Two new enhanced skills residency programs launched at NOSM University

NOSM University is launching two new enhanced skills medical residency programs in Addiction Medicine and Sport and Exercise Medicine.

Resident doctors who have completed a two-year family medicine program can now apply to a third year of family medicine training in the Addiction Medicine and Sport and Exercise Medicine programs. Available to resident doctors from across Canada, the programs will help improve equitable access to health care for Northerners.

“By adding these fields of study to our residency programs, we are providing more learning opportunities for new family physicians to expand their expertise,” says Dr. Rob Anderson, Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education and Health Sciences. “For Northern Ontarians, there are often barriers to accessing health care from specialists. Enabling family physicians to expand their scope of practise will benefit Northerners who are often required to travel to urban centres to gain access to Sport and Exercise Medicine or Addition Medicine services.”

Dr. Mike Franklyn, inaugural Program Director, Addiction Medicine and Assistant Professor, is a dedicated physician based in Sudbury with extensive experience in primary care, addictions, and mental health, both within the community and at provincial and national levels. Outside of his clinical work, Dr. Franklyn has a significant role in projects related to the unhoused, poverty, addiction, mental health, and harm reduction for patients and primary-care physicians. He completed medical school at McMaster University and completed his residency in Sudbury through the University of Ottawa. A faculty member with NOSM from its inception, Dr. Franklyn has been an active leader in medical education.

Dr. Bryan Lemenchick, inaugural Program Director, Sport and Exercise Medicine and Assistant Professor, is an established community sport medicine physician based in North Bay. He completed medical school and family medicine residency at the University of Ottawa followed by a third-year fellowship in Sport and Exercise Medicine at Western University and the Supplemental Emergency Medicine Experience through the University of Toronto. Dr. Lemenchick is eager to begin developing NOSM University’s Sport and Exercise Medicine program—one he calls a very much wanted and needed program for the Northern Ontario medical community.