Ask Frank DeMarco where he’ll be next year for the annual Bring a Doctor Home Hockey Tournament, and he’ll joke, “This is the last one! I’m never going to do this again!”

It is a big job to pull off the popular tournament. DeMarco has been the Executive Director of the event for the last five years and has been involved for at least a decade. He says Bring a Doctor Home has swelled to 27 teams over six divisions, with more than 450 participants.

“This year we even have the ‘City’ division,” he says. “The paramedics called me and said, ‘Frank, the doctors are playing. City police and firefighters are playing. What do we have to do to get in?’”

All proceeds from the charity tournament—which celebrates 20 years next year—go towards a NOSM University bursary for select students from the Soo and area. The hope is that with a financial boost, more graduates will come home to practise medicine.

“Some of the medical students who at one time were watching the tournament are now actually playing on the doctor team,” says DeMarco. “That’s the heart of it.”

The tournament has so far raised $461,951.93, and the goal this year is to reach $500,000. DeMarco says in years past, some very generous and “amazing” anonymous donors matched donations raised through the tournament, which he one day hopes to turn into an annual invitational tournament for all of Northern Ontario.

As for DeMarco, he says, “I do it because I love it.”

“The medical students we help come to you, and you get this humble ‘Thank you.’ If we can do this little bit to help them, then why not?”

The Bring a Doctor Home Hockey Tournament runs from January 15 – 20, 2024, at the John Rhodes Arena in Sault Ste. Marie.

When it comes to family medicine, it’s all too easy to focus on the challenges, including fewer medical residents choosing the profession, and the issue of family physician burnout being so pervasive in the media. However, this narrative ignores the good news. NOSM University consistently has the highest rate of Canadian medical student graduates who chose family medicine—almost 50 per cent. What’s more, many physicians find joy in practising family medicine.

Yes, joy! The joy of family medicine is not talked about enough. That’s why the theme of the 2024 NOSM University President’s Lecture Series is Reviving the Heart of Health Care: The Joy of Practising Family Medicine.

WATCH HERE.

“It is a huge win for the North that the majority of our medical students choose to practise family medicine,” says Dr. Sarita Verma, President, Vice-Chancellor, Dean, and CEO of NOSM University. “As a proud family physician who has practised comprehensive care for more than 30 years, I know first-hand that this profession has an amazing breadth of opportunity. We showcase that through community-based learning opportunities provided at NOSM University. Many medical students, residents and faculty find family medicine to be a fulfilling career. Family physicians can practise anywhere, have an advanced and adaptable skillset, and can pursue their own interests in their scope of practice.”

The series will showcase why family medicine continues to be a career worth choosing, explore its challenges, and highlight why, more than ever, in Canada—and Northern Ontario, specifically—medical students should choose family medicine as a specialty.

Through two lectures and two panel discussions, the series will bring together eight physicians to discuss the opportunities family medicine presents as a career choice.

Speakers include Dr. Michael Green, President of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and Dr. Mekalai Kumanan, President of the Ontario College of Family Physicians. They will be joined by three family physicians and three medical residents from NOSM University. Panelists represent communities across NOSM University’s wider campus, from Huntsville to Kapuskasing to Dryden.

An annual student-led event, the President’s Lecture Series will be held virtually on Thursday, February 1, 2024, from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. ET. NOSM University learners can participate live during the Q&A on WebEx. Medical students and residents from across Canada are invited to watch live on YouTube @NOSMtv.

Lecture topics and speakers 

Family medicine is a specialty.
Dr. Michael Green, President, College of Family Physicians of Canada
Description: Presentation about the uniqueness of Family Medicine and its breadth/depth of scope.

Prescribing Change: Family Physicians as Health Advocacy Leaders
Dr. Mekalai Kumanan, President, Ontario College of Family Physicians
Description: Presentation on recent challenges associated with primary practice as well as solutions, such as the Ontario-specific model of family health teams and how family physicians influence change as advocates.

Challenges and Charm: The Family Physician’s Perspective
Dr. Sarah Newbery, Associate Dean, Physician Workforce Strategy, NOSM University, Marathon, ON
Dr. Adam Moir, Associate Professor, NOSM University and Family Physician, Dryden, ON
Dr. Dave McLinden, Associate Professor and Site Liaison Clinician, NOSM University, Huntsville, ON
Description: Presentation from local Northern Ontario family physicians discussing their first-hand experiences in the practice. Discussion on some of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of their careers.

Making the Choice: The Resident’s Perspective
Dr. Émilie Gillissie, Family Medicine Resident, NOSM University
Dr. Rebecca Bourdon, Family Medicine Resident, NOSM University
Dr. Chandelle Mensour, Family Medicine Resident, NOSM University
Description: Presentations from family medicine residents will focus on the various reasons they chose to pursue a career in family medicine, discuss what they look forward to most in their professional endeavors, and how they envision the future of family medicine.