Dr. Brianne Wood, Associate Scientist at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) and the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC), has been awarded the Fellowship in Health Systems Resilience by the Health Research Foundation of Innovative Medicines Canada. Dr. Wood was selected by the foundation’s committee of leading Canadian life sciences experts to receive $450,000 over three years.

As an Associate Scientist in Social Accountability and Learning Health Systems, Dr. Wood’s research aims to improve health care in Northern Ontario by building a system that reflects the health needs of communities. She will investigate how communities and health systems can better generate knowledge and understanding to help inform policy both in times of emergency and for the future of health system improvement.

“I’m thrilled for the opportunity this fellowship provides, and for the trust the foundation places in me to advance my research. My vision is to improve health and health care in Northern, rural, and remote communities. Partnerships, shared strategies and resources between education, research, health services and communities are essential to create meaningful impact. This fellowship will enable me to better prepare underserved health systems to meet the needs of their health workforce and the communities they serve,” says Dr. Wood.

Her research comes at a critical time, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to highlight ongoing health-care inequities in Northern Ontario. Rural and remote communities in the region face health workforce shortages, burnout, fewer resources, and more complex population health issues compared to the rest of Ontario. The Fellowship will examine the resilience of Northern Ontario’s health system—specifically to strengthen the system’s capacity to adapt to crisis, emergencies and change—while maintaining and improving health care service.

“Through initiatives such as the Fellowship in Health Systems Resilience, our industry makes valuable contributions to public policy and helps Canadians prepare and be equipped to face our next public health crisis. I believe that Dr. Wood and her work will help Canada curb the impact of future pandemics and other health threats, especially in vulnerable communities,” says Pamela Fralick, President, Innovative Medicines Canada.

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About the NOSM Centre for Social Accountability
The Centre for Social Accountability (CFSA) is the first of its kind in Canada. It is a model for multidisciplinary, community-led, and community-prioritised health and public health multidisciplinary research. The NOSM CFSA is advancing social accountability research globally and locally by working and collaborating with diverse stakeholders in the broad areas of health professional education, health system transformation, health human resources, social and population health, and social determinants of health. The Centre is home to two research networks, NORTHH and MERLIN, which focus on building capacity and providing tools for change.

About the Northern Ontario School of Medicine
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. NOSM’s graduates, faculty, learners, and staff are changemakers who lead health-system transformation in Northern Ontario. The School is a recipient of the Charles Boelen International Social Accountability Award from the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada and the prestigious ASPIRE award, which recognize international excellence in social accountability and medical education.

About the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre
TBRHSC is a state-of-the-art, 375 bed, acute care facility serving the health care needs of people living in Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario. The organization is focused on providing patient and family centred care in an academic learning environment. To fulfill its teaching and research strategic goals, the TBRHSC supported (in 2007-08) the creation of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute (TBRHRI) as a not-for-profit and independent research corporation. TBRHRI is the research arm of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, a leader in Patient and Family Centred Care and a research and teaching hospital proudly affiliated with Lakehead University, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and Confederation College.

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

Marcello Bernardo
Communications and Engagement
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre
Phone: 807-684-6011
Email: bernarma@tbh.net

Board, Homepage News, Media Releases

NOSM pushes forward with clear vision to improve access to northern health care ahead of proclamation

Friday December 3rd, 2021 Alexandra Poling

Board approves priorities for 2022 as NOSM transitions to a stand-alone University.

Following extensive in-person community consultations across Northern Ontario, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is reaffirming its pledge — and its mandate — to make health care better for the entire region.

At the December 2, 2021 board meeting, Dr. Sarita Verma, NOSM Dean, President and CEO, provided feedback from consultations held with more than 1,000 Northern Ontarians over the past few months. A clear vision for improved access to northern health care was presented and approved by the Board.

“Since September, we’ve had the honour of meeting and hearing from people from Kenora and Sioux Lookout to Hearst and Parry Sound in our travels,” said Dr. Sarita Verma, Dean, President and CEO of NOSM. “What we heard frequently and consistently was that the north needs more health resources in rural and remote areas, and the dedicated health-care workers in those areas, especially in the pandemic era, need urgent relief in order to keep going.”

As NOSM stands at the ready to become Canada’s first stand-alone medical university, its leaders are undertaking a bold strategic plan that not only addresses those issues: it charts a daring, socially-accountable path forward, in concert with Indigenous, Francophone and other partners across all regions in the north. All of NOSM’s education programs are fully accredited and in high standing with the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the Medical Council of Canada.

“NOSM University will continue to emphasize its primary mandate to addressing the region’s health-care gaps,” says Dr. Verma. “NOSM prioritizes the need for education in Northern Ontario and leading population and health research to make sure that any health care provided is tailored specifically to the needs of the people in the region. NOSM University will continue to meet the needs of the north and we will recruit from its people – who train here in culturally relevant programs and stay here to practise.”

“We will soon be standalone, but we are not alone,” continued Dr. Verma. “We are so grateful for the continued support of the province and the many enthusiastic donors who share our vision. The future and potential of NOSM University is truly limitless.”

The Dean’s report for 2021 A year in review. Meeting the NOSM Challenge. can be viewed and downloaded at https://report.nosm.ca/.

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Fast facts:

NOSM University will become the first stand-alone medical school in Canada.
When the legislation is proclaimed in force, NOSM will form a new Board of Governors and new Senate.
NOSM will remain in both Thunder Bay and Sudbury, and will build on its collaborative relationships with Laurentian University and Lakehead University.
NOSM University will continue to receive 90 per cent of its operating funds directly from the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Colleges and Universities.
NOSM University will remain deeply committed to its partnerships with Indigenous, Francophone, rural and remote communities that have been critical to NOSM’s mission and success.
NOSM’s partnerships and collaborations with over 500 organizations, 90-plus communities, and more than 1,800 clinical, human and medical sciences faculty dispersed across all of Northern Ontario will continue.
NOSM will be the first university in Canada with a dedicated Centre for Social Accountability.

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. NOSM’s graduates, faculty, learners and staff are changemakers who lead health-system transformation in Northern Ontario. The School is a recipient of the Charles Boelen International Social Accountability Award from the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada and the prestigious ASPIRE award, which recognize international excellence in social accountability and medical education.

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

Homepage News, Media Releases

New International Steering Committee on Social Accountability to be housed at NOSM

Wednesday December 1st, 2021 Alexandra Poling

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is becoming home to a new international steering committee—The International Social Accountability and Accreditation Steering Committee (ISAASC). The committee will promote the integration of social accountability into medical school accreditation standards on a global scale.

“The steering committee is about working on getting social accountability embedded in medical school accreditation standards around the world, and to explore opportunities for expanding social accountability into other health professional schools,” says Dr. David Marsh, Associate Dean, Research, Innovation and International Relations at NOSM and co-chair of the steering committee. “The Committee on the Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) has done this in Canada and we will draw on this Canadian expertise, along with others with relevant experience around the world.”

“Social accountability has become an accreditation standard in Canadian MD programs and there are many countries who want to learn and build upon this model,” says Dr. Erin Cameron, co-chair of the Steering Committee and Director of the Centre for Social Accountability at NOSM. “Globally, social accountability and accreditation are both seen as catalysts for educational and health system change to respond to the challenges in the post-pandemic era.”

Earlier this year, NOSM was named one of ten participating schools in a global pilot of a new tool to assess social accountability. The development of this tool, led by The Network: Towards Unity for Health (TUFH), is critical as it “demonstrates that an institution is meeting the highest standards of verified performance. Social Accountability Verification doesn’t just prove where your institute excels now—it commits you to consider stakeholder impact for the long term by building it into your company’s legal structure,” writes TUFH.

“This is a unique opportunity for NOSM to make an impact at a global level. We are very proud to be Canada’s first medical school to be established with an explicit social accountability mandate,” says Dr. Sarita Verma, Dean, President and CEO of NOSM.

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About the Northern Ontario School of Medicine
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. NOSM’s graduates, faculty, learners and staff are changemakers who lead health-system transformation in Northern Ontario. The School is a recipient of the Charles Boelen International Social Accountability Award from the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada and the prestigious ASPIRE award, which recognize international excellence in social accountability and medical education.

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