NOSM and University of Waterloo Announce Collaboration Agreement

Earlier this month, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) and the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy signed a Collaboration Agreement that will allow the two schools to work together towards improving health in Northern Ontario’s communities.

Both organizations share a commitment to expanding educational opportunities for students in the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program to train in Northern Ontario. Students with a strong desire to pursue pharmacy practice in Northern communities will benefit from enhanced experiences while on their Northern co-op experiences during the first three years of the program. In addition, students in their final year of studies will undertake 24 weeks of patient care rotations that include variety of NOSM’s distributed teaching sites. Starting in January 2015, selected Waterloo students will complete their last term of studies in Northern Ontario at one of three regional sites – Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, or Thunder Bay.

The agreement between NOSM and the University of Waterloo lists a number of additional areas of potential collaboration, including integrating pharmacy students in interprofessional learning experiences, and continuing professional development opportunities during their training in Northern Ontario. Faculty from the two schools will also explore collaborative educational and research initiatives related to improving the health of Northern populations.

“We believe that the partnership with NOSM will provide pharmacy students from the University of Waterloo with expanded opportunities for interprofessional education and experiential learning,” says David Edwards, Hallman Director, School of Pharmacy and Associate Dean, Faculty of Science. “This will help us to produce outstanding health care professionals who are able to meet the unique needs of patients in Northern and rural Ontario.”

“We are excited that as a result of this collaboration these pharmacy students will experience the rewarding opportunities that come from living, working, and learning in Northern Ontario,” said Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean. “Our hope is that one day they will join the dedicated health professionals already delivering exceptional care across the North.”

About the University of Waterloo
In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada’s technology hub, has become one of Canada’s leading comprehensive universities with 35,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Waterloo, as home to the world’s largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow. For more information about Waterloo, please visit www.uwaterloo.ca.

For further information, please contact:  

Nick Manning
Director of Media Relations and Issues Management
University of Waterloo
Phone:     519-888-4451
Cell:         226-929-7627
Email:      nmanning@uwaterloo.ca