Season’s Greetings

What a year it has been! We’ve all experienced another long stint with the pandemic having to persevere in our professional and personal lives. I’m reminded by staff, faculty, and learners daily that our responsibilities extend well beyond the walls of our institution. In 2021, through it all, we’ve seen some of the best in ourselves. I think many of us have experienced a resiliency and a renewed level of care for each other that we didn’t know we had. Keep it up –that caring spirit is what sets NOSM apart.

Although the effects of the pandemic are bound to linger for a long time—impacting the way we work, the way our kids learn, the way we advocate for social justice, how we rebuild from the economic challenges, how we recover from the loss of loved ones and how we reconnect as human beings—we are faced with a new perspective.

There have been many wins this year; vaccinations rolled out, accreditations were successful, and we are now on the verge of an exciting transition to NOSM University. The future is bright and prosperous.

With input from more than 1,000 Northern Ontarians, I was delighted to present to the Board on December 2, an overview of the feedback from community visits and consultations with proposed priorities for 2022. I’m happy to report that our clear vision for improved access to northern health care has been approved and that NOSM University will reaffirm the mandate to make access to health care better for the entire region.

It’s time to shift from the rear-view mirror and instead look ahead. Grab your favourite drink (mine is earl grey tea), take a little break with me, as I reprise my annual “must-see” holiday movie list. Yes, here I go again!

A truly great seasonal movie should tug at your heartstrings, making you genuinely feel the holidays. Since we all have different traditions, it means that some holiday films must take on many different forms of chestnut-roasting and Jack Frost-nipping. There are so many to choose from: the unrelentingly cheery musicals to vaguely religious dramas; the defiantly grim horror films; the gleefully vulgar comedies. Here are some more of my personal favourites (building on my previous lists from 2019 and 2020).

White Christmas (1954)
White Christmas is the fruitcake of Christmas movies. It’s a holiday standard classic that you either love or love to hate. When it comes to holiday musicality, there are many reasons to use this wonderful film as a treatment for our 2021 blues. The many musical sequences—including the duet of “Sisters”—are spectacular. What’s not to like? In the ongoing pandemic, this movie is worth an afternoon in a snowstorm with a big bowl of buttery popcorn and a chance to escape a challenging year.

Holiday Inn (1942)
This Bing Crosby (yes, him again) and Fred Astaire musical debuted Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” before the composer repurposed it for the film. Holiday Inn is a rare movie depicting Christmas as the year’s crescendo. It takes you through a calendar of musical acts at the “Holiday Inn,” where Crosby and fellow characters perform Valentine’s, Easter, and Fourth of July shows that begin and end with Christmas. At times it is politically and culturally incorrect, begging us to think about the ongoing improvements in cultural sensitivity and how we evolved in 2021.

Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
Elizabeth (Barbara Stanwyck) is a celebrated food columnist who writes anecdotes of her white-picket-fence lifestyle in Connecticut with her loving husband and newborn. But when her boss tasks her with hosting a Christmas dinner for a returning soldier (Dennis Morgan), she is exposed for who she actually is; a snobby, single New Yorker. Christmas in Connecticut gift wraps the nuances of crisscrossed relationships and gender dynamics. Its plot weaves socio-economic status and privilege into a romantic, holiday romp that provokes deeper thought about history, legacy, and the need for reconciliation.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
Clark Griswold just wants to give his family a nice Christmas—and maybe a pool. From Cousin Eddie in his mini bathroom to the squirrel in the tree, this holiday classic has been cracking us up since the 80s. Don’t forget the young Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki in their roles as the Griswold kids. The takeaway here is that NOSM is a great place, with plenty of fun-filled moments, and even as we are in a serious moment in history as we become NOSM University, there’s a lot of fun to be found in this new adventure.

The Princess Switch (2018)
The prince and the pauper…but with a Christmas spin. Vanessa Hudgens pulls a “Parent Trap” and plays dual roles in this lighthearted tale of both a working-class baker and a repressed royal heiress. Turns out the two discover that they could pass as twins, and they decide to swap places. It’s a life-changing experience. Like the two sides of NOSM University with our dual locations in Thunder Bay and Sudbury. So similar and uniquely different. There is strength in our relationships and partnerships. Together, we will improve health care in Northern Ontario.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
Technically a TV special that could never have known it would become a 50+ year, popular holiday tradition. These feature-length films, including Rudolph, Frosty and their claymation companions are holiday classics in my book. Plus, what’s a holiday viewing roundup without a stop-motion tale narrated by Burl Ives? You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and …or is it “You know Ray, and Bill, and Cathy and David. Joanne, and Rahim, and Miriam, and Steve. But do you recall the most famous NOSMER of all?”

An Affair to Remember (1957)
Two people, both attached, happen to fall in love with each other aboard a ship travelling to New York. They devise a plan: Terry McKay and Nick Ferrante promise each other to meet at the Empire State Building in six months’ time to see if they are still in love. What ensues is a memorable cinematic moment. Here’s a proposal for you, to fall in love with … yup you guessed it: NOSM University. Meet me on Valentine’s Day 2022 to celebrate!

As 2021 wraps up, we can celebrate how we overcame profound challenge and realize that we’ve actually exercised the muscle required to get through this next one. If we can remember that, we can continue to buoy ourselves; to gain strength and continue to support each other with care while we move forward with a newfound grace we didn’t know was available to us.

I hope you will take time over the holidays to relax, spend time with loved ones and maybe try something new. As they say, change is better than a vacation but why not do both?

Bring it on 2022! A year dedicated to making history.

Miigwetch, thank you, marsi, merci,
Dr. Sarita Verma
Dean, President and CEO
Northern Ontario School of Medicine

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

https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/best-christmas-movies-of-all-time
https://www.glamour.com/gallery/funniest-christmas-movies

Meeting the NOSM Challenge

Read our year-in-review report highlighting some of the important work and milestones of 2021. Thank you all for helping us meet the NOSM Challenge 2025 and for coming together and forming the most magnificent team of real-life superheroes. Read Meeting the NOSM Challenge. Please, read, share, and post your favourite stories and highlights from 2021.

Whole School Webinar 

Spend some time with us learning how we met the challenges of 2021 and what is in store for 2022.

December 17, 2021 | 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Via WebEx
Join by phone: 1-855-699-3239 | Access code: 242 204 49855

Followed by the Staff and Faculty Holiday Check Up–a seasonal romp courtesy of NOSM’s Communications Unit.

Northern Lights 2022

Register now for Northern Lights 2022! Don’t miss the NOSM Pan Northern Leadership Forum. This year, we’ll focus on strategies that are essential for being an effective leader. Keynote speakers include Dr. Homer Tien, President and CEO of ORNGE Air Ambulance and Trauma Surgeon at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Dr. Nel Wieman, Canada’s first female Indigenous psychiatrist. To register, visit Northern Lights. 

Submit your abstract for Northern Constellations 2022

Join NOSM’s annual faculty development conference, to be held virtually again this year May 6–7, 2022. NOSM Faculty are invited to submit proposals for 50-minute Interactive Workshops or 30-minute Virtual Hallway Conversations. Find out more at Northern Constellations 2022.

NOSM Awards of Excellence and Scholarship

Help recognize the contributions that NOSM faculty and MD students make to education, research, clinical care, mentorship, and administration. Nominate your colleague for a NOSM Award of Excellence and Scholarship. This year, it is easier than ever with the new online submission process! Open until January 3, 2022.

Attention NOSM MD Students, Residents and Learners:

Applications Open in January for NOSM Master of Medical Studies 
Apply to the Master of Medical Studies (MMS) Program in January for the upcoming 2022–2023 academic year! Stay up-to-date on all MMS news or email  graduatestudies@nosm.ca. See our list of Supervisors and Co-Supervisors and discover who aligns with your research interests.

PGME Orthopaedic Surgery Virtual Town Hall
Join the Orthopaedic Surgery information session and town hall discussion on December 15 at 8:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. via WebEx, hosted by Program Director Dr. Kurt Droll. NOSM Orthopaedic Faculty and Residents will be there to provide an overview of the program, for a general discussion, and to answer your questions.

PGME Psychiatry Information Session
Attention medical students! Learn more about Psychiatry at NOSM! Join the upcoming PGME Psychiatry session and Q&A on December 16 from 7:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m. EST. To register, please email psychiatry@nosm.ca. More sessions will be held in January, and you are welcome to attend more than one session.

PGME General Surgery Information Session
Interested in General Surgery? Learn more at the NOSM General Surgery information session on December 15 from 7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. EST, via WebEx. Hear from current residents who are training in Northern Ontario. Can’t make this session? Another session will be held on January 6, 2022.