Dr. Roger Strasser, Dean, Northern Ontario School of Medicine and Bernie Blais, CEO, North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) are pleased to announce today the signing of a collaborative partnership agreement between the two organizations.

“The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is pleased to be partnering with the North Simcoe Muskoka LHIN,” noted Dr. Strasser. “This collaborative partnership will enhance our community outreach and supports the priorities of NOSM’s 2010-2015 Strategic Plan, which includes the vision of Innovative Education and Research for a Healthier North.”

Stronger post-secondary education, greater access to medical services at the community level, and a sustainable health system for the residents of North Simcoe Muskoka are key strategic goals of this collaboration.

“Health human resources is and will continue to be, a major challenge for our LHIN. Working with NOSM, we anticipate opportunities to encourage our local populations to consider health services careers and the opportunities that NOSM can provide. We foresee a successful partnership and one that will benefit the residents of North Simcoe Muskoka,” commented Bernie Blais.

Collaboration may include research on the use of best practices for health services delivery, health human resources planning, ensuring the health needs of Aboriginal, Francophone and rural populations are met, education and professional development for health service providers and communities, and the opportunity to share skills and expertise to ensure both organizations meet their respective mandates.

A Joint NSM LHIN-NOSM Relations Committee will be established to regularly monitor and coordinate the initiative.

QUICK FACTS

• North Simcoe Muskoka is one of 14 provincial LHINs that plan, integrate and fund local health services.
• Half of the $46 billion health-care budget is overseen by the LHINs.
• The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is a joint initiative of Lakehead University and Laurentian University.
• When founded in 2005, NOSM became the first new medical school in Canada in over 30 years and the first to be hosted by two universities.

LEARN MORE
To learn more about the North Simcoe Muskoka LHIN or the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, please visit the websites at www.nsmlhin.on.ca and www.nosm.ca.

On Tuesday, June 22, 2010, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) launched a new strategic plan intended to guide the School’s progress through the years 2010 to 2015. Much has been achieved in NOSM’s first five years of operations, and this second plan builds on these successes with well-established priorities and a clearly articulated vision and mission.

NOSM’s new vision – Innovative Education and Research for a Healthier North – is supported by a mission that will enhance the School’s mandate for the education of high-quality physicians and health professionals and reinforce the School’s international recognition as a leader in distributed, learning-centred, community-engaged education and health research.

The new plan calls for five strategic priorities that will enable the School to realize its new vision and mission. These include:

Enhancing NOSM’s Education Program

NOSM will expand its distributed education and learning model and ensure the ongoing inclusion and balance of integrated, interprofessional clinical learning throughout NOSM’s undergraduate, postgraduate, and health professional programs. This focus will enable NOSM graduates to easily integrate into community care settings which have adopted collaborative, patient-centered approaches.

Strengthening NOSM’s Research Initiatives

NOSM will focus on further developing its research agenda in line with its distributed education model, and continue to broaden the academic experience of its learners, faculty, and staff. These research activities will respect the unique cultural attributes of NOSM’s Aboriginal, Francophone, and other culturally distinct partners.

Developing NOSM’s Learning Environment

NOSM will continue to emphasize an inquiring learning environment tailored to the needs of all of its stakeholders, including students and residents, as well as staff, faculty, and medical and health practitioners.

Fostering Excellent Faculty Relations

NOSM’s operating model consists of unique challenges related to the recruitment and retention of qualified full-time, part-time, and stipendiary faculty. Innovative approaches toward faculty relations will be developed to ensure the sustainability of the NOSM model.

Enhancing Collaboration and Communication with Community Partners

NOSM’s distributed education model relies heavily on the support and involvement of the communities and key stakeholder groups. NOSM will continue to enhance communication tools that support the development of these community partnerships.

NOSM Dean Dr. Roger Strasser acknowledged the extensive work that was completed by the Strategic Planning Steering Committee and the many contributors to the plan. “The new strategic plan is the result of a full year of collaboration and consultations with NOSM faculty, staff, Board of Directors, and stakeholders across the North. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine has now transitioned from a start-up organization to a fully operational medical school, and so it is appropriate and timely to have a new strategic plan to guide this next phase of the School’s development,” he said.

The five-year plan builds on NOSM’s founding principles, which are consistent with progressive changes occurring at the forefront of medical education.

To access the full version of NOSM’s 2010 – 2015 Strategic Plan, please visit www.nosm.ca/strategicplan.

On June 4 – 5, 2010, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held its fifth annual Northern Health Research Conference (NHRC) at Laurentian University in Sudbury to coincide with the University’s 50th anniversary. Delegates from across Northern Ontario and around the world attended the conference – the largest NHRC to date.

As in previous years, the research presented ranged from the molecular to the whole society with a record 92 papers, involving almost 300 authors, presented as either oral or poster presentations. “Over 160 participants from different research backgrounds and institutions in Northern Ontario, across Canada, and beyond came together to share their study findings, advance knowledge, and network amongst themselves towards developing new integrated, interdisciplinary, pan-northern research teams. It was particularly exciting that so many of the presenters were NOSM learners,” said NOSM Dean, Dr. Roger Strasser.

Dr. Greg Ross, NOSM Associate Dean of Research added, “This conference demonstrates NOSM’s commitment to health care and education to the people of Northern Ontario and beyond. Tackling the questions that will help improve the health of people in Northern Ontario is a key mandate for the research program at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.”

Conference highlights included the keynote address by Mr. François Boileau, French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario entitled “Legislation and Francophone’s Health in Ontario: A Challenging Duo” and special guest presentation by Dr. Richard Hays, former Founding Dean of James Cook University School of Medicine in Australia, who emphasized the history of innovation and challenged participants to capitalize on the opportunities for research in rural health.

The next Northern Health Research Conference will be June 10 – 11, 2011 in Huntsville, Ontario.