NOSM Launches French Edition of Book Charting School’s Development and Opportunities

The Making of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine: A Case Study in the History of Medical Education 

On March 25, 2010, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held the first of three book launches announcing the release of the much anticipated French version of The Making of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine: A Case Study in the History of Medical Education. This peer-reviewed collection provides a fascinating and detailed account of the challenges and rewards faced by those who insisted on creating a patient-centered, community-based, and culturally-sensitive learning environment for the physicians of tomorrow.

Several NOSM representatives delivered presentations and later engaged with audience members at this event, held in Sudbury at the Grand Ciel Bleu – Librairie du Nouvel-Ontario. Following welcoming remarks by Daniel Aubin, representative of Grand Ciel Bleu and Dominic Giroux, President of Laurentian University and Vice-Chair of NOSM’s Board of Directors, contributing authors Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean, and Dr. Geoffrey Tesson provided firsthand accounts of the School’s evolution from a collective dream to a pan-Northern medical education centre. Dr. Gratien Allaire, NOSM Board Member and Board Chair of Grand Ciel Bleu, followed with an appeal for student support and conveyed the importance of telling NOSM’s story to a wider audience. Later, Drs. Strasser and Tesson signed many copies of the book during this well attended event.

Written by twelve contributors, this book describes the development of the School and its significance to the history and evolution of medical education both in Canada and the world. It also tells the story of broad-based participation from the communities and physicians of Northern Ontario, as well as the roles and involvement of the two host institutions, Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario. Northern communities, which have shown a growing appreciation for the complexities involved in meeting all their medical education needs, will find their story in this 200-page account of the development of NOSM.

Written in highly readable language, and targeted to a wider audience, the book introduces the reader to the School’s distinctive medical education model. Each of the book’s three sections clearly delineates critical stages in the School’s growth, beginning with the new thinking behind a pioneering approach to medical education, followed by the content of the new school, and reflections on the lessons drawn from the building process.

Dr. Roger Strasser credited the book for its ability to attract widespread interest and underlined the importance of Francophone participation in the School. “The Northern Ontario School of Medicine seeks to ensure strong Francophone representation in all medical school activities. Our commitment to inclusiveness of and responsiveness to all population groups of Northern Ontario is the foundation upon which we continue to build strong relationships with our Francophone partners.”

NOSM’s efforts to identify with and respond to the needs of Francophones includes the hosting of symposia to address all matters of health care, and the partnering with organizations to heighten the interest of Francophone youth in health-care careers. This year, NOSM, will be holding a Francophone Symposium in Sudbury on April 28-30, 2010, which will address health as a community issue. Details of the Symposium can be found on NOSM’s website at www.nosm.ca.

Additional French language book launches of The Making of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and signings will be held in Thunder Bay on April 8 and in Ottawa on April 21, 2010.

Ten percent of all sales of the French version of The Making of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine will be donated to NOSM’s Francophone Student Bursary Fund.