This week is Resident Doctors Appreciation 2022—a perfect time to acknowledge our residents’ hard work and their dedication to providing compassionate patient care across the region. In many cases, especially during the pandemic, residents have made the difference when it comes to keeping hospitals open in Northern Ontario.
Residents are an integral part of the health-care system. As new physicians working towards their independent practice, they continue to learn a variety of specialized knowledge and skills, and they often serve as teachers for medical students during their clinical clerkship.
Since COVID-19 changed the world as we knew it, residents have had to adapt in every possible way. Hands-on training was more difficult, access to surgical procedures diminished, redeployment to areas of critical need—often outside their scope of specialty—impacted their training. All the while having conditions, guidelines and directives changing on the fly. Loss of training in their primary speciality and redeployment to areas of critical need may have doubly impacted their education and clinical work.
There are currently 191 residents at NOSM in nine programs, spanning 14 home-base locations. In addition to their work in health clinics or hospitals, resident doctors continuously look for opportunities to gain more training, experience and mentorship.
I am incredibly proud of each and every one of NOSM’s residents. Their determination, creativity, advocacy and resilience will ensure they thrive in future practice. If you are fortunate enough to receive care from one of our resident doctors, please take a moment to recognize them during this Resident Doctors Appreciation Week.
The nucleus of our health care system, these resident doctors are the future of Northern Ontario’s physician workforce.
Resident wellness matters
Residents, your personal health matters. You are a superhero AND you’re human! Check in with your support system. Prioritize your wellbeing. Find a creative outlet. Eat nutritious meals and snacks. Walk and enjoy the beauty of winter. Listen to a podcast. Decrease post-call obligations. Importantly, be kind and compassionate with yourself. Your wellness matters.
Dr. Diane Whitney was recently appointed as the inaugural Assistant Dean, Resident Affairs. With a focus on resident wellness, Dr. Whitney is known as a strong advocate for residents. And yesterday, our Postgraduate Medical Education team sent each resident a gift card to Tim Hortons. It’s a small token of our appreciation and a reminder of how valued you are. Please take the time for a break and a treat—it’s on us!
“The last two years tested us all in ways we hadn’t imagined,” said Dr. Rob Anderson, Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education and Health Sciences. “The pandemic continues to add more and more complexity to your lives, work and training. We are proud of your incredible, ongoing strength, determination, creativity and resilience. At times you have prioritized patient care above yourself, and at other times, taken a step back and focused on your health and recharge when you needed. You have an awareness of the personal vulnerabilities of being a physician like no generation before you, and health care will be better for it! You will change the world!”
NOSM residents are Wanted
The first family medicine residents who trained at NOSM completed their program in 2009. The Charter Class of MD graduates began their residency training in 2009 as well, and entered practice in 2011. Since then, 692 residents have completed their training at NOSM in dozens of Northern communities that continue to offer unique training experiences.
Of those who completed both their MD and residency at NOSM, it is estimated that 189 physicians have stayed to practise in Northern Ontario. Physicians who completed their residency at NOSM are making waves! They are taking on teaching and leadership roles at NOSM, becoming advocates, engaging in research, and caring for those most in need through their clinical work. Each and every one is working towards a future of health care in Northern Ontario where everyone has equitable access to care.
NOSM is the medical school where resident doctors have an immediate impact on the health of the community in which they choose to practise.
Residents at NOSM – You are, Changemakers. Innovators. Leaders. Advocates. YOU ARE THE Doctors Wanted.
Thank you to all our astonishing residents. Thank you for your care, your hard work, your incredible passion as health providers and your leadership. NOSM residents are a vital contributor to helping solve the physician crisis in Northern Ontario.
Hear from five of NOSM’s residents who are practising, teaching and researching in Northern Ontario:
- Helping close the gap on psychiatry shortages [Thunder Bay]
- Francophone NOSM resident returns to her hometown [Hearst]
- A resident who overcame incredible challenges [Sudbury]
- Cultural diversity and Operation Remote Immunity were highlights of Francophone graduates’ NOSM experience [Temiskaming Shores]
- Surgical resident says NOSM is a leader in clinical education innovation [Sudbury]
Miigwetch, thank you, marsi, merci,
Dr. Sarita Verma
Dean, President and CEO
Northern Ontario School of Medicine
If you have any feedback or comments, please reach out at dean@nosm.ca and follow me on Twitter @ddsv3.
Black History Month
February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate Black culture and the many contributions made by Black leaders—learners, physicians, academics and staff—at NOSM. We are boldly implementing a culture of anti-racism at all levels of the School. NOSM remains committed to removing social and economic barriers to medical school for Black youth and is making tangible improvements to the admissions process, curricular reform and BIPOC-led strategies that include scholarships, and advocacy and mentorship opportunities. Read more.
$1 million donation to NOSM will support 40 BIPOC women medical students
The Slaight Family Foundation is donating $1 million to support 40 BIPOC women (including trans and non-binary) NOSM medical students. The donation will establish a first-of-its-kind full entrance scholarship to increase both the number of BIPOC women physicians and contribute to the overall number of doctors in in Northern Ontario. Read more.
In the news
Drs. Jilayne Jolicoeur, Eliseo Orrantia and Lily DeMiglio and kinesiologist Lindsay Nutbrown are contributing to research that could inform solutions to help keep physicians in Northern Ontario. Their study, Why They Leave: Small town rural realities of northern physician turnover, was recently published in the Canadian Journal of Rural Medicine. The variety of common themes they’ve identified are contributing factors to be considered in future physician recruitment and retention policies across the North.
Help meet our goal!
Tbaytel is collaborating with NOSM to launch the Tbaytel Entrance Award Fund. We’re getting closer to the goal of $30,000. We’re over $22,000 now and Tbaytel will match every dollar, up to $10,000. Donate today to show your support!
Update On the Return to Campus Plan
As the government’s Reopening Ontario continues to evolve, the Emergency Response Team (ERT) has updates on NOSM’s Return to Campus (RTC) plan.
COVID-19 Vaccine Policy
Effective immediately, ERT is aligning its COVID-19 Vaccine Policy with the Ontario government’s definition of fully vaccinated. Please refer to the updated NOSM COVID-19 Vaccine Policy for more info.
