The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) and the Government of Ontario are pleased to announce that NOSM, the first new medical school in Canada in over 30 years, has been granted full accreditation of its M.D. education program.

In Canada, accreditation is granted by the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), two organizations that work together to set, maintain, and approve of the standards for undergraduate medical education at all Canadian medical schools.

Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Founding Dean, says news of full accreditation marks a significant accomplishment that was made possible by the efforts of many people over several years. “Receiving full accreditation of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s M.D. program is a crowning achievement in a multi-year process aimed at meeting all expected standards. I extend my congratulations and thank you to Dr. Joel Lanphear, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education, and staff, students, faculty members, physician clinical teachers, community members, Academic Council members, Board members, host universities, and government supporters-everyone who worked so hard to achieve this wonderful success.”

“I’m pleased that our government is continuing its strong support for the Northern Ontario School of Medicine,” said Bill Mauro, MPP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan. “NOSM is special because it can focus on the unique and specific needs of Northern Ontario. It will play an important role in training doctors and in helping to deliver quality health care closer to home.”

“The importance of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine to the quality of healthcare in Northern Ontario, and Ontario as a whole, cannot be overstated,” said Michael Gravelle, MPP for Thunder Bay-Superior North. “This announcement will help to ensure that the school continues to supply highly trained, quality medical professionals for decades to come.”

“The Northern Ontario School of Medicine provides extraordinary learning opportunities for students in Northern Ontario,” said Rick Bartolucci, MPP for Sudbury. “With this full accreditation, our students will be well positioned to becoming tomorrow’s health care leaders.”

Accreditation is one significant milestone in a year of many for the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. Another landmark of achievement for NOSM will occur this spring, when the School celebrates its first graduation of medical school undergraduates, and the completion of our first group of family medicine residents from the Family Medicine Residents of the Canadian Shield (FM RoCS) program.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is pleased to announce that Patricia (Patty) Fink is the successful candidate for the position of Director, Northern Health Information Network (NOHIN), effective January 1, 2009. Ms. Fink joined the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in 2004 as an Electronic Resources Librarian, and since September 2007 has been the Acting Director of NOHIN.

Ms. Fink’s academic qualifications are matched by a history of professional accomplishments for which she is ideally suited to the demands of the position. She sits on numerous committees where she effectively advances the interests of the library. A consummate team player, her leadership qualities are evidenced by the initiative she has shown in several start-up projects and her dedication to performance excellence, demonstrated by the ongoing improvements she has made to NOHIN. In December 2008, Ms. Fink was honoured with a NOSM Staff Award of Excellence, a peer-nominated award.

The Northern Ontario Health Information Network, with libraries at both campuses of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and Laurentian University in Sudbury, supports the learning needs of health-care professionals across Northern Ontario through various resources, including electronic books and journals, databases, and various multimedia tools.

NOHIN’s mission is to advance education, research, clinical practice, and community service and fosters evidence-based health-care practice in Northern Ontario by assuring access to biomedical knowledge, by teaching the principles and techniques of information retrieval and management, and by providing quality services that promote effective information use and study.

Ms. Fink earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and History and a Master of Arts in History degree (both from Laurentian University), as well as a Master of Library & Information Science degree from the University of Western Ontario.

More information regarding the Northern Ontario Health Information Network can be found at www.nosm.ca.

Only Medical School in Canada to Have Entire Class Match to Residency Programs on First Attempt

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is pleased to announce that all undergraduate medical students in its Charter Class have successfully matched to Canadian residency programs on their first attempt. In fact, NOSM was the only Canadian medical school in which all students were matched in the first round.

Each student, in their final year at a Canadian medical school, must apply for residency training to become a fully-trained physician. Postgraduate residency programs are offered at all Canadian medical schools in various disciplines (for example, Family Medicine, Orthopedics, Surgery, Anesthesia, Pediatrics, etcetera) ranging in duration from two to five years, and beyond. Students apply to the discipline and the medical school of their choice, and are then granted interviews after which both the student and the program they have applied to rank each other for preference through the Canadian Residency Matching Service (CaRMS). CaRMS then matches students, based on rankings, to postgraduate residency programs across Canada. Monday, March 9, 2009 marked the date of the first of two rounds of matches facilitated by CaRMS.

Dr. Maureen Topps, NOSM’s Associate Dean of Postgraduate Education, was confident that NOSM undergraduates would do very well in the match, but was thrilled about the remarkable rate of success. “It is unusual to have all medical students of one medical school match in the first round. It certainly speaks to the quality of education demonstrated by the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s first graduating class. This is excellent news both for the School and students of the Charter Class.”

Dr. Topps sentiments are reinforced by Dr. Joel Lanphear, NOSM’s Associate Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education. “The successful first match of our Charter Class students provides testament to the years of preparation, selection process, and distinct model of medical education that has been established at the School. I would particularly like to acknowledge the dedication of the School’s Charter Class, and the overall quality that these students have come to represent. I congratulate them on their achievement.”

Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM’s Founding Dean, was delighted to receive the exceptional outcome of the residency match for the School’s first-ever graduating class. “This is another great milestone for the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. The results of this year’s CaRMS match very tangibly demonstrates how highly our students are regarded across the country. I applaud the tireless efforts of our physicians, faculty and staff at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine who have worked so hard to contribute to this success, and extend my full congratulations to each and every one of the Charter Class students on this accomplishment.”

A significant proportion of NOSM’s Charter Class students will continue their education in Northern Ontario, beginning their residency training in various NOSM postgraduate training programs. The remainder will represent NOSM across the country in residency programs at other medical schools, in some cases to gain specialized training not available in Northern Ontario. NOSM is also pleased to have attracted significant numbers of medical students from other institutions to its residency programs, paving the way for more physicians-in-training to gain exposure to Northern health issues.