The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Staff Unit participated in four days of mediated talks this week (September 14-17, 2010).

While the NOSM Bargaining Team was prepared to bargain through the weekend, the OPSEU Staff Unit left the bargaining table at 4 p.m. this afternoon.

Although considerable progress was made this week, the parties were unable to resolve all outstanding matters and reach a first collective agreement.

NOSM has proposed that the two sides resume bargaining again September 30 and October 1, 2010, and is awaiting response from the OPSEU Staff Unit.  The School remains willing to resume bargaining at any time.

NOSM remains committed to reaching a first collective agreement with the OPSEU Staff Unit which fairly reflects the unique nature of NOSM and its workforce.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) and the OPSEU Staff Unit have set dates to continue bargaining. The parties have agreed to return to the table September 14 -17, 2010 in Thunder Bay, with the assistance of a Ministry of Labour mediator.

The parties have agreed to the mediator’s recommendation to maintain a media blackout until and during these new dates.

NOSM remains committed to reaching a first collective agreement with its OPSEU Staff Unit which fairly reflects the unique nature of NOSM and its workforce.

Today officially marks the first day of classes for 64 new medical students at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), following a week of exposure to the geographic, social, cultural, and linguistic diversity of Northern Ontario.

During their unique Orientation Week, the students traveled to several Northern Ontario communities, participated in working sessions, and became acquainted with their new lives as medical students. On Monday, August 23, the students gathered in Thunder Bay and enjoyed a dinner hosted by the Thunder Bay Métis Council and the School’s Aboriginal Reference Group, before they embarked on a week-long bus excursion to Sudbury.

Stops along the way included Geraldton, Constance Lake, Hearst, Kapuskasing, and Timmins, where students participated in meals and activities, and experienced a warm welcome from physicians, community leaders, and dignitaries. In Hearst, students were treated to a dinner hosted by NOSM’s Francophone Affairs Unit.

NOSM continues to follow its mandate of social accountability in an endeavour to deliver innovative education and research for a healthier North. Demographic profiles of the Entry Class of 2010 show that:

– 91% are from Northern Ontario
– Remaining 9% are from rural and remote parts of the rest of Canada (39% of the whole class is from rural and remote areas)
– 8% are self-identified Aboriginal
– 20% are self-identified Francophone

Like students in all medical schools, these students have been selected from a very competitive field, and are extremely academically able as reflected by a mean grade point average (GPA) of 3.66 on a four point scale.

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 graduates high-quality physicians with an appreciation for the unique health-care needs of Northern Ontario.