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In the Spotlight

Changing leadership for NOSM’s dietetic internship program

Cara Green has accepted the position of Program Manager of NOSM’s Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program (NODIP). Beginning Monday, July 5, 2021, Cara will work closely with the current Program Manager, Denise Raftis, until Denise’s retirement in August.

A Registered Dietitian (RD), Cara completed her dietetic practicum training at London Health Sciences Centre in 2001 and a Masters of Health Studies in 2016. With more than 20 years of experience as a RD, educator and mentor, Cara has been an active clinical and administrative leader with NODIP since its inception. Cara has previously worked as a clinical dietitian and in the Strategic Planning Department at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, and most recently as the clinical dietitian for the Mental Health Rehabilitation Program at St. Joseph’s Care Group.

Cara is an Assistant Professor at NOSM, working in various facets of the MD program curriculum in addition to her work with NODIP. For NODIP, she has previously held the Site Coordinator role for Thunder Bay and had previous membership on the program’s Accommodations Committee and Curriculum Development Committee. Cara was awarded the Academic Excellence Award for 2019-2020 and has managed several distributed research projects on dietetic practice.

Though Denise is retiring from her role as Program Manager, she plans to stay involved in the profession by making contributions to the field of dietetics. Denise has brought her passion and dedication to the field of nutrition for nearly 30 years and was part of the group who first conceived of the vision for NODIP.

Having joined NOSM in 2007 during NODIP’s inaugural year, Denise built NOSM’s nationally recognized dietetics program from the ground up. Thanks to its reputation for high quality of education, in 2015 NODIP was selected by the Dietitians of Canada to be the first post-degree internship of all Canadian dietetic education programs to be assessed using the new Partnership for Dietetic Education and Practice (PDEP) Accreditation Standards.

NODIP is a small but mighty program and has often been referred to as ‘the jewel in the crown of NOSM,’ in large part due to Denise’s leadership and expertise. She will be greatly missed by faculty, alumni of the program, management peers and clinical partners.

As of this summer, NODIP has trained 171 dietetic interns in more than 35 communities in the North. Of those, 64 percent have chosen to practice in rural or Northern communities. NOSM-educated dietitians are now increasing access to dietetic services in rural and Northern settings that have historically faced shortages.

Please join us in welcoming Cara to her new role, and wishing Denise well in her retirement!

*Note: The photo of Denise and Cara was taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Homepage News, Media Releases, News, Uncategorized

NOSM adopts the Okanagan Charter

Prioritizing health and wellbeing is a leading priority as a medical university.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) becomes an official signatory of the Okanagan Charter.

“The health and well-being of NOSM learners, faculty and staff is a top priority as we transition from a medical school to a university,” says Dr. Sarita Verma, NOSM Dean, President and CEO. “Research shows us that individuals who are well are more creative, engaged, productive, and have a stronger sense of community. It’s important for the entire NOSM community to focus on wellness as we look to the future—a future where access to equitable, quality health care for all Northerners is a reality.”

The Okanagan Charter: An International Charter for Health Promoting University and Colleges provides the principles and framework required to become a campus that promotes health and well-being. The Charter focuses on “the health and sustainability of current and future societies with a shared vision to strengthen communities and contribute to the well-being of people, places and the planet.”
The guiding principles of the Okanagan Charter are embedded in The NOSM Challenge 2025, the School’s five-year strategic plan. These actions include NOSM’s commitment to:

  • Living the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion;
  • Developing a global health strategy founded in principles of social accountability;
  • Making strategic investments in our people, resources and infrastructure;
  • Encouraging creativity;
  • Supporting the well-being of the NOSM community;
  • Rewarding innovation; and,
  • Eliminating bureaucracy.

As a signatory, NOSM joins a network of national and international universities and colleges who commit to promoting health and well-being with the mutual understanding that it is essential to achieving a school’s full potential in teaching and learning, research and engagement.

The Canadian Health Promoting Campuses Network is guided by the Okanagan Charter, calling on all post-secondary schools to embed health into all aspects of campus culture, across the administration, operations and academic mandates and to lead health promotion action and collaboration locally and globally.

Over the last year, NOSM has made great strides to increase the focus on wellness. Dr. Joseph LeBlanc was named the inaugural Associate Dean, Equity and Inclusion and the Respect the DifferenceTM movement was launched.

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The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is an award-winning socially accountable medical school renowned for its innovative model of distributed, community-engaged education and research. With a focus on diversity, inclusion, and advocacy for health equity, NOSM relies on the commitment and expertise of the peoples and communities of Northern Ontario to educate health-care professionals to practise in Indigenous, Francophone, rural, remote and underserved communities.

For further information, please contact: news@nosm.ca

In the Spotlight, Indigenous Stories, Uncategorized

Indigenous communities create virtual experiences for NOSM students

Spending four weeks in a remote, rural or fly-in Indigenous community is typically a rite of passage for first-year medical students at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), but the pandemic put a halt to all travel in 2020.

The School has earned a national and international reputation for offering in-community experiences that help students gain both a cultural understanding of Indigenous communities and a feel for the broad range of health inequities and barriers to care that exist in Northern Ontario. In the midst of the pandemic, it was not possible to send students into communities.

It was decided the safest option was, for the first time ever, to deliver the immersive experiences online. Indigenous Local Community Coordinators (LCCs)—who organise placements in their home communities—got creative and found a workable alternative.

“The LCCs worked with flexibility and the willingness to do things differently, even though they faced significant planning challenges,” says Sam Senecal, Community Coordinator who has been supporting First Nation communities and the LCCs for 16 years. “It wasn’t easy,” says Sam.

“I was concerned about finding Elders and speakers that would be willing to speak through a virtual platform, and not having the students experience ceremonies and cultural activities,” says  Jennifer Hulmes, LCC and Health Promoter in Wassay Gezhig Na Nah Deh We’igamig located in the Obashkaandagaang (Washagamis Bay) First Nation, near Kenora. Yet, in the end, Jennifer says the students were still able to relate and connect with the speakers. “This stood out and pleasantly shocked me,” she says.

Although virtual programming isn’t ideal, Jennifer says it did provide an effective temporary solution. “The virtual placement has been very successful for what the students needed during these unprecedented times. Once we are able to, I do believe the in-person placement is more beneficial to the students for them to truly understand and take in the Anishinaabe culture.”

For several other Indigenous communities, the shift to virtual learning meant cancelling rich cultural experiences like sitting with Elders, feasts with community members and time out on the land. Instead of the usual 20 hours of blended cultural and clinical time when students go to community clinics and learn from a primary care physician or nurse practitioner, communities agreed it was more reasonable to organise 10 hours of planned online learning experiences.

Tammi Shaw, a NOSM LCC and a Diabetes Prevention Worker in Biitgitong Anishnaabeg First Nation (Ojibways of Pic River), recalls a moment that stood out. “One of the sessions that I believe was the most valuable was the teaching and making of the Medicine Wheel. It is definitely an amazing tool,” says Tammi. “I believe the students got so much more from it than they expected. There is great importance in wholistic health and the Medicine Wheel is a great tool that shows our spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental self, and the importance of balance.”

Internet issues, coupled with mother nature, posed other uncertainties, says Eileen Boissoneau. She is the Health Director in Mattagami First Nation located 110 kms southwest of Timmins. Eileen says she was able to overcome the drastic change in bad weather that prevented scheduled events from being held. “As opposed to a virtual live session, we worked with pre-recorded sessions as a way to fill the gap during cancellations,” she says.

Eileen said the highlight was a comment received by a student during the evaluation session that was very inspiring. “The comment was ‘I plan to visit the community in the future.’ A seed was planted for this student to consider serving a remote location after graduation,” says Eileen. And after all, this is what the placements are all about.

Indigenous community placements at NOSM are part of the School’s unique social accountability mandate and are intended to shape and inspire learners to consider living and practising in an Indigenous, remote or rural community. NOSM currently partners with 42 Indigenous communities and organisations who have signed long term partnership agreements to host NOSM medical students. The long-term partnership provides a framework to ensure a successful, mutually beneficial placement for both the community and students.

Read and watch more about Local Community Coordinators
NOSM celebrates 15 years working with Local Community Coordinators

*Note: The group photo of the Local Community Coordinators (LCCs) was taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

NOSM University