The Making of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine: A Case Study in the History of Medical Education 

On March 25, 2010, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held the first of three book launches announcing the release of the much anticipated French version of The Making of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine: A Case Study in the History of Medical Education. This peer-reviewed collection provides a fascinating and detailed account of the challenges and rewards faced by those who insisted on creating a patient-centered, community-based, and culturally-sensitive learning environment for the physicians of tomorrow.

Several NOSM representatives delivered presentations and later engaged with audience members at this event, held in Sudbury at the Grand Ciel Bleu – Librairie du Nouvel-Ontario. Following welcoming remarks by Daniel Aubin, representative of Grand Ciel Bleu and Dominic Giroux, President of Laurentian University and Vice-Chair of NOSM’s Board of Directors, contributing authors Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean, and Dr. Geoffrey Tesson provided firsthand accounts of the School’s evolution from a collective dream to a pan-Northern medical education centre. Dr. Gratien Allaire, NOSM Board Member and Board Chair of Grand Ciel Bleu, followed with an appeal for student support and conveyed the importance of telling NOSM’s story to a wider audience. Later, Drs. Strasser and Tesson signed many copies of the book during this well attended event.

Written by twelve contributors, this book describes the development of the School and its significance to the history and evolution of medical education both in Canada and the world. It also tells the story of broad-based participation from the communities and physicians of Northern Ontario, as well as the roles and involvement of the two host institutions, Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario. Northern communities, which have shown a growing appreciation for the complexities involved in meeting all their medical education needs, will find their story in this 200-page account of the development of NOSM.

Written in highly readable language, and targeted to a wider audience, the book introduces the reader to the School’s distinctive medical education model. Each of the book’s three sections clearly delineates critical stages in the School’s growth, beginning with the new thinking behind a pioneering approach to medical education, followed by the content of the new school, and reflections on the lessons drawn from the building process.

Dr. Roger Strasser credited the book for its ability to attract widespread interest and underlined the importance of Francophone participation in the School. “The Northern Ontario School of Medicine seeks to ensure strong Francophone representation in all medical school activities. Our commitment to inclusiveness of and responsiveness to all population groups of Northern Ontario is the foundation upon which we continue to build strong relationships with our Francophone partners.”

NOSM’s efforts to identify with and respond to the needs of Francophones includes the hosting of symposia to address all matters of health care, and the partnering with organizations to heighten the interest of Francophone youth in health-care careers. This year, NOSM, will be holding a Francophone Symposium in Sudbury on April 28-30, 2010, which will address health as a community issue. Details of the Symposium can be found on NOSM’s website at www.nosm.ca.

Additional French language book launches of The Making of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and signings will be held in Thunder Bay on April 8 and in Ottawa on April 21, 2010.

Ten percent of all sales of the French version of The Making of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine will be donated to NOSM’s Francophone Student Bursary Fund.

On Thursday March 25, 2010, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) and Laurentian University hosted an event in which distinguished speaker, Stephen Lewis, on behalf of the Canadian coalition, the Campaign to Control Cancer (C2CC), delivered a presentation on the topic of cancer.

The first of a series of addresses to audiences at six Ontario universities, Mr. Lewis launched The People vs. Cancer Speaking Tour at Laurentian University’s Fraser Auditorium in Sudbury from where he began spreading the word that everyone can participate in the fight against this widespread disease.

Mr. Lewis drew heavily on his extensive international experience, speaking about the transformational role that an engaged public can play in the battle against cancer, and urging Canadian universities and students to bring forward their skills, innovation, creativity and leadership to the campaign to reduce cancer in one generation.

Stephen Lewis’s speaking tour was launched in conjunction with a series of Community Conversations on Cancer. These public forums allow people from all walks of life to organize and host Community Conversations in their own regions with the view to encouraging discussions about cancer and cancer control among community members. A report on the key findings gathered from Community Conversations will be presented to policy makers in 2010.

The Campaign to Control Cancer, which is hosting Mr. Lewis’s speaking tour, is a coalition of more than 70 organizations dedicated to combating the alarming spread of cancer, which is the leading cause of death in Canada. An estimated twenty five percent of Canadians are expected to die from the disease.

Stephen Lewis is Professor in Global Health at McMaster University and is Board Chair of the Stephen Lewis Foundation which supports community-based organizations working to turn the tide of HIV/Aids in Africa.

His work with the United Nations spans more than two decades, including his posting as Canada’s ambassador to the U.N from 1984 to 1988. He previously served as an elected member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly, and in 1970, became leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party.

Earlier today, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) and the University of Toronto (U of T) Faculty of Medicine signed a Collaboration Agreement which will allow the two parties to collaborate and share expertise and resources in the areas of applied health sciences and research.

During an event held today at the University of Toronto, the two organizations announced their shared commitment to providing high standards of medical education which is socially accountable and responsive to patients and the populations in which they originate. In addition, the partners highlighted their complementary resources and objectives with respect to research, education, and expertise.

Working together, NOSM and U of T have established (with the Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences), a Consortium to deliver a Bachelor of Science Physician Assistant education program. This program is the second PA program in Ontario. The mission of the Consortium of PA Education is to deliver Physician Assistant education programs built on a foundation of social accountability, particularly to rural, remote, and underserved communities. The Consortium welcomed the first students to the program in January 2010.

The Agreement between NOSM and U of T lists a number of additional areas of potential collaboration, including the following:

• Undergraduate Medical Education Electives and Selectives;
•  Postgraduate Medical Education Residency Programs – Community Medicine and other specialties;
• Aboriginal Health;
• Medical Radiation Sciences Program;
• Continuing Education and Professional Development;
• Simulation in Education and Research; and,
• Research, including fields of study such as Primary Health Care, Cancer, and Aboriginal Health.

“The mission of the University of Toronto and the Faculty of Medicine is to prepare future leaders, to contribute to our communities, and to improve the health of individuals and populations through the discovery, application, and communication of knowledge,” stated Dr. Catharine Whiteside, U of T Faculty of Medicine Dean. “Partnerships like the one we have formalized today between the University of Toronto and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine are among our most important enabling assets.”

“A significant component of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s social accountability mandate is to build and cultivate relationships with organizations to facilitate common goals,” said Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean. “This Collaboration Agreement between the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine will allow us to pursue education and research initiatives and opportunities that maximize the positive impact our organizations are having on the populations we serve,” he said.

Founded in 1843, the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine catapulted onto the world stage with Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best’s discovery of insulin in the 1920s. In recent years, the Faculty has led the way in the quest to link genes to disease. Today, with over 5,000 faculty members, 6,000 students, 10 fully-affiliated hospital partners and 19 community affiliates, the Faculty of Medicine ranks among the top academic medicine institutions in the world, whether measured in peer-reviewed publications, number of PhD candidates and post-doctoral trainees, or research funding totals.