Fostering Excellent Faculty Relations at NOSM, NOSM Hosts Third Annual Faculty Affairs Retreat

On March 4-5, 2011, nearly 80 faculty members of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) came together at the third annual Faculty Affairs Retreat held in Sudbury. The theme of this year’s retreat was “Excellence in Teaching at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.”

The retreat included a keynote session, concurrent professional development sessions, and an update on research at NOSM. Also featured were four special guests who delivered the following faculty development sessions: “Infiltrating the Curriculum: A Medical Humanist Under Cover,” by Dr. Jacalyn Duffin; “Canadian Medical Association Session: Student Leadership,” by Mary Stacey; and, “Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research: Doing Research – Idea to Dissemination,” by Dr. Elizabeth Wenghofer.

NOSM recognizes the outstanding contributions that the faculty is making to education, research, clinical care, and administration. To support continued faculty excellence, a faculty career pathways initiative was also launched at the Retreat. The proposal sets out a number of career options, which will allow faculty to contribute to the academics of the School while at the same time enhancing faculty careers by engaging in research activities.

Dr. William McCready, Senior Associate Dean of NOSM’s West Campus and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs said, “The Northern Ontario School of Medicine launched a new strategic plan in 2010, and fostering excellent faculty relations is a strategic priority within that plan. This retreat allows us an opportunity to develop relationships with faculty across the North who assist in delivering the School’s unique model of distributed medical education and are committed to the education of high quality physicians and health professionals with the leadership, knowledge, and skills to practice in Northern Ontario, and beyond.”

The Faculty Affairs Portfolio – which oversees faculty in the clinical, medical, and human sciences – provides leadership, supervision, and representation for over 1,000 faculty members of NOSM. The Portfolio ensures that the School 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.