The Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s A Roadmap to 2020: NOSM’s Whole School Strategic Action Plan is now publicly available. A follow-up to NOSM’s Strategic Plan 2015-2020, the Roadmap describes exactly how the School will accomplish its strategic goals.

The Action Plan was developed in order to integrate activities across NOSM’s wider campus of Northern Ontario. Below are the five overarching categories of the Action Plan that integrate the School’s goals:

• Connecting the entire NOSM campus of Northern Ontario;
• Sustaining and aligning NOSM’s infrastructure, logistics, and leadership;
• Growing a culture of continuous improvement;
• Expanding research in the North, for the North; and,
• Leading at home and beyond Northern Ontario.

Under each of these five categories, the Action Plan outlines specific objectives that NOSM will complete in order to ensure that the ambitious, yet achievable, strategic plan will be successfully implemented by 2020.

“The rapid establishment and success of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine is the result of collaboration from Northern Ontarians across the entire geography of Northern Ontario,” says Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean and CEO. “As we move forward, we need to make sure we have an effective, sustainable organization that delivers education and research that communities really need.”

NOSM’s Strategic Plan, launched publicly last September, is the product of a highly inclusive process nearly two years in the making. From May to September 2014, NOSM’s Dean and CEO Dr. Roger Strasser, Deputy Dean and Associate Dean of Community Engagement, Dr. David Marsh, senior leaders, and staff travelled to more than 50 rural, remote, Francophone, and Aboriginal communities across Northern Ontario to meet with individuals, organizations, learners, health-care professionals, and faculty. In all, more than 1,000 individuals provided input into the future of the School. NOSM’s Strategic Plan 2015-2020 is the culmination of a purposeful process that actively sought to understand the ongoing health-related needs in the region.

“NOSM was the first Canadian medical school to embrace the idea that all of our activities should be directed to influence the health of the people we serve,” says Dr. David Marsh, NOSM Deputy Dean and Associate Dean of Community Engagement. “With our new Strategic Plan, and now the Roadmap to 2020, we will continue to collaborate with our many community partners to ensure that our education and research influences the health of Northern Ontarians.”

Both A Roadmap to 2020 and NOSM’s Strategic Plan 2015-2020 are available at nosmsp2020.ca.

Contact

news@nosm.ca

Board Members Tour Anishnawbe Mushkiki Aboriginal Health Centre and Take Part in a Case-Based Learning Exercises 

The Board of Directors of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held a face-to-face meeting in Thunder Bay on November 26 and 27, 2015.

NOSM Board members began their two-day meeting with a tour of the Anishnawbe Mushkiki Aboriginal Health Centre. Established as a primary health care facility within the District of Thunder Bay, the Centre provides primary, traditional, and alternative approaches that work to empower Aboriginal people to achieve optimal health and wellbeing.

This year, NOSM’s Board of Directors and Academic Council members participated together in quality monitoring and effectiveness sessions, first looking at the Institutional Quality Assurance Process (IQAP), led by Dr. Moira McPherson, Chair of NOSM’s Board of Directors and Lakehead’s Provost and VP (Academic), and Dr. Nancy Luckai, Lakehead’s Deputy Provost. Next, Directors took part in two Case-Based Learning (CBL) exercises typical of NOSM’s student-centred teaching approach. This session was led by Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM’s Dean, Dr. David Marsh, NOSM’s Deputy Dean and Associate Dean of Community Engagement, Dr. Owen Prowse, NOSM’s Assistant Dean of Admissions, Miriam Cain, NOSM’s Director of Admissions, and Kate Beatty, NOSM’s Director of Equity and Quality.

In the evening of the first day, Board members were able to view The Rural Challenge and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, a documentary by Dr. Hoi Cheu, a faculty member and researcher at Laurentian University. The film describes NOSM’s revolutionary rural educational model through the personal experience, insight and humour of the School’s students, graduates, faculty members, community partners, and international associates.

Throughout the two days, Board members received presentations related to NOSM’s socially accountable admissions processes, finance, and advancement, and updates from several Board committees. In addition, Board members heard about the progress made regarding NOSM’s development of a Response to and Prevention of Sexual Violence on Campus strategy.

Angèle Brunelle, NOSM Board member, and Executive Director of L’Accueil francophone, and NOSM’s Dr. David Marsh, provided an overview of the recently held fifth Francophone Symposium where more than 90 health professionals and community partners from across Northern Ontario gathered to explore dimensions of health care related to Francophone populations.

At the formal Board meeting at the end of the second day, the Board approved Financial Statements from the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee for the five-month period ending September 30, 2015.

The Board-approved A Roadmap to 2020: NOSM’s Whole School Strategic Action Plan was circulated to all members, which is a follow-up document to NOSM’s Strategic Plan 2015-2020 that describes exactly how the School will accomplish its strategic goals. NOSM publicly launched its new strategic plan in September, the details of which are available at www.nosmsp2020.ca.

Dr. Moira McPherson, Chair of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s Board of Directors and Provost and VP (Academic) at Lakehead, noted that the two-day meeting in Sudbury was a great success. “As NOSM celebrates its 10th anniversary, it’s exciting to reflect on the progress the School has made in contributing to the health of the people and communities of Northern Ontario,” says Dr. McPherson. “NOSM’s success is truly a collaborative effort, and I am inspired by the Board’s ongoing dedication to governance and fiscal management at the School.”

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s next Board of Directors meeting is scheduled to occur on March 16, 2016.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is pleased to announce the reappointment of Dr. Catherine Cervin as NOSM’s Associate Dean of Postgraduate Education (PGE) for a second five-year term, effective September 2016.

NOSM’s Postgraduate Education Office is responsible for the oversight, administration and support of all Postgraduate Residency Programs in Northern Ontario. NOSM offers Residency Programs in: Family Medicine and Family Medicine Enhanced Skills in Emergency Medicine, Family Practice Anesthesia, Maternity Care, and Care of the Elderly. Royal College Accredited Programs include Public Health and Preventative Medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Psychiatry, Anesthesiology. As well there is a Northern Stream of the Ottawa Obstetrics and Gynecology residency program.

Since joining NOSM in 2011, Dr. Cervin has led a team that works to foster strong collaborations with communities and health organizations across Northern Ontario where residents experience diverse educational, clinical, and cultural opportunities. Under Dr. Cervin’s leadership, the first full on-site accreditation survey visit of NOSM’s residency programs by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) and the College of Family Physicians Canada (CFPC) occurred in May 2014.  

In 2013, Dr. Cervin received the School’s Award of Excellence in the category of leadership after being nominated by NOSM staff members.

“It is with great excitement that I congratulate Dr. Cervin on her reappointment as Associate Dean of Postgraduate Education,” says Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean. “Dr. Cervin’s leadership approach and understanding of NOSM’s residency needs will ensure the ongoing enrichment of the School’s postgraduate programs to foster exemplary quality health care in rural and remote communities, consistent with NOSM’s new strategic plan. I wish her much success in her second term.”

Dr. Cervin will also continue in the role of NOSM Senior Associate Dean at Laurentian University.

About Dr. Catherine Cervin

Dr. Catherine (Cathy) Cervin grew up in southern Ontario, went to medical school at the University of Toronto, finished her family medicine residency at Dalhousie and then practised full-scope family medicine in Northern Ontario (Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie) for seven years before embarking on an academic career in the Department of Family Medicine at Dalhousie. While at Dalhousie, Dr. Cervin took on a number of leadership roles. She became Hospital Chief of the Department of Family Medicine at the Grace Maternity Hospital (now the IWK Women and Children’s Health Centre), she was Residency Program Director for Family Medicine for ten years, and was the Interim Department Head of Dalhousie Family Medicine. As befits a generalist, her professional interests are wide ranging and include social accountability, educating for comprehensive primary care, curriculum development, learning portfolios, communication skills and cultural competency. Her clinical interests include primary maternity care, the patient-centred approach, and chronic disease care.

Recognized by her peers and colleagues, Dr. Cervin received a Certificate of Merit from the Canadian Association of Medical Education in 2009 and also received an Award of Excellence from the College of Family Physicians in 2010. That same year, she completed her Masters of Medical Education. Dr. Cervin was also recently appointed as a new Director on the Board of the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). Dr. Cervin also holds leadership roles at the College of Family Physicians of Canada as Chair of the Board of Examiners and Chair of the Research and Education Foundation Board.