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Launchfire and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine Receive International Communicator Award

Launchfire, a leader in game-based marketing programs, and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) win a 2021 Communicator Award in the category of Individual-Contests & Promotions for their online advertising and marketing work in creating The NOSM Trivia Challenge.

With more than 6,000 entries received from across the United States and around the world, the Communicator Awards is the largest and most competitive awards program honoring creative excellence for communications professionals.

The NOSM Trivia Challenge provided participants the opportunity to answer educational trivia questions on health equity in Northern Ontario and Indigenous and Francophone health, all in support of creating access to equitable health care in the region. Entrants played for an individual cash prize of $1,000, and for a Northern Ontario community of their choice. The winning community would receive $10,000 towards their local health-care centre. More than 1,300 registrants participated in the challenge and the town of Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario was declared the winner.

According to the Smooth Rock Falls Hospital Association president, three hydraulic lifts for their long-term care facility would be purchased with the winnings.

“The NOSM Trivia Challenge was a fun and engaging way to connect with communities across Northern Ontario while sharing knowledge about the priority health concerns of our region,” says Joanne Musico, NOSM’s Director of Communications and External Relations. “Launchfire worked with us to design a platform that met every communication objective identified. We are honoured to be recognized by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts with this award.”

In an effort to deliver on their Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments, Launchfire continues to participate in projects that give back. So far in 2021, Launchfire has planted trees in lieu of sending holiday gift baskets and participated in a fundraiser to buy snowsuits for underprivileged children.

“While it’s great to win awards, it’s even better to come together for a genuinely good cause and do something meaningful,” said Launchfire’s Co-Founder and V.P. Business Solutions, AJ Pratt. “NOSM has been amazing to work with and we’re stoked that together we built something that has made a real impact for the community of Smooth Rock Falls.”

The complete list of 2021 Communicator Award winners is available on their website.

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About Launchfire
Launchfire (est. 1999) is a game-based digital promotions company that helps marketers drive engagement, educate consumers, and sell more stuff.  For more information, visit launchfire.com

About NOSM
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is an award-winning socially accountable medical school renowned for its innovative model of distributed, community-engaged education and research. With a focus on diversity, inclusion, and advocacy for health equity, NOSM relies on the commitment and expertise of the peoples and communities of Northern Ontario to educate health-care professionals to practise in Indigenous, Francophone, rural, remote and underserved communities.

About The Communicator Awards
The Communicator Awards is the leading international awards program honoring creative excellence for marketing and communications professionals. Founded by passionate communications professionals over two decades ago, The Communicator Awards is an annual competition honoring the best digital, mobile, audio, video, and social content the industry has to offer. The Communicator Awards is widely recognized as one of the largest awards of its kind in the world. The Communicator Awards are judged and curated by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA). The AIVA is an assembly of leading professionals from various disciplines of the visual arts dedicated to embracing progress and the evolving nature of traditional and interactive media. Current AIVA membership represents a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, advertising, and marketing firms including: GE Digital, Spotify, Condé Nast, Disney, Republica, Majestyk, Fast Company, Upstatement, and many others. See aiva.org for more information.

For further information, please contact:

news@nosm.ca

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10th Annual Northern Constellations focuses on physician wellness and recognizes outstanding NOSM faculty

Faculty at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) came together to share, network and celebrate its pan-Northern community at Northern Constellations. This was the School’s 10thannual Northern Constellations faculty development conference held Friday, April 30 and Saturday, May 1, 2021.

With close to 1,800 faculty distributed across 800,000 km2 in more than 90 communities, Northern Constellations was developed in 2012 as a way to unite the School’s dispersed faculty who are critical to the delivery of medical education at NOSM. This year’s agenda explored the topic of physician burnout and the need for wider organizational culture change in medicine.

“We deeply value faculty and recognize the weight of their workloads,” says Dr. James Goertzen, NOSM’s Associate Dean, Continuing Education and Professional Development and Thunder Bay family physician. “The conference provides an opportunity to support one another, enrich our own development and explore new ways to address systemic issues, like burnout, as a community.”

Plenary guest speaker, Dr. Jillian Horton spoke about strategies in support of recognizing burnout in health-care professionals. As a general internist, medical academic, author, and former Associate Dean at University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine, Dr. Horton highlighted practical approaches including advocating for organizational change, mindfulness, personal narrative and influencing culture change to “take care of ourselves.”

Other workshops and discussions held during the two-day conference included: medical art, the rural generalist pathway to medicine, learning how to write impactful op-eds for advocacy; supporting medical learner wellness; developing physician competencies for Northern Ontario, and learning from a project promoting healthy lifestyle habits among Indigenous youth through Innu Meshkenu or “the Innu way.”

At a virtual celebration Friday evening, NOSM presented Awards of Education and Scholarship to individual faculty members who enhance the quality of medical education and research. Dr. Zacharias Suntres, a NOSM Assistant Dean and Chair of the Student Assessment and Promotions Committee was the recipient of the Academic Leader Award. Dr. Radu Alexandru Moise, a NOSM faculty member researching the roles of nutrition in health and disease, received the Scholar Award. Dr. Chi Cheng, a leader in developing educational standards in the NOSM Psychiatry Program received the Clinical Scholar Award. Donna Newhouse, a medical educator who led the development of the NOSM anatomy labs, received the Medical Educator Award.

NOSM announced the bestowment of the title Associate Professor Honorarius to: Dr. Lois Hutchison, a psychiatry clinician, teacher and mentor; Dr. Janice Willett, a practising gynaecologist for over 25 years in Sault Ste. Marie and former NOSM Associate Dean; and, Dr. Malcolm Wilson, an active clinician, mentor, and teacher to residents and faculty in the North.

In NOSM’s strategic plan, The NOSM Challenge 2025, the School identifies several strategic enablers that align with the focus at Northern Constellations including; building a culture of continuous learning and mentorship by develop programs for professional development across all stage of careers; preparing teachers and support faculty and students in academic career progression to become leaders and change agents; and building a culture with a focus on wellness and work-life balance and inclusive learning and working environments.


Photo: Dr. Sarita Verma, NOSM Dean, President and CEO with Dr. James Goertzen,
NOSM’s Associate Dean, Continuing Education and Professional Development at
The NOSM Faculty Celebration and Awards in 2019.

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The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is an award-winning socially accountable medical school renowned for its innovative model of distributed, community-engaged education and research. With a focus on diversity, inclusion, and advocacy for health equity, NOSM relies on the commitment and expertise of the peoples and communities of Northern Ontario to educate health-care professionals to practise in Indigenous, Francophone, rural, remote and underserved communities.

For further information, please contact: news@nosm.ca

 

Associate Professor Honorarius

Dr. Lois Hutchinson, Thunder Bay

Dr. Hutchinson completed a residency in Family Medicine initially at Queen’s University before completing residency at the University of Toronto. Before moving home to Thunder Bay in 1983, she completed a second residency in Psychiatry at the University of Toronto where she became an MRC Fellow at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry. Dr. Hutchinson was a busy clinician working in all aspects of psychiatry, including outpatient psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, and addictions. She was a scholar with numerous publications in the field of psychiatry and an inspiring teacher and mentor, training many students and residents from 2009 to 2020 in her role as an Associate Professor. She was also very involved in the leadership of many local, provincial and national medical and psychiatric organizations. Her work has been recognized by the Northwestern Ontario Mental Health Network and the Ontario Medical Association, where she achieved life membership in 2016. Internationally recognized, Dr. Hutchinson has helped in the recruitment of the majority of psychiatrists who currently work in Thunder Bay.

Dr. Janice Willett, Sault Ste. Marie

Dr. Willett completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology with the University of Western Ontario. She was a practicing gynaecologist for more than 25 years in Sault Ste. Marie, in affiliation with the Sault Area Hospital. She was also the Medical Director of the Maternal Child Program and Surgery Program, and served on the Sault Area Hospital Foundation Board. Her time with NOSM was as Associate Professor; Head of the Clinical Sciences Division; Chair of Academic Council; and, Associate Dean, Faculty Affairs and Continuing Education and Professional Development. She was also an active member of NOSM’s Executive Group. Her commitment to leadership is commendable. She was the Ontario Regional Chair for the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists; President of the Ontario Medical Association; Chair of the Canadian Medical Association Committee on Education and Professional Development, Chair of the Canadian Resident Matching Service; and Chair for the AFMC CPD Deans’ Committee. Dr. Willett is a respected mentor and an accomplished leader in medicine.

Dr. Malcolm Wilson, Huntsville

Dr. Malcolm Wilson was an actively engaged clinician, mentor, and teacher to residents and faculty in the North. He is an MD graduate of Queen’s University with more than 30 years of dedicated service to Internal Medicine and the Huntsville District Memorial Hospital. His passion also extended to teaching. Dr. Wilson was Site Coordinator of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s Internal Medicine Post-Graduate Training Program in Huntsville, and Academic & Evaluation Coordinator for the Internal Medicine Post-Graduate Residency Training Program. Dr. Wilson also applied his leadership skills to the roles of Medical Advisor to the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program of the Huntsville District Memorial Hospital; and Co-chair for the Antibiotic Advisory Committee of the Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare.

 

Awards of Education and Scholarship Recipients

 

Clinical Scholar Award
Dr. Chiachen Cheng, Thunder Bay

Dr. Cheng is a highly respected teacher, and a leader in developing educational standards in the NOSM Psychiatry Program. Dr. Cheng leads numerous grants and now inspires a generation of young researchers by exemplifying how to conduct successful research in the North. Dr. Cheng has been the most successful Psychiatry Section Faculty for large grants by competitive agencies such as CIHR, Ontario Trillium, and Sick Kids Foundation. These successes have occurred while stepping into the Site Director role for Post-graduate training, maintaining a robust clinical practice, and being the Post-graduate Director for Research. Dr. Cheng has exemplified the tenacity that a clinician with a passion for research requires to succeed in the North. She has engaged deeply with many aspects across her role as a teacher, clinician, researcher, and leader.

 

Scholar Award
Dr. Radu Alexandru Moise, Sudbury

Dr. Moise is one of NOSM’s most successful and productive researchers. He has a strong publication record in high impact journals such as JBC and FASEB Journal. He is highly successful in securing highly competitive peer-reviewed national and international research grant funding, currently holding an NSERC Discovery Grant and an Operating Grant from the National Institutes of Health from the USA. In addition, Dr. Moise is a member a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the American Association for Anatomy (AAA), and the Awards Committee of the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention (BDRP); and serves on grant review panels for the New Frontiers in Research Funds, NSERC, CIHR and the NIH. Dr. Moise has made many outstanding contributions in all major areas of academic service and is highly deserving of this award addressing his achievements.

 

Medical Educator Award
Donna Newhouse, Thunder Bay

Newhouse is leader and visionary that has developed the anatomy and labs for the entire undergraduate medical education program at NOSM. She has led the Lab Committee since the beginning and has worked with countless faculty to continuously revise and improve our curriculum by maintaining strong connections to other anatomy programs in Ontario ensuring that she brings the best ideas to NOSM. Newhouse is a positive role model to both faculty and medical students. She demonstrates a strong work ethic and a genuine enthusiasm for teaching and learning. Perhaps one of the greatest qualities of a medical educator is the desire to continue to learn. She has demonstrated over the years that she wants to continue to learn herself and she brings this learning to curriculum development at NOSM.

 

Academic Leader Award
Dr. Zacharias Suntres, Thunder Bay

Dr. Suntres holds leadership roles in Education, Research and Academic Governance at NOSM and fosters a cooperative and collaborative environment in all three pillars of academia. In Education, Dr. Suntres currently holds the position of Assistant Dean Phase 1 (pre-clerkship phase), and Chair of the Student Assessment and Promotion Committee providing leadership and mentorship to both students and faculty. In research, Dr. Suntres maintains a well-funded research program collaborating with NOSM faculty and colleagues from around the world. In governance, Dr. Suntres collaborates with several curriculum working groups, faculty, administrators, and community leaders to develop, implement, and evaluate the UME curriculum for Years 1 and 2. His dedication goes above and beyond what is required, demonstrating a true commitment to the success of NOSM, students, and faculty.

Northern Routes

Constellation of Shining Stars

A constellation is a group of stars that form an easily recognizable pattern to help people navigate using the night sky. Constellation is a symbolic reference not only for NOSM students and faculty, but the many people and communities of Northern Ontario that play a role in NOSM’s achievements and success.

If you ask anyone involved in advocating for the creation of NOSM—and there were many—they will tell you it was their idea. And they would be right. The School was created in the North, by the North, for the North by all who advocated for a solution to health-care disparities and to address the severe doctor shortage in Northern Ontario.

Lately, there have been concerns raised about the proposed legislation to make NOSM a stand-alone degree granting institution. I assure you, and them, that if NOSM becomes a University, then a broad consultation and engagement process aligned to our strategic plan will be held. Your voices, the people of Northern Ontario will be sought, heard and heeded. There is no reason to believe the misleading comments and no reason to suggest that education, the curriculum and research will be harmed. There is nothing in the proposed legislation that would prevent NOSM and its partners from continuing their relationships. In fact, we think that the legislation provides opportunities to collaborate and strengthen these relationships.

NOSM is a small and agile, but complex, organization. As the first medical school established by government directive, NOSM was set up like No Other School of Medicine:

  • No other Canadian medical school is registered as a stand-alone, not-for-profit corporation. Unlike professional faculties at other Canadian universities, which are simply deemed to be different subdivisions within their own institutions, NOSM exists as an entirely separate legal entity.
  • No other Canadian medical school can expand as quickly and make significant advances in Indigenous, Francophone and rural health care as NOSM.
  • No other Canadian medical school educates their learners “all over the map,” with education taking place in more than 90 communities across a geographic expanse of 800,000 square kilometres.
  • And no other medical school has a social accountability mandate with award-winning outcomes of physician recruitment and retention.

Since it was established, NOSM has expanded beyond the delivery of MD education. The School also educates resident doctors, registered dietitians, and medical physicists. Through affiliation agreements with universities in southern Ontario, NOSM supports health sciences learners in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech language pathology, audiology, and physician assistants. NOSM was born out of this grassroots movement and Northerners feel a great sense of pride and ownership in what was created.

Today, NOSM is evolving to meet the health needs in a real way, in real time and in real places. The pandemic has transformed the way health care is delivered and thus, health education must be proactive, not weighed down by ‘conventionalism’. The future of medical and other health professional training is in digital, patient centered and innovative realms, outside the academic classroom and into community, in health institutions like clinics, hospitals and access centers.

NOSM belongs to a constellation of shining stars—the people of Northern Ontario. I am hopeful and optimistic for the future. Let’s get on with it.

Northern Constellations

NOSM’s premier faculty development conference Northern Constellations was held over the weekend and I witnessed an excellent example of collaboration, team solidarity and amazing togetherness which was manifested by the superb success of the tenth anniversary event. Congratulations to Dr. James Goertzen, Associate Dean of Continuing Education and Professional Development (CEPD), Dr. Sarah McIsaac, Medical Director of Faculty Development, and the entire CEPD team for a fantastic conference with hundreds of attendees and amazing keynotes.

During the event, NOSM presented the Awards of Education and Scholarship to individual faculty members who enhance the quality of medical education and research.

Congratulations to: Dr. Zacharias Suntres, a NOSM Assistant Dean and Acting Director of Assessment and Program Evaluation who received the Academic Leader Award. Dr. Radu Alexandru Moise, a NOSM faculty member researching the roles of nutrition in health and disease, received the Scholar Award. Dr. Chi Cheng, a leader in developing educational standards in the NOSM Psychiatry Program who received the Clinical Scholar Award. Donna Newhouse, a medical educator who led the development of the NOSM anatomy labs, on receiving the Medical Educator Award.

I would also like to acknowledge and congratulate the following doctors on the bestowment of the title Associate Professor Honorarius: Dr. Lois Hutchinson, a psychiatry clinician, teacher and mentor; Dr. Janice Willett, a practising gynaecologist for over 25 years in Sault Ste. Marie and former NOSM Associate Dean; and, Dr. Malcolm Wilson, an active clinician, mentor, and teacher to residents and faculty in the North.

A perfect match

The 2021 CaRMS match was a very successful one for NOSM students. All 66 fourth-year medical students matched to a residency program in the 2021 CaRMS match. NOSM was the only medical school in Canada to achieve a 100% match rate.

Overall, 37 NOSM medical students (56%) matched to family medicine programs across the country. The other 29 (44%) matched to various specialty programs across Canada, including: anesthesia, internal medicine, ENT, psychiatry, dermatology, pediatrics, radiation oncology, emergency medicine, orthopedic surgery, urology, anatomical pathology, and obstetrics and gynecology.

Thirty medical students from the NOSM Class of 2021 (45%) will be doing their residency training at NOSM. Nationally, despite the effect of the pandemic, the results were similar to previous years with an overall match rate of 94.2% (vs 94.9% in 2020). Overall, we saw a significant improvement for matches to NOSM’s residency programs, with only 10 positions being unfilled this year, compared to last year’s 20 unfilled positions going to the second round.

Shining stars

Finally, NOSM was honoured by the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada(SRPC) with the Rural Medical Education Award on April 13, 2021. This was the tenth time that NOSM has been recognized with this award.  Each year, the Rural Medical Education Award is presented to a Canadian medical school that encourages students to pursue further training in rural medicine. It is awarded to the MD program that has matched the most graduates to rural family medicine programs as reported by the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) process. According to CaRMS data for 2020, 78% of NOSM’s graduating MD class matched to a rural family medicine residency program.

The SRPC also honoured three NOSM faculty members with distinguished awards. Congratulations to: Dr. Roy Kirkpatrick on receiving the Rural Specialist Merit Award, Dr. Stephen Viherjoki on receiving the Rural Service Award, and Dr. Barb Zelek on receiving the Rural Mentorship Award.

Get ready to go and make a difference! Join us at NOSM’s virtual job fair on May 26-27. There are three streams: undergrad, postgrad & supporters/families. Learn about practice in Northern Ontario. Community presenters will provide an overview of their respective communities and job opportunities for current and future physicians.  ➡️  Register.

NOSM University