Funding Eligibility:

NOR-STAR is an initiative of the Ontario Ministry of Health in partnership with Ontario Health (HealthForce) and NOSM University.

In order to be eligible for travel and expense reimbursement via NOR-STAR, resident electives must meet the following criteria:

• Start on or after July 1, 2023
• Booked on the NOSM University Online Portal
• The elective must take place in Northern Ontario (those communities covered by the Northeast or Northwest Ontario Health regions). Please note: electives in Muskoka District (which includes Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Huntsville) do not meet this criteria and therefore are not eligible for NOR-STAR funding.

PGME Learners that are eligible for NOR-STAR funding:

1. NOSM U Resident:

• Elective must be conducted outside of their home base community (still within Northern Ontario)
• Must be a duration of 2 weeks or more
• Application: Apply through normal PaNDa Application.

2. Visiting Resident:

• Must be a duration of 2 weeks or more
• Application: Apply through the NOSM U’s Visiting Resident Elective Application

Funding and Reimbursement Information:

Please find all the funding and reimbursement information and processes included in the NOR-STAR Resident Information Document.

Please direct all questions to the following offices:

• For Elective Applications, connect with NOSM U’s Electives Office: electives@nosm.ca
• For more funding information, connect with Ontario Health – Health Force at norstar@ontariohealth.ca.

Last update: July 19, 2023

Learners applying for visiting clinical placements:

In accordance with the advice of the Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health, effective May 1, 2022, NOSM University has paused its COVID-19 Vaccination Policy for Staff, Faculty, Volunteers and Visitors and no longer requires proof of vaccination to enter NOSM U buildings. All employees are encouraged to receive their booster vaccine(s) before coming to campus to help protect themselves and those around them.

As Learners who engage in clinical placements through NOSM University are required to follow the COVID-19 vaccination policies of their clinical location, the COVID-19 Vaccination Policy for Learners in Clinical Settings remains in effect.

As such, the Community Relations Unit will collect vaccination status and supporting documentation from all visiting learners during the credentialing process of the application. The teaching site safety requirements can be found on the NOSM University’s Response to COVID-19 site and is updated regularly based on the most relevant information provided by the community/teaching sites.