On Tuesday, June 22, 2010, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) launched a new strategic plan intended to guide the School’s progress through the years 2010 to 2015. Much has been achieved in NOSM’s first five years of operations, and this second plan builds on these successes with well-established priorities and a clearly articulated vision and mission.

NOSM’s new vision – Innovative Education and Research for a Healthier North – is supported by a mission that will enhance the School’s mandate for the education of high-quality physicians and health professionals and reinforce the School’s international recognition as a leader in distributed, learning-centred, community-engaged education and health research.

The new plan calls for five strategic priorities that will enable the School to realize its new vision and mission. These include:

Enhancing NOSM’s Education Program

NOSM will expand its distributed education and learning model and ensure the ongoing inclusion and balance of integrated, interprofessional clinical learning throughout NOSM’s undergraduate, postgraduate, and health professional programs. This focus will enable NOSM graduates to easily integrate into community care settings which have adopted collaborative, patient-centered approaches.

Strengthening NOSM’s Research Initiatives

NOSM will focus on further developing its research agenda in line with its distributed education model, and continue to broaden the academic experience of its learners, faculty, and staff. These research activities will respect the unique cultural attributes of NOSM’s Aboriginal, Francophone, and other culturally distinct partners.

Developing NOSM’s Learning Environment

NOSM will continue to emphasize an inquiring learning environment tailored to the needs of all of its stakeholders, including students and residents, as well as staff, faculty, and medical and health practitioners.

Fostering Excellent Faculty Relations

NOSM’s operating model consists of unique challenges related to the recruitment and retention of qualified full-time, part-time, and stipendiary faculty. Innovative approaches toward faculty relations will be developed to ensure the sustainability of the NOSM model.

Enhancing Collaboration and Communication with Community Partners

NOSM’s distributed education model relies heavily on the support and involvement of the communities and key stakeholder groups. NOSM will continue to enhance communication tools that support the development of these community partnerships.

NOSM Dean Dr. Roger Strasser acknowledged the extensive work that was completed by the Strategic Planning Steering Committee and the many contributors to the plan. “The new strategic plan is the result of a full year of collaboration and consultations with NOSM faculty, staff, Board of Directors, and stakeholders across the North. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine has now transitioned from a start-up organization to a fully operational medical school, and so it is appropriate and timely to have a new strategic plan to guide this next phase of the School’s development,” he said.

The five-year plan builds on NOSM’s founding principles, which are consistent with progressive changes occurring at the forefront of medical education.

To access the full version of NOSM’s 2010 – 2015 Strategic Plan, please visit www.nosm.ca/strategicplan.

On June 4 – 5, 2010, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held its fifth annual Northern Health Research Conference (NHRC) at Laurentian University in Sudbury to coincide with the University’s 50th anniversary. Delegates from across Northern Ontario and around the world attended the conference – the largest NHRC to date.

As in previous years, the research presented ranged from the molecular to the whole society with a record 92 papers, involving almost 300 authors, presented as either oral or poster presentations. “Over 160 participants from different research backgrounds and institutions in Northern Ontario, across Canada, and beyond came together to share their study findings, advance knowledge, and network amongst themselves towards developing new integrated, interdisciplinary, pan-northern research teams. It was particularly exciting that so many of the presenters were NOSM learners,” said NOSM Dean, Dr. Roger Strasser.

Dr. Greg Ross, NOSM Associate Dean of Research added, “This conference demonstrates NOSM’s commitment to health care and education to the people of Northern Ontario and beyond. Tackling the questions that will help improve the health of people in Northern Ontario is a key mandate for the research program at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.”

Conference highlights included the keynote address by Mr. François Boileau, French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario entitled “Legislation and Francophone’s Health in Ontario: A Challenging Duo” and special guest presentation by Dr. Richard Hays, former Founding Dean of James Cook University School of Medicine in Australia, who emphasized the history of innovation and challenged participants to capitalize on the opportunities for research in rural health.

The next Northern Health Research Conference will be June 10 – 11, 2011 in Huntsville, Ontario.

Members Pay Tribute to Departing Chair, Dr. Frederick Gilbert

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held its annual Board of Directors retreat in Elk Lake, Ontario from May 6 to May 8, 2010.

At this retreat, Board Directors participated in a special ceremony to recognize Dr. Frederick Gilbert, Chair of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s Board of Directors and President of Lakehead University, for his exceptional leadership and commitment to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. While serving two terms as NOSM’s Chair of the Board of Directors and one term as Vice Chair, Dr. Gilbert presided over landmark developments at NOSM, and was acknowledged by the Board for his significant part in the creation of the School and his role in the School’s mandate to contribute to improving the health of the people and communities of Northern Ontario.

This retreat also provided NOSM Board Directors with the opportunity to bid farewell to three departing executive members of the School: Dr. Marc Blayney, Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Senior Associate Dean of NOSM’s East Campus, Dr. Joel Lanphear, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education and Senior Associate Dean of NOSM’s West Campus, and Dr. Wayne Bruce, Associate Dean of Continuing Health Professional Education. Drs. Blayney, Lanphear and Bruce were thanked for their significant contributions to building Canada’s first medical school for the 21st century.

Mayor of Temiskaming Shores, Judy Pace, addressed the Board Directors prior to dinner on the first evening of the retreat. In her remarks, she expressed her support of the School, noting the important impact NOSM is having on communities across Northern Ontario.

Reeve of Elk Lake, Terry Fiset, attended the Friday evening portion of the Board retreat, where he presented the key to Elk Lake to the Board.

This year’s retreat included several presentations and interactive sessions on the topics of NOSM’s strategic plan, regional hospitals becoming academic centres, and the role of Board Directors.

NOSM Directors also enjoyed visits to the Temiskaming Hospital and the Centre de santé communautaire du Témiskaming.

At the formal Board meeting on the final day of the retreat, the Directors received reports from Board Committees, including the Finance and Audit, Board Executive, Quality Monitoring, Governance, Nominating, and Advancement Committees. The Directors also received reports from the School’s Academic Council, Archives Reference Group, Aboriginal Reference Group, and Francophone Reference Group.

A 2010-2015 Strategic Plan for NOSM was approved by the Board. The next evolutionary phase of NOSM, guided by the Plan, will build on the School’s achievements to position NOSM to be a leader both nationally and internationally as an innovator in distributed, learner-centred, community-engaged education and research. The Board expressed appreciation for the extensive work that was completed by the Strategic Planning Steering Committee and the many contributors to the Plan.

The Directors received a Financial Report for the 11-month period ending March 31, 2010 from the Finance and Audit Committee. The Board approved a recommendation from the Finance and Audit Committee that tuition fees for the 2010-2011 academic year be increased by 4%.

In addition, the Board approved the proposed balanced budget of $39.2 million for the fiscal year May 1, 2010 to April 30, 2011, as presented.

The next meeting of the Board of Directors is scheduled for September 22, 2010.