The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held its first Faculty Affairs Retreat in Thunder Bay on January 16 – 17, 2009.

NOSM has over 800 faculty members across Northern Ontario, and many of them gathered in Thunder Bay to bring NOSM’s three faculty divisions (Medical Sciences, Human Sciences and Clinical Sciences) together in one place to facilitate a free-flow of ideas and information about current and potential future collaborative research and scholarly activities.

The retreat featured an open forum, where Medical Sciences and Human Sciences faculty members gave brief presentations on current research projects. This was followed by a compelling presentation by Dr. Len Kelly from Sioux Lookout, in which he shared his experience and expertise as an active clinician undertaking research. Three faculty development sessions rounded out the two-day meeting: “How to Facilitate Small-Group Learning,” by Dr. Anne Robinson and Dr. Bob Chaudhuri; “Research 101 for Clinicians,” by Dr. Greg Ross; and “Integrated Clinical Learning,” by Ms. Sue Berry, Dr. Richard Almond, and Dr. Saleem Malik.

Dr. McCready, Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs, says the retreat was a great success, especially in terms of fostering relationships and collaborations among the many physicians and health professionals across the North who assist in delivering NOSM’s unique model of distributed medical education. “It is my belief that in the near future we will see the development of collaborative research projects aimed at improving the health of Northerners, which had their origins at this retreat,” he said.

The Faculty Affairs Unit provides leadership, supervision, and representation for the faculty of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine to ensure that the School always has the teaching resources to provide the highest quality educational experience for learners, while building the capacity and commitment of teaching resources throughout Northern Ontario by supporting research and academic activities of NOSM faculty.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held its second, highly successful annual Comprehensive Community Clerkship (CCC) Retreat, entitled “Celebration and Collaboration within a Community of Learners,” in Kenora on January 9 – 11, 2009.

The 2008-2009 academic year marks the second year that NOSM medical students are completing clerkships in medium-sized communities throughout the North as part of their third-year studies. Over 130 participants, including NOSM staff, Site Administrative Coordinators, Site Liaison Clinicians, Local NOSM Group (LNG) members, and medical students from clerkship communities across Northern Ontario attended the 2009 retreat. Participants shared their experiences, and in a combination of whole group, streamed, and concurrent sessions, explored topics of relevance to the distinctive CCC component of NOSM’s model of community engaged medical education.

Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Founding Dean, says ongoing open dialogue between CCC participants is invaluable to the continuous enhancement of the community-engaged model of medical education for which NOSM has gained international recognition. “This retreat was an opportunity to spend time with each other, ‘compare notes,’ and share our experiences and insights into the Comprehensive Community Clerkship program so that we may further our common goal of educating physicians who understand and appreciate the unique features and benefits of practicing medicine in Northern communities,” he said.

Dr. William B. Shore, Mentor Facilitator and Director of Medical Education Program Development for the Department of Family and Community at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), was the keynote speaker of the retreat. Dr. Shore’s presentation, entitled “Perspectives from the Longitudinal Clerkship at the University of California, San Francisco,” provided retreat attendees with an overview of UCSF’s new clinical training program named Parnassus Integrated Student Clinical Experiences (PISCES), wherein each year 16 undergraduate medical students receive clinical training at local health centres.

Community engaged medical education is a distinctive hallmark of NOSM. Currently, 12 communities participate in NOSM’s Comprehensive Community Clerkship program: Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, Temiskaming Shores, Sioux Lookout, Parry Sound, North Bay, Huntsville, Kenora, Bracebridge, Fort Frances, Kapuskasing, and Dryden.

Exemplary Staff, Faculty, Preceptors and Learners Recognized at Board Dinner

The Board of Directors of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held a face-to-face meeting in Sudbury on December 4 and 5, 2008.

On the first day of the two-day meeting, Board members participated in sessions which provided a review of NOSM’s organizational structure, administration, and governance.  Following these sessions, the Board received a presentation by Ian M. Fraser of The Fundraising Network, and participated in discussions regarding Advancement at NOSM.

Later that evening at the Board dinner, Awards of Excellence were presented to learners (Tyler Verdun, Safiya Adam, Paul Miron, and Alex Anawati) and accepted on behalf of faculty and preceptor recipients (Dr. John Kargbo, Dr. Christine Kupsh, Dr. Jacques Abourbih, and Dr. Pierre Mikhail) by Dr. Gerry Cooper, Associate Dean, Learner Affairs.  Awards of Excellence were presented to staff members (Kimberley Larkin, Tina Vrbanac, Patty Fink, and Mathieu Seguin) by Ken Adams, Associate Dean, Administration.

At the formal Board meeting on the second day of the meeting, the Directors received reports from Board Committees, including the Finance and Audit, Board Executive, Quality Monitoring, Governance, Nominating, and Advancement Committees.

At the recommendation of the Nominating Committee, the Board of Directors approved the appointment of David Harris and Dr. Tyler Christie as members.

At the recommendation of the Advancement Committee, the Board of Directors approved a motion to continue preparations to modify NOSM’s Advancement model.

The Board of Directors approved a Financial Report from the Finance and Audit Committee for the six month period ending October 31, 2008.

Dr. Frederick Gilbert, President of Lakehead University and Chair of the School’s Board of Directors, noted that the two-day meeting accomplished several important objectives.  “Group cohesion and opportunities for interactive sessions and discussions are enhanced when Board members are able to meet in person.  This two-day meeting, which focused on issues of governance and Advancement, and celebrated the outstanding contribution of learners, faculty, preceptors, and staff, was a great success,” he said.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s next Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for March 18, 2009.

For a complete list of Board members, please visit our website at www.nosm.ca.