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NOSM Board of Directors endorse School’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion by approving guiding principles

Due to ongoing restrictions on mass gatherings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held its regular board meeting virtually on Wednesday, December 2, 2020.

A special session was held to deepen the Board’s understanding of equity, diversity and inclusion by listening and learning from the experiences of colleagues. Dr. Lana Rose Potts, NOSM Charter Class alumna, was the keynote speaker while the Board also welcomed Dr. Kona Williams, Dr. Nicole Ranger, Dr. Naana Afua Jumah, and Angela Recollet to share insights that will help inform NOSM’s anti-racism strategy.

“NOSM will confront racism within the medical school and advocate for action,” says Dr. Sarita Verma, NOSM Dean, President and CEO. “We are grateful to the speakers who joined us for this discussion. Their insight is valuable as we look for ways to uphold NOSM’s commitments and make ourselves accountable.”

Following the session, the Board unanimously agreed to guiding principles for the School that specifically state the following:

  • all current and future learners, faculty and staff should have an equitable opportunity to connect, belong, grow, contribute, advance their careers and most importantly, feel comfortable and confident being their authentic selves in an inclusive environment;
  • racism, systemic racism and discrimination are not acceptable at NOSM and the Board expresses its solidarity, grounded in a shared sense of humanity and social justice; and,
  • the NOSM Board of Directors recognizes its role and duty to stand against, to question, to intervene, to correct complicities and to not be tolerant of the institutionalization of racism, discrimination and colonialism at NOSM, and to advocate for the same with all of NOSM’s partners.

As a result, the Board supports and directs Dr. Verma to embed, act and report back on specific actions that reflect the values of equity, diversity and inclusiveness that address and respond to racism, systemic racism and any form of discrimination.

“These conversations are critical in understanding how to better shape the medical education experience for NOSM learners. It is important work that the Board is proud to endorse and support,” says Dr. Robert Haché, Chair of NOSM’s Board of Directors.

Dr. Sarita Verma provided an update on activities within the School, including an update on operations during the pandemic, Canada’s first ever virtual accreditation visit, and progress on a number of strategic priorities as identified in the school’s new five-year strategic plan launched on November 10, 2020.

The next meeting of the Board of Directors is scheduled for April 7, 2021.

For a complete list of Board members, please visit our website at nosm.ca/board.

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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.

NOSM is challenging high schools, communities, Canadian medical schools and the wider medical sector to join its Respect the DifferenceTM movement. The movement emphasizes actionable changes in organizational policy and in fostering a culture of kindness, respect, inclusivity and diversity.

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

Alumni Stories, Francophone Features, In the Spotlight

Where are they now? Charter Class Alumna thrives in rural Francophone practice

Reflecting back, Dr. Lyndsay Berardi says her mother’s experience with breast cancer ignited her ambition to become a family physician. At the time, Lyndsay was a Francophone teenager in Kirkland Lake. Her mother’s diagnosis marked the beginning of many trips to Sudbury for cancer treatment, and for Lyndsay, it would chart the course of her career in medicine.

“Even though I was relatively young, I was acutely aware of some of the inequities in accessing health care; having to drive three-and-a-half hours to go to Sudbury for my mother’s oncology appointments and there were times when I wouldn’t see her for six weeks because she was having radiation treatments,” Lyndsay says.

“At that point I was more and more drawn to the idea of pursuing medicine as a career. I went to university and studied biochemistry with the full intention of applying for medical school. This was around the same time that NOSM was starting up and everyone in Northern Ontario was really excited to be gaining a new medical school,” she says. 

“Getting into the new medical school became my ultimate goal. I went through university telling myself ‘I’m going to be a member of the charter class.’ The goal was to get into medicine so that I could help people like my mom by ensuring they have access to health care, and that they can receive health care in a compassionate, culturally appropriate manner from somebody who was really invested in their care.”

To this day, Lyndsay says helping her patients navigate the intricacies of the health-care system is a service she works hard to provide for her patients. 

“The system is complicated for physicians to navigate, let alone patients who are unwell and afraid. That’s what I saw happen to my mom and I was adamant that I wanted to be part of the solution.” 

She joined the charter class at NOSM in 2005. In class she met her husband Dr. Philip Berardi, fellow NOSM charter class Alumnus from Sault Ste. Marie, who is now a Hematopathologist at the Ottawa Hospital campus and an Assistant professor at the University of Ottawa. They now have three children and live in Orleans between Rockland and the Ottawa Hospital. 

Lyndsay’s family medicine practice is in Rockland, a rural Francophone community of approximately 10,000 located about 45 minutes east of Ottawa. She says she was drawn to the small French community because it reminds her of Francophone Northern Ontario. In Rockland she practices entirely in French “which is something I’m very proud and happy to be able to do,” she says. 

“Our intention was always to go back to Northern Ontario, but with the level of Phil’s specialty, jobs for him were mainly in large tertiary centers, which is why we decided on Ottawa. That’s also how I discovered Rockland, where I’ve been working as a family doctor since I graduated residency in 2011.”

She credits NOSM’s strong Francophone advocacy, curriculum and inclusiveness for supporting her as a Francophone medical student which allowed her to study medicine in French. 

“If it wasn’t for NOSM, I don’t know that I would’ve been able to acquire the Francophone community experiences, medical skills and terminology required to continue to practice 100 per cent in French. I would’ve likely ended up practicing in English,” Lyndsay says. 

“Having been born and raised in Kirkland Lake to a Francophone family meant that retaining the French language was really important to me. At NOSM, French health care was always stressed and equally valued, and all efforts were made to allow me to learn and practice in French.”

“All of the medical French terms are not commonly used French words, so there was definitely a learning curve over the past ten years while I practiced only with French physicians and patients,” she says. “I don’t think I would have ever felt comfortable had NOSM not provided me with the opportunity to learn medicine in French.”

She says cultural sensitivity is a core strength of the MD Program at NOSM, as is NOSM’s approach to clinical skills.

“During my MD program at NOSM, I had the opportunity to focus on the clinical skills right from the start. That is what makes the school successful. I now teach residents in their second year of residency from places like University of Toronto who have only read about the skills that NOSM students have performed several times.”

“For example, by the time I got to residency I had performed several lumbar punctures compared to others who said they’d only read about them many times. That’s the beauty of NOSM, and rural medicine. It’s a very hands-on approach to learning medicine,” Lyndsay says. “There’s no hierarchy of residents either that you have to wade through in order to get the opportunity to try.”  

“Being able to work in a rural community and provide care and in French are two things that are important to me. I hope that although we were unable to return to Northern Ontario, people recognize the value of being able to provide Francophone care in a rural community.”

“I feel indebted to NOSM. The program changed my life, it’s where I met my husband, it’s where I was supported through training because medical school and residency are not easy. I am so thankful and appreciative to the faculty in Sudbury, for the time they took to teach me. If it weren’t for their many hours dedicated to my learning and to the success of the School, we wouldn’t be in the position we are right now in our lives. I feel that sense of gratitude every day and every time I have a student or a resident work with me. I’m so grateful to NOSM for that.”

 

Alumni Stories, In the Spotlight

Putting social accountability into everyday practice

Dr. Ella Goodman, graduate of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s (NOSM) Charter Class of 2011, constantly puts social accountability into practice. For the past nine years she’s provided care to highly vulnerable populations at the Norwest Community Health Centre in the south-east area of Thunder Bay.

“We have a large number of low-income families, unattached patients without family doctors, a large Syrian refugee community, a large urban-Indigenous population and a lot of underserved people in general. We’re always working to better understand everyone’s needs, to better provide health care and access to the health services they deserve,” says Ella. 

New virtual care options being offered over the past year helped some patients feel more comfortable accessing services.

“In COVID times, we’re trying as much as possible to keep our services going and to adapt, so we’ve been offering a blend of in-person and virtual appointments. There have been real benefits in accommodating virtual appointments for our clients. Many who work and those with transportation issues, used to struggle with appointment times. Now, they enjoy not having to take time off or take the bus to get here and wait in the crowded waiting room for a ten-minute appointment. Virtual appointments are much more accessible for those who have access to the technology.” 

Also, Ella credits the health team at the centre for making unique, thoughtful advances in socially accountable care. “Community health workers here have stepped up with different programming, for example, providing boxes of toiletries, food and common household items to some of our populations that may have a hard time accessing these things during COVID.”

She says her education at NOSM prepared her well for the cultural sensitivities and other realities of practice that exist not only here in one of the most challenged neighbourhoods in Thunder Bay, but in many communities across Ontario.  

“There’s definitely a fear that a lot of individuals feel when they have not had equitable care in the past. NOSM prepared me for the realities of trying to break down those barriers and having a strong sense of cultural awareness,” she says.  “I try to build an alliance, where the patient feels safe to come and receive care, and a lot of that comes down to meeting the individual where they’re at in their health-care journey. NOSM definitely prepared me for that.” 

Ella says NOSM’s focus on culture in education gave her a deeper understanding that culture is unique and helped her apply strategies to deliver better care. She says the nuances of those lessons directly apply to her practice.

“At NOSM, I learned the core concepts of not making assumptions, being open to learning more about a culture, and not being afraid to ask questions. It’s important in practice, and I think it was really helpful to learn early on.”

“I’m always humbled by our patients and always learning in my encounters with them, for example, we didn’t previously have mirrors in our clinical exam rooms and a lot of our patients wear the hijab. It’s helpful to them to have a mirror when putting it on and important because they can’t leave the room without it. Lessons like these are always popping up, and they humble you—I think they require the right approach in asking questions and being willing to learn.”

There are two things that keep Ella going as a busy young physician who is balancing her own young family, and as a hospitalist and preceptor working in a pandemic, “the population we serve, and the wonderfully supportive environment at the centre. I feel like I’m doing meaningful medicine on a daily basis.”

In light of her own lessons learned, she strives to teach NOSM medical students the key values of “just doing the best that we can to help those who we can, and the importance of being able to help provide a safe environment where all individuals can access quality care.”

 

NOSM University