Outgoing Members Thanked for Outstanding Service

Using a combination of web- and teleconference connectivity across Northern Ontario, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held its Annual Members and Board of Directors meetings on Wednesday, September 21, 2016.

Board members Dr. Roger Couture, Dr. George Doig, Dr. Lori Livingston, Dr. Krista Marcotte, Ben Petersen, Tim Pile, Angela Robson, and Carolyn Sinclair were thanked for their significant contributions to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, as their terms completed at this meeting.

At the recommendation of the Board’s Governance Committee and Nominations and Community Relations Subcommittee, the Board recommended and the Members appointed nine new members to NOSM’s Board of Directors:

• Dr. Alexandre Anawati
• Dr. Michel Bedard
• Lucy Bonanno
• Lori Flinders
• Derek Handley
• Nancy Jacko
• Solomon Mamakwa
• Dr. William McCready
• Joy Warkentin

In accordance with Board policy regarding Officers of the Corporation, Dr. Moira McPherson, Provost and Vice President Academic of Lakehead University, was reconfirmed as Chair of the Board and Dr. Pierre Zundel, Vice President, Academic and Provost of Laurentian University, was confirmed as Vice-Chair.  Angèle Brunelle was also reappointed as a Board Member.

This meeting marks a milestone for the NOSM Board. The appointment of the nine new members concludes a three-year transition process that involved modifying the Board’s size and composition. Comprised of 19 directors, the new structure gives priority to the recruitment of a variety of skills, expertise and experience amongst Board members, while still reflecting the geographic and demographic diversity of Northern Ontario, including Indigenous, Francophone, and rural/remote communities. The nine new members who joined the Board at this meeting were chosen from 32 qualified applicants.

The audited financial statements for the year ending April 30, 2016 were approved as presented, and the Board approved that BDO Canada LLP be appointed as auditors for the fiscal year ending April 30, 2017.

At the meeting, Board Chair Dr. Moira McPherson congratulated Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM’s Dean, on behalf of the Board’s Executive Committee, on achieving his performance goals of 2015/2016. “The continued success of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine as a whole is a result of the dedication of Dean Strasser, as well as the hard work of the School’s teams of staff and faculty members,” she said. “The Executive Committee commends the Dean for his efforts and accomplishments last year, and looks forward to a successful 2016/2017 year.”

Prior to the official Board meeting, all members were invited to an orientation that included an overview of governance, technology, and communications at NOSM, as well as to participate in tours of the medical school buildings at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and Laurentian University in Sudbury.

The next Board of Directors meeting will be held in Sudbury on November 24 and 25, 2016.

For a complete list of Board members, please visit our website at nosm.ca.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) and HealthForceOntario Marketing and Recruitment Agency (HFO MRA) have signed a collaboration agreement in order to increase access to health professionals in Northern Ontario.

The goal of this collaboration agreement is to help create sustainable health systems in the communities of Northern Ontario, resulting in better health outcomes for patients in the North. Specifically, NOSM and HFO MRA will look to:

• Increase health professionals in Northern Ontario, especially physicians practising in high needs areas, including Indigenous, Francophone, remote, rural, and underserved communities.
• Collaborate to match communities with specific needs to learners interested in working in those fields.
• Reduce communities’ reliance on temporary locum health professionals.
• Address policy issues and barriers that affect Northern health professional recruitment and retention.
• Increase the supply of physician educators in the North.
• Track trends in order to inform future health human resource decisions.

“Patients in rural, remote, and Northern communities are just as deserving of access to quality care as other Canadians,” says Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean. “Through this partnership, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and HealthForceOntario will work together and with our community partners to develop sustainable health systems in the North—ensuring communities attract and keep the health professionals who provide the care their citizens need.”

“We are excited to be working with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine to increase access to quality care for patients in Northern communities,” says Roz Smith, Executive Director, HFO MRA. “It is through collaboration with NOSM and other community partners that sustainable health-care systems can be developed, and better outcomes for patients in the North can be achieved.”

The term of agreement is for three years, from July 2016 to June 2019.

For more information about how NOSM is working to increase access to health care in Northern Ontario, read NOSM’s Report to Northern Ontario.
About HealthForceOntario Marketing and Recruitment Strategy
HealthForceOntario Marketing and Recruitment Agency (HFO MRA) builds and maintains the province’s health human resources capacity by supporting the government’s strategic direction of health workforce planning and assists with the planning, recruitment, retention, transition and distribution of health professionals in Ontario. Working with its partners – including communities, Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs), the Government of Ontario, recruiters, health professionals and a host of others – HFO MRA aims to achieve the vision of helping to ensure Ontarians have access to the right mix and number of health professionals, where and when they are needed.

Yesterday, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) joined the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC)’s Student Portal, an online system through which Canadian and international undergraduate medical students can apply for unique medical electives in Northern Ontario.

A national information hub and centralized application service, the AFMC Student Portal provides a one-stop shop for medical students looking for electives in Canada. Visiting Canadian and international undergraduate medical students are now able to visit the Student Portal to learn about placements across Canada—including clinical placements in Northern Ontario. Students can search the Visiting Elective Guide on the Portal at any time without having to register or submit an application.

“At NOSM, we know that there are two important factors that influence students in returning to Northern and rural areas: positive one-on-one educational opportunities, and exposure to the quality of life in Northern Ontario,” says Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean. “We are pleased to partner with the AFMC on the Student Portal to provide an efficient, easy way for students to discover NOSM electives placements, which expose them to all the professional and personal benefits Northern Ontario has to offer.”

“The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada is pleased to have the Northern Ontario School of Medicine join the Portal, which currently houses placement information for 12 Canadian faculties of medicine,” says Dr. Genevieve Moineau, President and CEO of the AFMC. “This collaborative effort opens doors for medical students to arrange visiting elective opportunities in diverse settings including Canada’s northern and rural communities.”

“Students are excited to hear about the launch of an additional school on the AFMC Student Portal,” says Nebras Warsi, Vice President of Medical Education at the Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS). “Throughout this process, we remain committed to a fair and equitable access to visiting electives for all Canadian medical students. As a partner in the roll out of the Student Portal, we remain firmly committed to a smooth implementation of the Portal that would allow all Canadian medical students the opportunity to complete visiting electives in their chosen disciplines and locations across the country.”