NOSM Board Holds Face-to-Face Meeting in Sudbury

Highlights include a Tour of the HSN Simulation Lab,and NOSM’s Response to the TRC’s Calls to Action 

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s (NOSM) Board of Directors held its annual face-to-face meeting in Sudbury on November 24 and 25, 2016.

NOSM Board members began their two-day meeting with a tour of Health Sciences North’s Simulation Laboratory. A highly valued partner with the School, the Simulation Laboratory promotes high-quality educational activities across all health professions, including medicine, nursing, respiratory therapy, paramedicine, and other allied health professions.

This year, NOSM’s Board participated in discussions regarding:

• NOSM’s simulation program, which supports patient- and learner-safe education.
• NOSM’s implementation of many of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, and the School’s commitment and leadership on meeting the needs of Indigenous peoples in Canada and Northern Ontario.
• The ways in which NOSM collaborates with its two academic health sciences centres, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre in Thunder Bay and Health Sciences North in Sudbury.
• The governance and leadership model of the School, and the ways in which it supports the School’s strategic goals.
• Sustaining NOSM’s success, and the School’s advancement, revenue generation, advocacy, and ambassadorship initiatives.
• NOSM’s undergraduate medical education program, which oversees and delivers the School’s MD curriculum.
• NOSM’s research portfolio, which conducts and supports health research in Northern Ontario.

At the formal Board meeting at the end of the second day, the Board approved Financial Statements from the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee for the five-month period ending September 30, 2016.

The Board received copies of two reports, the ICEMEN Conference Report and the Indigenous Research Gathering Report. These reports provided summaries, highlights, and reflections of two events NOSM held in Sault Ste. Marie in the summer: ICEMEN 2016, an international conference on health professional education and research; and the Indigenous Research Gathering, a research gathering with Indigenous peoples to guide health research practices with Indigenous peoples.

“It gives me great pride to serve on NOSM’s Board of Directors, and support the School in its continual pursuit of a healthier Northern Ontario—a sentiment that I know is shared by my fellow Board members,” says Dr. Moira McPherson, Chair of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s Board of Directors and Vice President, Academic and Provost at Lakehead. “This face-to-face meeting of the Board provided a very valuable opportunity for us to come together and pool our expertise and experience to contribute to the continued success of the School.”

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s next Board of Directors meeting is scheduled to occur on ­­­­­March 22, 2017.

For a complete list of Board members, please visit our website at nosm.ca/board.

About NOSM’s Board of Directors
NOSM’s Board of Directors is comprised of 19 members who reflect the geographic and demographic diversity of Northern Ontario, including Indigenous, Francophone, and rural and remote communities. It is responsible for the corporate governance and fiscal management of the School. Membership of the Board of Directors is drawn widely to achieve the balance of skills and expertise required to enable the Board to fulfil its governance responsibilities.