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Summer is here along with my top 10 list of things to do this season!

Aanin, Boozhoo, Tanshi, Kwe Kwe, Bonjour, Hello,

With the end of the pandemic in sight, I hope you are ready to get out there and hang with friends and family, soon. Let’s get our second doses and have that long-overdue visit with loved ones! It is time to plan vacations, wriggle your toes in the sand, soak up the sunshine, drink tall cool beverages and barbeque. Summer is one of my favourite times of the year.

Here are my top ten ideas for things to do, see, eat and hear this summer:

  1. Invent a summer cocktail. Try herbs, muddling citrus fruits and exotic mixes with passion fruit, mango or kiwi fruits. Put an umbrella in it with tons of ice and sip away. Mine would be a splash of lime, mint and rosemary, topped up with 2 tbsps. of Aperol and soda water. I have named it the NOSM U pop. Wanna trade recipes?
  2. Read a great book. Try one of the must-read books of this summer at the beach, camp, cottage or patio. I am reading (this is not a plug) Let Me Tell You What I Mean by Joan Didion, Aftershocks by Nadia Owusu and the secret guilty read is Anthony Bourdain’s World Travel: An Irreverent Guide. Do you have a secret guilty read?
  3. Planting veggies or flowers. At present on my teeny balcony are a potful of overstuffed cherry tomato plants, herbs—rosemary, basil, thyme, chives—for the drinks of course. I hear that it’s almost strawberry season! Do you have a good strawberry recipe to share?
  4. Make your own spa treatments. What do you use? I am using face masks made out of cucumbers and avocado paste. Mix with any aloe face cream or coconut oil, water, avoid eyes and paste all over face, make a scary selfie, dry out and then take a shower. Do you have a favourite homemade treatment to share?
  5. Get active, walk or try a new skill. Yes, in my 60s I’m finally going to give golfing a try. FORE! Anyone near the Sudbury golf courses would be wise to stand as far back as possible. What’s your favourite outdoor activity?
  6. Make a favourite BBQ recipe. Although I cannot BBQ, I will make a favourite BBQ recipe. Any ground meat—I like chicken or turkey, an egg, herbs from the garden, chilli and an onion. Shape into patties, or grill, and eat with the best salad ever! What’s on your grill?
  7. Make the best salad ever. Toss together any greens, thinly sliced red onion, orange segments, pine nuts (toasted of course) and a light vinaigrette. Serve with burgers above, and a DIY summer drink. Do you have a new salad recipe for me to try?
  8. Take vacation. Rest, sleep, hang out with family on Zoom for now. Laugh so much your belly hurts. You may remember my list of summer tunes from last year. Enjoy the funniest movie and then, watch a glorious pink and purple Northern Ontario sunset. Do you have a favourite place to watch the sun set?
  9. Celebrate something. Moving to a new city if you’re a graduate or a new physician going into practice? Starting your first year of residency at NOSM University? Find some joy in being celebratory. What are you celebrating?
  10. Create a day just for you. You deserve a day to yourself—especially parents, partners and caregivers. Do whatever you want to do! Like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off… Ferris reminds us that “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

There is much to say as we enter new adventures for NOSM University. Summer in a post-pandemic world, with our lives changed forever, brings with it many opportunities. We have a bright and special world—one we have to protect as the earth is our home and we must safeguard it. The summer is a gift. Let’s enjoy it!

Miigwetch, thank you, marsi, merci,

Dr. Sarita Verma
Dean, President and CEO
Northern Ontario School of Medicine

If you have any feedback or comments, please reach out at dean@nosm.ca and follow me on twitter @ddsv3.

Taking pride in pronouns

Understanding and recognizing gender identities is important to delivering inclusive, patient-centered health care. Often, pronouns have a gender implied which are not always accurate or needed. Understanding how to correctly use and share one’s pronouns is a sign of safety and respect. Learn more about this initiative from NOSM medical students Lucie Ménard and Ashley Perreault.

NOSM adopts the Okanagan Charter

The health and well-being of NOSM learners, faculty and staff is a top priority as we transition from a medical school to a university. Research shows us that individuals who are well are more creative, engaged, productive, and have a stronger sense of community. It’s important for the entire NOSM community to focus on wellness as we look to the future. Read more about NOSM becoming an official signatory of the Okanagan Charter.

Building a culture of respect and inclusion at NOSM

Anti-racism must start with a culture change. Dr. Naana Jumah’s research, which led to the development of a new curriculum in postgraduate education across Canada called Hearing Our Voices: An Indigenous Women’s Reproductive Health Curriculum, indicates the importance of self-reflection and taking the time to become aware of one’s personal biases. Learn more about Dr. Jumah’s work in the new NOSM Report at report.nosm.ca.

Local Community Coordinators gathering February 2020.

Indigenous communities create virtual experiences for NOSM students

Spending four weeks in a remote, rural or fly-in Indigenous community is typically a rite of passage for first-year medical students at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), but the pandemic put a halt to all travel in 2020. It was decided the safest option was, for the first time ever, to deliver the immersive experiences online. Indigenous Local Community Coordinators (LCCs)—who organise placements in their home communities—got creative and found a workable alternative.

In the Spotlight

Changing leadership for NOSM’s dietetic internship program

Cara Green has accepted the position of Program Manager of NOSM’s Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program (NODIP). Beginning Monday, July 5, 2021, Cara will work closely with the current Program Manager, Denise Raftis, until Denise’s retirement in August.

A Registered Dietitian (RD), Cara completed her dietetic practicum training at London Health Sciences Centre in 2001 and a Masters of Health Studies in 2016. With more than 20 years of experience as a RD, educator and mentor, Cara has been an active clinical and administrative leader with NODIP since its inception. Cara has previously worked as a clinical dietitian and in the Strategic Planning Department at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, and most recently as the clinical dietitian for the Mental Health Rehabilitation Program at St. Joseph’s Care Group.

Cara is an Assistant Professor at NOSM, working in various facets of the MD program curriculum in addition to her work with NODIP. For NODIP, she has previously held the Site Coordinator role for Thunder Bay and had previous membership on the program’s Accommodations Committee and Curriculum Development Committee. Cara was awarded the Academic Excellence Award for 2019-2020 and has managed several distributed research projects on dietetic practice.

Though Denise is retiring from her role as Program Manager, she plans to stay involved in the profession by making contributions to the field of dietetics. Denise has brought her passion and dedication to the field of nutrition for nearly 30 years and was part of the group who first conceived of the vision for NODIP.

Having joined NOSM in 2007 during NODIP’s inaugural year, Denise built NOSM’s nationally recognized dietetics program from the ground up. Thanks to its reputation for high quality of education, in 2015 NODIP was selected by the Dietitians of Canada to be the first post-degree internship of all Canadian dietetic education programs to be assessed using the new Partnership for Dietetic Education and Practice (PDEP) Accreditation Standards.

NODIP is a small but mighty program and has often been referred to as ‘the jewel in the crown of NOSM,’ in large part due to Denise’s leadership and expertise. She will be greatly missed by faculty, alumni of the program, management peers and clinical partners.

As of this summer, NODIP has trained 171 dietetic interns in more than 35 communities in the North. Of those, 64 percent have chosen to practice in rural or Northern communities. NOSM-educated dietitians are now increasing access to dietetic services in rural and Northern settings that have historically faced shortages.

Please join us in welcoming Cara to her new role, and wishing Denise well in her retirement!

*Note: The photo of Denise and Cara was taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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NOSM adopts the Okanagan Charter

Prioritizing health and wellbeing is a leading priority as a medical university.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) becomes an official signatory of the Okanagan Charter.

“The health and well-being of NOSM learners, faculty and staff is a top priority as we transition from a medical school to a university,” says Dr. Sarita Verma, NOSM Dean, President and CEO. “Research shows us that individuals who are well are more creative, engaged, productive, and have a stronger sense of community. It’s important for the entire NOSM community to focus on wellness as we look to the future—a future where access to equitable, quality health care for all Northerners is a reality.”

The Okanagan Charter: An International Charter for Health Promoting University and Colleges provides the principles and framework required to become a campus that promotes health and well-being. The Charter focuses on “the health and sustainability of current and future societies with a shared vision to strengthen communities and contribute to the well-being of people, places and the planet.”
The guiding principles of the Okanagan Charter are embedded in The NOSM Challenge 2025, the School’s five-year strategic plan. These actions include NOSM’s commitment to:

  • Living the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion;
  • Developing a global health strategy founded in principles of social accountability;
  • Making strategic investments in our people, resources and infrastructure;
  • Encouraging creativity;
  • Supporting the well-being of the NOSM community;
  • Rewarding innovation; and,
  • Eliminating bureaucracy.

As a signatory, NOSM joins a network of national and international universities and colleges who commit to promoting health and well-being with the mutual understanding that it is essential to achieving a school’s full potential in teaching and learning, research and engagement.

The Canadian Health Promoting Campuses Network is guided by the Okanagan Charter, calling on all post-secondary schools to embed health into all aspects of campus culture, across the administration, operations and academic mandates and to lead health promotion action and collaboration locally and globally.

Over the last year, NOSM has made great strides to increase the focus on wellness. Dr. Joseph LeBlanc was named the inaugural Associate Dean, Equity and Inclusion and the Respect the DifferenceTM movement was launched.

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The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is an award-winning socially accountable medical school renowned for its innovative model of distributed, community-engaged education and research. With a focus on diversity, inclusion, and advocacy for health equity, NOSM relies on the commitment and expertise of the peoples and communities of Northern Ontario to educate health-care professionals to practise in Indigenous, Francophone, rural, remote and underserved communities.

For further information, please contact: news@nosm.ca

NOSM University