The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held its first Integrated Clinical Learning (ICL) retreat, entitled “Moving Towards an Integrated Clinical Learning Approach in Your Teaching Practice,” in Elliot Lake on October 23 and 24, 2009.

All NOSM learners undergo clinical training at learning sites in communities where they receive instruction in practical and integrated approaches to health-care delivery. The retreat brought together learner representatives, NOSM staff, faculty members, and physician teachers. Participants explored effective strategies for teaching and learning in these environments and sought to articulate the meaning and principles of integrated clinical learning. The setting of priorities to best meet the needs of NOSM’s distinctive program was also discussed.

Dr. Jack Haggarty introduced a panel of professionals and learners, each of whom highlighted the benefits that integrated clinical learning offers to the community-based approach, a hallmark of NOSM’s education model.

ICL facilitator, Erik Lockhart, through sophisticated computer technologies, gained consensus of participants in building a plan for moving forward with an integrated clinical approach at NOSM.

NOSM Dean, Dr. Roger Strasser, said the gathering helped to identify the challenges and opportunities rising from integrated clinical learning in community-based education. “This retreat enabled all of us to learn from those directly involved in the clinical learning experience. Drawing on the lessons of physician teachers and learners is critical to ensuring that NOSM provides relevant community-based learning opportunities.”

Sue Berry, Director of Health Sciences and Interprofessional Education at NOSM, also acknowledged the importance of interprofessional practice and learning in order to more readily meet the health needs of Northerners. “NOSM’s professional development spans the entire spectrum of health care. This retreat provided an excellent opportunity to consider how learners are learning from other health professionals in the community and gaining experiences in team teaching, resulting in enriched clinical experiences for both learners and teachers.”

Over 70 community partners support the School by providing clinical learning opportunities for all NOSM learners and exposure to lifestyle choices in culturally diverse settings.

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The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held its Annual Members and Board of Directors meetings on Wednesday. These meetings were video-linked between the School’s West Campus at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and its East Campus at Laurentian University in Sudbury, with other Directors participating via teleconference.

At the Annual Members Meeting, which involves one representative each of Laurentian University and Lakehead University, the audited financial statements for the year ending April 30, 2009 were approved, and members of the Board of Directors for 2009 – 2010 were appointed. NOSM M.D. student Paul Miron (nominated by the Northern Ontario School of Medicine Student Society) and recent NOSM M.D. graduate Dr. Adam Moir (nominated by the Postgraduate Residency Trainees) were inducted into the Board.

The Directors received reports from Board Committees, including the Finance and Audit, Quality Monitoring, Governance, Board Executive, Advancement, and Nominating Committees.

The Directors also received reports from the School’s Academic Council, Research Associate Dean, Strategic Planning Committee, Archives Reference Group, Aboriginal Reference Group, and Francophone Reference Group.

The next meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on December 3 and 4, 2009 in Thunder Bay.

On Friday, August 21, 2009, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) celebrated the graduation of the second class of the Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program (NODIP). A videoconferenced graduation celebration linked the four principal community sites – Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins, and Thunder Bay.

Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean, congratulated the interns at the graduation earlier today. “The Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program’s graduation marks the end of an exciting year of milestones at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. The success of the program is spectacular. I would like to congratulate the interns on their outstanding achievements, and wish them success as they begin their careers as dietitians,” said Dr. Strasser. “I would like to thank Denise Raftis, Program Manager for the Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program for her steadfast commitment, as well as the preceptors, partners, and communities that have supported the program for their generosity and dedication.”

With placements across Northern Ontario in rural, Aboriginal, and Francophone communities, and the four principal community sites, ten dietetic interns worked with, and learned from, preceptors in hospitals, public health units, long-term care facilities, and clinics. The following communities welcomed NOSM’s dietetic interns this year: Kenora, Sioux Lookout, Dryden, Fort Frances, Atikokan, Marathon, Sturgeon Falls, Garden Village, North Bay, Penetanguishine, and Little Current. Graduates now have an appreciation for the unique health-care needs of Northern Ontario, as well as the cultural diversity of the people who call it home. Ninety percent of this year’s graduating class will begin working in Northern Ontario communities.

The Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program offers diverse and distributed experiences in the provision of nutrition care across the health-care continuum. The next class of dietetic interns are scheduled to begin their training on September 14, 2009, with the class size increasing from ten to twelve. As with all of the School’s educational programs, NODIP was established with a social accountability mandate, of working towards improving the health of people and communities in Northern Ontario.