NOSM Holds First Faculty Affairs Retreat in Thunder Bay

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.