The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Catherine (Cathy) Cervin as the School’s First Vice Dean, Academic, effective January 1, 2018. The Vice Dean, Academic position will enhance NOSM’s focus on fulfilling the School’s social accountability mandate, while continuing to achieve the academic mission.

“It is with great excitement that I congratulate Dr. Cervin on her new role as Vice Dean, Academic,” says Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean. “In this new role, Dr. Cervin will assume many of my direct responsibilities in overseeing day-to-day academic functions, while I dedicate time to external relationships and cultivating new opportunities for the School. As Vice Dean Academic, Dr. Cervin will also help prepare the organization for the transition to the new Dean-CEO in 2019.”

Cervin joined the School in 2011 as Associate Dean, Postgraduate Education and has served as the Senior Associate Dean at NOSM at Laurentian University for the past three years. In these roles, Cervin has worked hard to support residency program directors in the development of excellence in education that meets the needs of the people of Northern Ontario, particularly rural, Indigenous, and Francophone communities. In collaboration with the leaders of the Academic Health Sciences Centres (Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and Health Sciences North in Sudbury), Cervin is leading a project to support and improve integration of teaching and research throughout clinical settings in Northern Ontario.

Cervin grew up in southern Ontario, attended medical school at the University of Toronto, finished her family medicine residency at Dalhousie University, and then practised full-scope family medicine in Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie for seven years before embarking on an academic career in the Department of Family Medicine at Dalhousie University. As befits a generalist, her professional interests are wide ranging and include social accountability, educating for comprehensive primary care, curriculum development, learning portfolios, communication skills, and cultural competency.

Recognized by her peers and colleagues, Cervin received a Certificate of Merit from the Canadian Association of Medical Education in 2009 and also received an Award of Excellence from The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) in 2010. That same year, she completed her Masters of Medical Education. Cervin is a Director on the Board of the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) and Health Sciences North in Sudbury, the Treasurer of the Canadian Association of Medical Education, and the Chair of the Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine Foundation of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. She is also the past Chair of the Board of Examiners of the CFPC.

Within the next several weeks, Cervin hopes to announce the appointment of an interim Associate Dean, Postgraduate Education.

It is with great excitement that the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) announces the appointment of Monique Rocheleau as Chair of the Francophone Reference Group (FRG). Rocheleau, Assistant Executive Director for the Réseau du mieux-être francophone du Nord de l’Ontario—the Francophone planning entity for health-care services in Northern Ontario—has been a member of NOSM’s Francophone Reference Group since 2014.

The Francophone Reference Group serves as a resource for the medical school in the fulfilment of its social accountability mandate as it relates to Francophone health education and research. Reporting to the Dean, the FRG provides advice relating to the School’s initiatives, including research, administration, and academic issues in the promotion of excellence in higher learning and accommodation of Francophone culture.

“Monique Rocheleau has an extensive professional and personal background, relating to both the Francophone communities and health-care services,” says Danielle Barbeau-Rodrigue, NOSM’s Director of Francophone Affairs. She is a proud citizen of Northern Ontario and a supporter of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine since its inception. Mrs. Rocheleau has already begun to lead the Francophone Reference Group, and we look forward to achieving the objectives set by our members and our community.”

“It is a pleasure for me to be involved with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the Francophone Reference Group,” says Monique Rocheleau, Chair of NOSM’s Francophone Reference Group. “The work that is being done by the group and the Francophone Affairs Unit is vital for the Northern communities and ensures a better understanding of our realities by NOSM’s learners, faculty, and staff. I also want to recognize the accomplishments and work done by my predecessor, without whom the elaboration of our strategic plan would not have been possible.”

Rocheleau succeeds Jacqueline Gauthier, who was Chair of the Francophone Reference Group from 2010 to 2017 and led the strategic planning process. The FRG’s 2017-2020 strategic plan, recently adopted and presented at the FRG’s last meeting, aims to achieve four objectives:

• Enrich NOSM’s academic programs to promote high quality health care in French for minority Francophone communities in Northern Ontario, including rural and remote communities;
• Strengthen NOSM’s capacity to conduct unparalleled research to study the health-care needs of Francophones living in Northern Ontario;
• Establish within NOSM, a culture and learning environment which contributes to the development and improvement of French-speaking faculty, staff and students; and,
• Strategically mobilize the health-care community, partners and other collaborators to strengthen their relationship with the Francophone community and increase the French-language resources available to its members.

The FRG is composed of the following members: Monique Rocheleau (Chair – Sudbury), Claudette Gleeson (Vice-Chair – Thunder Bay), Dr. Paul Miron (Timmins), France Dallaire (Kapuskasing), Michel Mayer (Noëlville), Dr. Richard Claveau (Hearst), Pierre Plamondon (Sudbury), Shyanne Fournier (Thunder Bay), Dr. Nicole Ranger (Hearst), Sylvie Chouinard (Sudbury), Élodie Grunerud (Thunder Bay), Nicole Riva (Thunder Bay), Dr. David Lesbarrères, (Sudbury), Line Michaud (Sudbury), Michelle Thibeault (Sudbury), Dr. Meghan Cusack (Sudbury), et Dr. Frédéric Sarrazin (Thunder Bay).

NOSM’s newest class of medical students includes 14 Francophone students, which constitutes 22 percent of the overall students admitted in September 2017.

The next Francophone Reference Group meeting is scheduled for November 2017.

Last month in Sault Ste. Marie, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) celebrated the volunteers of the Bring a Doctor Home Hockey Tournament at an event called Be Awesome with NOSM. At this event, the tournament volunteers presented NOSM with a cheque for $26,000 to support student bursaries for medical students who consider Sault Ste. Marie home.

Each year, volunteer employees, retirees, and friends lace up their skates to participate in the charity Bring a Doctor Home hockey tournament that raises donations for medical students at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine who hail from Sault Ste. Marie. In the last twelve years, the tournament raised more than $350,000 for student bursaries.

“The volunteers of the Bring a Doctor Home Hockey Tournament provide a shining example of how, when people come together, we can truly inspire positive change in our communities,” says Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean. “We are grateful for Sault Ste. Marie’s generous and long-standing support of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and extremely pleased to see many NOSM-trained graduates from the Sault Ste. Marie returning home to practice upon completion of their training.”

“For many, this tournament is about a lot more than hockey,” says Chris Lepore, Tournament Executive Director. “The Bring a Doctor Home Hockey Tournament is one way that we as a community can invest in the future health of our citizens. We are proud to partner with NOSM to support home-grown health professionals who share a passion for this community with us.”