This spring, we are emerging from a year like no other. It has been one full year since NOSM University was proclaimed Canada’s first independent medical university, and here we are on the cusp of granting our first degrees as a university to MD graduates—a historic moment. In the last year, we also have established a new Board of Governors and a new Senate; we have made leadership changes to reflect our new status, hired our first Provost and in Sudbury, we will be installing our first Chancellor at convocation on Friday, May 26.

The shift to one convocation is a necessary one as, no matter where we all are in Northern Ontario, we are one university and one student body. Our ceremonies must reflect that unity, and bring us all together. It is also a legal requirement that the Chancellor grant the degrees at convocation, and so a unified event is essential. This year however, we also recognized that as a part of our transition it was important to have a commemorative event in Thunder Bay to celebrate the west campus. Both events will be available on our YouTube channel.

I believe that graduates of our programs are uniquely prepared to solve the challenging and ever-growing problems in health-care delivery in Canada, and will serve as transformational health-care leaders in our communities. We have reaffirmed through evaluation and accreditation reports that our focus on community, equity, diversity and inclusion, in concert with the outstanding team of staff, faculty and decanal leaders, have made NOSM University the best in Canada and highly-renowned in the world.

We are incredibly proud of our graduating students, who have shown exceptional flexibility, creativity, and resilience during their time with us. Many congratulations to the Class of 2023, our future leaders in health care, and the first class of NOSM University degree recipients (and our 15th class of graduates since 2009). This is an extraordinary time within academic and clinical medicine. There are so many opportunities to strengthen our health-care systems, address inequities in care, and promote the health of patients and populations. Be part of the solution. Your journey to reimagine, transform and disrupt the ways health care is delivered, especially with compassion and equity, is just beginning. I know you will succeed. Go full of hope to your new beginning and make it count. You, and our world, will be better for it.

At NOSM University, we will not rest on our laurels. We will strive to tackle the hard questions and lead in Canada. In fact, our success has been noted by several emerging medical schools, all calling us to find out the recipe for our ‘secret sauce.’ Truth be told, success is rooted in hard work. We have faced the pandemic, the insolvency of a major partner and an unprecedented expansion of our medical education programs. With hard work, we have prevailed.

I hope our newest alumni, and all of those who’ve shared this journey, can take the time to appreciate their accomplishments. As graduation approaches, we look forward to welcoming the class of 2023 to our alumni community. I sincerely hope—as you think of this year’s graduates and reflect on your future—you are able to rekindle the excitement of those moments that brought you to NOSM University and where they will lead you into the future.

Remember alumni: you will always have a home here at NOSM University. Stay in touch and come for a visit—or even better—come practise in Northern Ontario. We need you.

And now for more good news. As I announced on March 31, 2023, the government has announced funding for 100 new MD seats and 154 new PGME seats to be allocated across the province. This is in addition to the seats announced by Premier Ford last year.

Here is what this ultimately means for NOSM University:

• By 2028, through a gradual approach, we will offer a total of 108 MD seats, nearly doubling the capacity of our MD program.
• By 2028, we will almost double our postgraduate positions; this will be accomplished through the addition over the next five years of a commensurate number of positions for existing and new residency programs.

I heartily welcome this investment into medical education in Northern Ontario and am extremely supportive of the government’s expansion plans. This is fantastic news not only for the health-care landscape in the North, but also for the continued success of NOSM University.

My personal thanks go to our leaders in UME and PGME as they tackle this expansion; to the faculty, staff and stakeholders who support us; to our donors who are supporting and investing in our vision and our students; and, to the city councils and mayors across the region who continue to advocate for NOSM University: we are going to change the world.

Miigwetch, thank you, marsi, merci,

Dr. Sarita Verma
President, Vice Chancellor, Dean and CEO
NOSM University

If you have any feedback or comments, please reach out at president@nosm.ca and follow me on Twitter @ddsv3.

You’re Invited to join us Virtually for Convocation 2023!

NOSM University Achievement Celebration Honours Excellence in Medical Education

The accomplishments of faculty, learners and alumni—among the brightest in Canada—were celebrated at the inaugural NOSM University Achievement Celebration, held on Friday, May 5, 2023 in Thunder Bay. From among our exemplary community of scholars and learners, we are proud to acknowledge these recipients with the most extraordinary accomplishments this year.
Read more.

Federal Health Minister visits NOSM University

NOSM University was delighted to host the Federal Minister of Health, the Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos, on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. Minister Duclos was accompanied by federal MPs Viviane Lapointe (Sudbury), Marc Serre (Nickel Belt), and City of Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre (former MP). There were substantive discussions about health reform and health human resources, as well as the need for support for research infrastructure for smaller universities like NOSM University.

(Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre, Sudbury MP Viviane Lapointe, President Vice-Chancellor, Dean and CEO of NOSM University Dr. Sarita Verma, Nickel Belt MP Marc Serre, the Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health.)

Upcoming Events

Northern Health Research Conference

NOSM University will hold the 18^th annual Northern Health Research Conference (NHRC) from Thursday, June 1 to Friday, June 2, 2023.

Held in Thunder Bay, the conference will be available in-person or online. This conference demonstrates NOSM University’s ongoing commitment to health care and education in Northern Ontario. Collaboration and community networking continues to be a significant force in the development of a culture of research activity. NHRC 2023 will feature a wide variety of oral and poster presentations related to NOSM University’s research priorities, which can be viewed at report.nosm.ca.

For more information, or to register for the NHRC, please email research@nosm.ca.

Earth Day is April 22, 2023—and yes, there is a climate crisis.

Hello, Bonjour, Aanin, Boozhoo, Tanshi, Kwe Kwe,

Ahead of Earth Day, I am thinking about the planet and all of the life it supports. About nine years ago I was influenced by the following words:

“Planetary health is an attitude towards life and a philosophy for living. It emphasizes people, not diseases, and equity, not the creation of unjust societies. We seek to minimize differences in health according to wealth, education, gender, and place. We support knowledge as one source of social transformation, and the right to realize, progressively, the highest attainable levels of health and wellbeing.”  Public to Planetary Health: A Manifesto. The Lancet. (Horton et al., 2014).

Thereafter, the call to environmental action for medical institutions came out in a leading journal in 2015, when The Lancet Commission on Planetary Health published Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch: report of The Rockefeller Foundation. But frankly, not much happened and the arguments put forth at the time are even more compelling today: to safeguard human health, we must repair and nurture the planet’s health. It seems so obvious that as a species, humans must act now.  And yet, the disastrous effects of climate change are unfolding everywhere before our very eyes, including in Northern Ontario, where it has affected our water, food, and the biodiversity of our region. As health-care providers, we are naturally heavily invested in the health of the population, so it stands to reason that we too must lead in environmental changes necessary to sustain human health.

The Planetary Health Education Framework developed by The Planetary Health Alliance guides educators and leaders who wish to address the complex planetary health challenges of our world today. The framework asks participants to “create, restore, steward, and conserve healthy ecosystems for a thriving human civilization” under these five “domains:”

• Interconnection within nature;
• The Anthropocene (the human age) and health
• Equity and social justice
• Movement building and systems change
• Systems thinking and complexity

As a socially accountable institution that leads through a lens of health equity, NOSM University is planning for curricular changes, expanded research, and increased environmental advocacy to address planetary health. So, what are we actually doing?

In 2019, a letter from a group of concerned NOSM faculty led to the establishment of the Board Climate Change and Health Task Force. It developed a response to climate change and recommended implementation strategies (where feasible).  Their report was presented in November 2020 and included these recommendations for 2020-2025:

• NOSM should declare a climate emergency and commit to reducing scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions in keeping with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1.5C report and our status as a ‘rich’ country;
• The key performance indicators and objectives and key results of the new strategic plan, The NOSM Challenge 2025, should be viewed through a planetary health and climate emergency lens immediately;
• NOSM must focus on renewing the education programs and curricula that positively influence the learner experience, foster wellness and resilience, and support the achievement of educational goals. We must incorporate learning of the crucial links between planetary health and human health into medical curricula;
• NOSM must focus on advancing service excellence and collaboration by updating systems, spaces, processes, and policies so they fully support and maximize efficiency and improve equity. Accountability and responsibility to our people, communities, stakeholders, and society as a whole is paramount;
• NOSM should utilize the many leadership positions held at national and international organizations to leverage positions for action on the climate crisis.

In 2021, responsibility for implementing these actions was put under the purview of the new Dean and the NOSM University Action Committee on Climate Change (previously the NOSM Advisory Council on Climate Change) was established. To date, the following activities have occurred:

• Our Strategic Plan identifies the commitment by NOSM University to “become a leader in internal practices that address climate change and environmental health” (Strategic Enabler 3, Investing in our Infrastructure);
• We declared 2021 to be our “Year of Climate Change and Social Justice”. In that year we also signed the Okanagan Charter, and we invested in research projects hosted by the Centre of Social Accountability that responded to climate change, social determinants of health, and building community and youth resilience;
• Major work on curricular renewal in both the MD program and in postgraduate programs is underway;
• We celebrate Earth Day, which was also the focus of the President’s Lecture Series in 2022 and which featured an amazing panel devoted to the topic. Please join us for the event planned on Friday, April 21, 2023. Details are below.

This year, we have established NOSM University’s pledge for sustainable travel and have joined the Global Consortium on Climate Change and Health Education. The Joint and Stipendiary Faculty Promotions Committee is suggesting mitigating climate change by allowing hybrid and virtual presentations to be counted towards promotions. In June 2023, NOSM University will be hosting the Summer Institute on Sustainable Health Systems with the CASCADES.

Please join me in thanking the NOSM University Action Committee on Climate Change, which is chaired by Dr. Elaine Blacklock, for their leadership, advocacy, and volunteer work to help NOSM University address climate change.

There is so much more to be done, but together, we can make NOSM University a medical education leader in efforts toward planetary health.

We are growing again

Now for an update since my last blog on the expansion of medical programs. The Government of Ontario has announced additional growth for medical programs with 100 new undergraduate medical school spots and 154 postgraduate positions as part of 2023 budget. NOSM University will add another 14 MD positions to the 30 already announced, for a total of 44 new MD spots for applicants to the medical program. Since our initial class in 2005 was 56 per year, we will soon be admitting 108 students per year—almost doubling the size of our class. Although the exact numbers of postgraduate program expansion are not yet decided, the likely doubling of our postgraduate positions may ensue with the opening of new specialty training programs.

This is remarkable news for Northern Ontario, and we are negotiating for additional resources to support our infrastructure and clinical teachers. In addition, there is a proposal to address the expansion of the Physician Assistants program under discussion. With the serious shortages of all health professionals in the country and in Northern Ontario, NOSM University is leading the province with innovative programs and a commitment to social accountability. I am speaking in many communities (City of Greater Sudbury Council) about their obligation to step up recruitment efforts and some of these initiatives are working!

Miigwetch, thank you, marsi, merci,

Dr. Sarita Verma
President, Vice Chancellor, Dean and CEO
NOSM University

If you have any feedback or comments, please reach out at president@nosm.caand follow me on Twitter @ddsv3.

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A Note from the Action Committee on Climate Change

Planetary health is about much more than climate change. We humans are transgressing multiple planetary boundaries, most notably in regard to greenhouse gases, ocean acidification, chemical pollution, ecosystems and biodiversity, and the earth’s natural cycles of nitrogen and phosphorus. All of this has serious impacts on human health, both directly, and via the social determinants of health.

We, the Action Committee on Climate Change (ACCC), are embarking on the work of infusing NOSM University’s curriculum—and health care across Northern Ontario—with Planetary Health principles and knowledge, so that NOSM University graduates are fully prepared to care for patients, to teach, to advocate for a sustainable low-carbon university and health care systems, and to help create and lead the social mandate that will drive the enormous changes we urgently need here in Canada and globally.

If you are passionate about preserving a healthy, livable planet for everyone, including your patients and your children, please consider joining us on the ACCC.

(PDFs available in FR and EN)

Earth Day Celebration 2023

Join us for an Earth Day Celebration!

The Action Committee on Climate Change presents special guest speaker, Sam Hunter

Friday, April 21, 2023
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Via YouTube @nosmtv

Sam Hunter was born at Hawley Lake, located on the southern shore of Hudson Bay, and currently lives in the remote Cree community of Peawanuck, Ontario, in the middle of Polar Bear Provincial Park. While growing up, he lived in tents and sod teepees. Today, Sam is building an energy-efficient home which will harness energy from the sun, wind and water. This is an essential element for the green economy concept.

Learn more.

NOSM University faculty member receives Gairdner Momentum Award 2023

Dr. Christopher Mushquash, NOSM University Professor, is the recipient of the very prestigious Gairdner Momentum Award 2023. Dr. Mushquash is Anishinawbe (Ojibway) and a member of Pawgwasheeng (Pays Plat First Nation). He is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Lakehead University, Clinical Psychologist at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care, Vice President Research at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, and Chief Scientist at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute. An alumnus of Dalhousie University, a recent Dal News article says that Dr. Mushquash “merges his clinical experience as a psychologist and his community-based participatory approach to research to meet community needs and improve systems and services that make a difference in people’s lives. His innovative work focuses on Indigenous mental health and substance use through evidence-based practices that align with First Nations values.”

Upcoming Events

Northern Constellations

Northern Constellations is on May 5-6 in Thunder Bay.

This year, we launch our inaugural NOSM University Achievement Celebration, an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the many accomplishments of our students, faculty and alumni. Hosted at Northern Constellations on Friday, May 5, 2023 in Thunder Bay, we will be recognizing everyone who has achieved something remarkable this year, and handing out awards in select categories from Learner Affairs, Faculty Affairs and Alumni Relations.

We do incredible things at NOSM University. Let’s celebrate our successes! Purchase your tickets for dinner and the celebration of the year here!

(Under Registration Type, be sure to select Invited Guest: Awards & Celebration.)

Board of Governors Meeting

The next NOSM University Board of Governors meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.

To attend the open sessions or receive meeting packages, agendas and information, please visit our website or email governance@nosm.ca.

NOSM University Convocation Ceremonies and Graduation Celebration

On behalf of Dr. Sarita Verma, President, Vice-Chancellor, Dean and CEO of NOSM University and the NOSM University Senate, you’re invited to watch the Spring 2023 convocation ceremonies and graduation celebration on YouTube @NOSMtv.

Friday, May 19, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.
Graduation Celebration
Magnus Theatre, Thunder Bay

Friday, May 26, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.
Convocation Ceremony
United Steelworkers Hall, Sudbury

• NOSM University’s inaugural Chancellor, Dr. Cindy Blackstock, will be installed at Convocation.

If you have questions, please contact the Registrar’s Office at graduation@nosm.ca or visit the Convocation website.

Challenges for Rural Patients Accessing Care