Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Yesterday officially marked the first day of classes for 64 new medical students at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), following a week of travel to learn about the geographic, social, cultural, and linguistic diversity of Northern Ontario.

Orientation Week-or O-Week, as it is affectionately referred to at NOSM-is about so much more than helping students find their classes. NOSM’s newest group of students spend the week becoming immersed in the cultural, linguistic, and geographic diversity of the North. This is their introduction to NOSM’s wider campus of Northern Ontario, where they will live and learn for the next four years.

On Tuesday, August 25, NOSM students came together in Sudbury and travelled by bus to Nipissing First Nation. Warmly welcomed by a song from the Little Iron Drum Group, the students broke bread with community members, received an Elder teaching on smudging, and heard advice and encouragement on behalf of the Chief and Council at Nipissing First Nation. Finally, Dr. Brenda Restoule, NOSM faculty member, Aboriginal woman, and psychologist in the area shared information with the students about frameworks developed for First Nations’ Wellness.

On Wednesday, August 26, the MD students toured the Temiskaming Hospital, Haileybury Family Health Team, and the Centre de santé communautaire du Témiskaming. There, the students spoke with NOSM faculty and graduates working in the area about the realities and benefits of practising rural medicine with both French and English patients.

“I was a dietitian for 10 years before I applied to NOSM,” said Dr. Nichole Currie, NOSM graduate and faculty member during the tour of the Haileybury Family Health Team where she now works. “I did the third year of my MD in Temiskaming Shores and absolutely loved it. I love living in a small, rural setting, and I knew that I wanted to do family medicine with obstetrics. It was important for me to raise my family in a small town, but I love that it’s progressive, too.”

Finally, the students returned to Sudbury by bus for the NOSM Oath Ceremony. This ceremony introduces students to the obligations and high standards of their newly chosen profession. The NOSM Oath Ceremony familiarizes students with the Physician’s Oath (the modern version of the famous Hippocratic Oath), its meaning and importance, and begins their four years of medical education with the principles of the Oath in mind.

NOSM continues to meet its social accountability mandate, innovative education and research for a healthier North.  Admission to NOSM’s MD program is highly competitive, and members of this incoming class have been selected from over 2000 applicants with a class mean GPA of 3.83 (measured on a 4-point scale). Demographic characteristics of this class include:

• 89% are from Northern Ontario
• Remaining 11% are from rural and remote parts of the rest of Canada
• 8% are self-identified Aboriginal
• 20% are self-identified Francophone

Students will now get down to work and immerse themselves in all things NOSM-state-of-the-art smart classrooms and learning technologies, an integrated, collaborative approach to education, and distributed, community-based placements across Northern Ontario. Each of these elements helps to ensure that NOSM produces high-quality physicians with an appreciation for the unique health-care needs of Northern Ontario.

 

From August 18 – 20, 2015, the Aboriginal Affairs Unit of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held a historic Elder’s gathering on the traditional lands of Fort William First Nation. The gathering brought together Aboriginal Elders from First Nations and Métis communities across NOSM’s wider campus of Northern Ontario to discuss the future of the School’s Council of Elders.

Over the past ten years, the School has developed relationships with more than 20 Elders who each have special gifts for working with community members. NOSM’s Council of Elders is comprised of these Aboriginal peoples who possess gifts and significant knowledge of traditional, cultural, and spiritual customs and practices. Each of these gifts, separately or together, is related to maintaining the holistic health of a community. Their knowledge is gained through a full life of learning, experiences, and teachings received from other Elders and traditional people.

Tina Armstrong, NOSM’s Director of Aboriginal Affairs, recognized the need to restructure the Council of Elders, reduce the number of Elders formally engaged with the School, and develop a more formal process for determining which Elders would work with NOSM learners, staff, and faculty. “Rather than forming a corporate style working group, we decided it was best to bring the question on how to restructure the Council of Elders to the Elders themselves,” explains Armstrong. “We knew we needed to make a change, so we chose the traditional way. We embraced our culture and took the question of how to change the Council of Elders to the spirits for guidance through ceremony.”

The three-day gathering began with a traditional feast and a sacred Turtle Lodge Ceremony atop scenic Mt. McKay. The following two days brought the Elders together for facilitated discussions about the purpose, function, and responsibility of NOSM Elders and those on the Elder’s Council. Through sharing and discussion, it was decided that the Elder’s Council shall be guided in their work by the Seven Grandfather teachings: Nibwaakaawin (wisdom); Zaagi’idiwin (love); Minaadendamowin (respect); Aakode’ewin (bravery); Gwayakwaadiziwin (honesty); Dabaadendiziwin (humility); and, Debwewin (truth).

Going forward, the Council of Elders will be comprised of eight Elders, with four female and four male representatives. Each Elder shall represent one of the cardinal directions of the medicine wheel to ensure the spiritual, cultural, political, and territory of each region is represented. There was much discussion surrounding the gifts that NOSM Elders would each possess, including traditional languages and culture.

“This is a historic first for the Northern Ontario School of Medicine,” says Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean. “The School has actively chosen to engage Elders in decisions over the past ten years. Elders play an extremely important role in the School and provide links to many Aboriginal communities across the North. We are so pleased the Elders chose to attend the Turtle Lodge Ceremony and grateful their guidance in determining the future direction of the School.”

NOSM Elders provide support to NOSM’s Aboriginal learners; provide cultural teachings to students, staff, and faculty; offer traditional ceremonies and blessings; ensure Aboriginal medical students are recruited to the School; review applications for Aboriginal applicants to the School; participate in quarterly meetings of the School’s Aboriginal Reference Group meetings; assist with developing and approve Aboriginal content in NOSM’s curriculum; and, work with the School to ensure connections are maintained with First Nations and Métis communities across the North.

The sense of direction given by the Council of Elders is fitting as this is a time of change at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. Over the next month, the School will celebrate its tenth anniversary and will be launching NOSM’s Strategic Plan 2015-2020: Reaching Beyond Extraordinary Together-which many of the Elders were involved with developing.

The Francophone Affairs Unit of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is hosting the School’s 5^th Francophone Symposium from September 24 – 26, 2015 at Laurentian University in Sudbury.

This symposium will bring together health professionals and community members interested in Francophone health. These symposia are meant to inform, promote networking within the Francophone population, as well as explore questions relating to – and of interest to – the population.

NOSM has a social accountability mandate to contribute to improving the health of the people and communities of Northern Ontario. As such, the School’s Francophone Affairs Unit encourages Anglophone community members to engage in this symposium and as an introduction to the importance of Francophone cultural competency and awareness of Francophone issues as they relate to health care in our region.

In addition, 2015 marks NOSM’s 10^th anniversary! This will provide delegates from across NOSM’s wider campus of Northern Ontario with an opportunity to examine the School’s impact and outcomes on service, education, and research relating to health matters.

During these three days of networking, interactions, exchanges, small-group work, and discussions, the delegates will learn about NOSM’s new Strategic Plan for 2015-2020 and receive updates from both the Francophone Reference Group and the Francophone Affairs Unit.

A list of distinguished speakers will speak at the symposium, including François Boileau, Ontario’s French Language Services Commissioner and Dr. Raymond Tempier from Hôpital Montfort who will speak about his research on linguistic barriers relating to access to psychiatrists.

Saturday will include a special focus on mental health. By way of speakers and a panel of experts, key elements and best practices to support the mental health and well-being of the Francophone population, particularly in Northern Ontario, will be presented.

Delegates will also have an opportunity to attend other special activities:

• The Franco-Ontarian Gala dinner hosted by the ACFO du Grand Sudbury on Thursday, September 24 (tickets sponsored by NOSM)
• The Franco-Ontarian flag raising on Friday, September 25 at the University of Sudbury
• ‘Le French Fest’ presented by La Slague on Friday, September 25, in honour of the 400^th Celebrations and of the 40^th of the Franco-Ontarian flag.

Three full days of sessions will allow for networking opportunities, connecting with friends and colleagues, and learning about the health related issues faced by Francophones in Northern Ontario.

Registration is now open. Please visit nosm.ca/symposiumfrancophone2015 for registration information. If you have questions regarding the event, please contact NOSM’s Francophone Affairs Unit, by email to affaires.francophones@nosm.ca or by telephone at 705-662-7260.

 

PLEASE NOTE: The majority of the sessions will be presented in French. Simultaneous interpretation will be available throughout the symposium in both of Canada’s official languages.

For more information on this symposium, please contact:

 

Danielle Barbeau-Rodrigue
Director, Francophone Affairs
Northern Ontario School of Medicine
Email: dbarbeaurodrigue@nosm.ca
Phone: 705-662-7291