The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) recently held its third, successful three-day Francophone Symposium at the Radisson Hotel in Sudbury. From April 28 to 30, 2010, over 140 distinguished participants from across Northern Ontario gathered to explore dimensions of health care related to Francophone populations.

The theme of this year’s symposium, “Health – A Community Issue,” set the tone for dynamic presentations and workshops which focused on community networking, capacity building, health practices and services, and collaborative approaches designed to enhance effective health care delivery for Francophones in Northern Ontario.

The breadth of topics reflected the diversity of challenges in the provision of effective health care for Francophone people and communities. In the introductory session, for example, motivational speaker and Cultural Identity Consultant, Lise Paiement, began by encouraging reflection and intervention in the creation of a Francophone environment within the health system.

This was followed by additional sessions and reports which addressed new research initiatives relating to the health of Francophones in Ontario, cultural and linguistic competencies in health care, and the use of technology in enhancing educational and health care related initiatives.

Keynote speaker, Dr. Gilles Julien, an internationally known Social Pediatrician from Montreal, called attention to the need to establish a range of integrated and adapted services to optimize learning paths for children, in part by providing equal opportunity and preventing exclusion.

Additional highlights included a presentation of NOSM’s place within Francophone communities, an overview of NOSM’s programs, and the official launch of a report delivered by NOSM Associate Dean of Community Engagement, Dr. Marc Blayney.

The report, entitled “Francophone Community Engagement: Insight | Guidance | Action”, is the result of consultations NOSM had with the Francophone communities of Northern Ontario with the aim of helping the School to more readily respond to the needs of these Francophone communities who play a vital role in providing clinical learning experiences for NOSM students in all of the School’s health education programs.

Additional learning opportunities engaged the participants, including a round table comprising several speakers from the community health and education sectors, and the Local Health Integration Networks, (LHINs) who discussed initiatives underway in the North East and North West, and provided an overview of innovative services currently offered in northern Francophone communities.

Dr. Gratien Allaire, Director, Institut franco-ontarien and historian, concluded the symposium with a summary that highlighted both the progress achieved as well as the work that remains in adequately responding to the health care needs of Francophones in Northern Ontario.

NOSM Dean, Dr. Roger Strasser, underscored the importance of the Francophone Symposium as a forum for raising public awareness of Francophone needs. “This third Francophone Symposium is essential to examining and understanding current health practices and services for the Francophone people of Northern Ontario. The gathering of many individuals who are well informed about health care and Francophone communities opens a window of opportunity for the discussion of collaborative approaches intended to improve health care for the people of Northern Ontario, including Francophone populations across the region.”

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is particularly grateful for the support from several community partners, including FedNor, whose contribution will assist NOSM in hosting a series of regional information and planning meetings to follow up on this symposium and will also assist with the creation of a pan-Northern Francophone Community Network and a new web-based forum.

The School also extends a special thank you to Laurie Rancourt, Chair of the NOSM Francophone Reference Group (FRG) who acted as master of ceremonies for the entire symposium, and to NOSM’s Francophone Affairs Team under the direction of Danielle Barbeau-Rodrigue, as well as all others who contributed to the outstanding success of this symposium.

The Report, ““Francophone Community Engagement: Insight | Guidance | Action”, can be found on the NOSM website, www.nosm.ca, you can find under the About Us section, in Media Room, then Publications and Report or under the Communities section, in Francophone Affairs.

Winner of Three 2010 Global Best Awards, including “Overall Global Winner” 

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is thrilled to be the recipient of three 2010 Global Best Awards granted by the International Partnership Network (IPN). Global Best Awards celebrate outstanding and effective business, education, and community organization partnerships that have a significant impact on the communities in which they operate. NOSM received the following top international honours for its development of community partnerships:

– Global Best Award for the Americas: Building Learning Communities
– Global Best Award: The Americas Regional Winner
– Global Best Award: Overall Global Winner

NOSM was recognized for the successful relationships the School has built with Aboriginal community partners to facilitate the Aboriginal Integrated Community Experience (ICE) in the NOSM M.D. program. All first-year students spend one month living and learning in rural and remote Aboriginal communities as part of the ICE component of NOSM’s undergraduate curriculum. The students learn about the delivery of health-care services, heighten their cultural competency, increase their understanding of issues affecting Aboriginal peoples, and gain new insights regarding their emerging roles as future physicians. This cultural immersion experience, unique to NOSM, was developed and is implemented with the participation of Aboriginal community partners across Northern Ontario.

As with all program components at NOSM, this Integrated Community Experience reinforces the School’s social accountability mandate of contributing to improving the health of Northern Ontario’s culturally diverse populations.

The three awards recognizing NOSM’s global leadership in building community partnerships were accepted by NOSM Dean, Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Aboriginal Affairs Director, Orpah McKenzie, and NOSM Aboriginal Affairs Manager, Ian Peltier.

On behalf of the School, Dr. Strasser expressed his gratitude, and called attention to the role collaboration has played in building successful community partnerships. “It is truly an honour for the Northern Ontario School of Medicine to receive not one, but three awards acknowledging the School’s global leadership with respect to community partnerships. This success is the result of the vision, commitment, and teamwork of NOSM’s faculty, physician teachers, staff, and the many community partners, all of whom have provided, and continue to provide crucial input into an innovative learning program for students which is designed to facilitate a better understanding of Aboriginal culture and the health needs of people in these under-serviced communities.”

The Awards were presented on the final day of the 10th International Education Business Partnership Conference: 2010 Regeneration of Partnerships to Face Future Challenges which was hosted by the Conference Board of Canada in Toronto from April 25 to April 28, 2010.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) was recently pleased to support NOSM researcher, Dr. Kristen Jacklin, and Dr. Wayne Warry of McMaster University, in their efforts to draw attention to dementia in Aboriginal communities.

On April 15 and 16, 2010, researchers, administrators, and Aboriginal community members from across the country attended the Aboriginal ADRD Research Network Meeting at NOSM’s East Campus in Sudbury where presentations, discussions, and community perspectives focused on the complexity of dementia among Aboriginal groups.

The event was organized in response to a 2007 provincial forum on ADRD, which revealed a scarcity of information on how Aboriginal groups understand and cope with dementia. Participants at the NOSM event shared findings from research currently underway and discussed strategies to address gaps in knowledge using a transdisciplinary approach to research.

As part of discussions on shared priorities, supporters discussed future funding opportunities for a national project that would develop research capacity, contribute to understandings of cultural competency, and bring a critical perspective to the perception and experience of dementia illnesses that will be of use to Aboriginal communities, care providers, and academics.

A principal organizer of the event, NOSM professor, Dr. Kristen Jacklin, noted the importance of this Research Network Meeting as a key step in addressing the needs of this population group. “We believe such research has the potential to inform our understandings of ADRD, which can lead to the improvement in care for Aboriginal peoples suffering from dementia, and to the awareness of dementia-related diseases in Aboriginal communities,” she said.

Drs. Kristen Jacklin and Wayne Warry are both active investigators in the Indigenous Health Research Development Program, one of nine Networks Environment for Aboriginal Health Research in Canada (NEAHRs).

This first gathering among research participants with interests in ADRD is an important step in extending collaborations and working toward securing funding for a national project.

The event was co-funded by the Indigenous Health Research Development Program (www.ihrdp.ca ), the Northern Ontario School of Medicine Faculty Association Research Fund, and through in-kind contributions from NOSM.