NOSM Board Holds Face-to-Face Meeting in Thunder Bay

The Board of Directors of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held a face-to-face meeting in Thunder Bay on November 28 and 29, 2013.

On the first day of the two-day meeting, Board members were provided a tour of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC), led by TBRHSC’s Andrée Robichaud, President and CEO; Tracie Smith, Senior Director, Communications and Engagement; and, Karen Anderson, Academic Liaison Coordinator. The TBRHSC is a state-of-the-art acute care facility and teaching hospital where NOSM medical students and residents undertake rotations in various specialties (e.g., Surgery, Internal Medicine, Children’s Health, Women’s Health, Mental Health, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, etc.) as part of their medical education.

In the afternoon, Board members heard presentations from Omair Quraishi, NOSM’s Chief Information Officer, on exciting technological innovations underway at the medical school. Hugh Goldie, a facilitator specializing in Board governance, strategic planning, and organization design and an Associate of The Exchange Group, led a lively interactive session titled “Confidence at the Board Table.” The Board identified several concepts presented by Goldie as valuable to guiding future discussions.

Later that evening at the Board dinner, Awards of Excellence were presented to learners, faculty, and preceptors by Dr. Bill McCready, Senior Associate Dean, West Campus, and Dr. Janice Willett, Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs. Learners receiving awards included second-year medical students Ms. Mallory Granholm and Mr. Samuel Peters. Dr. Maurianne Reade, a rural family doctor and Assistant Professor based in Mindemoya on Manitoulin Island, and Ms. Crystal Morra, a Registered Dietician and Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program (NODIP) preceptor at Noojmowin Teg Health Centre in Little Current on Manitoulin Island were the recipients of faculty and preceptor awards.

On the second day of the meeting, the Board toured the Faculty of Law at Lakehead University, located in the historic Port Arthur Collegial Institute, with Dean Dr. Lee Stuesser. The first new law school in Ontario in over 40 years, the school focuses on preparing students for the practice of law in rural and smaller centres where there is a pressing need for new lawyers.

Following the tour, Board members were introduced to a proposed process to create a 2015-2020 Strategic Plan for NOSM. At this session led by Ken Adams, NOSM’s Chief Administrative Officer, and Grace Vita, NOSM’s Director of Planning and Risk, Board members were invited to contribute their ideas with respect to the proposed process, which includes plans for extensive consultation with NOSM stakeholders to arrive at the Strategic Plan’s key objectives. The Board approved the scope and guiding principles of the process presented.

At the formal Board meeting, members received a copy of the Rendez-Vous 2012 Conference Report, which provides an overview of the activities that took place at this successful health professional education conference, hosted by NOSM, in October 2012. Rendez-Vous 2012 attracted more than 850 international participants from around the world to consider community participation in education, research, and service. The report is now available at www.rendez-vous2012.ca.

The Board of Directors approved Financial Statements from the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee for the six-month period ending October 31, 2013. The Board also approved a Conflict of Interest (COI) with Commercial Entities policy for the School, along with a proposed strategy to implement the policy.

Mr. Dominic Giroux, Chair of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s Board of Directors and President of Laurentian University, noted that the two-day meeting in Thunder Bay accomplished several important objectives. “With NOSM Board members distributed across Northern Ontario, our semiannual face-to-face meetings provide an opportunity to foster cohesion and collaborate in an extremely valuable way. The two-day meetings have allowed us to participate in thought-provoking presentations, engage in important discussion, and celebrate the exceptional commitment of our learners, faculty, and preceptors. Our meetings were a resounding success,” he said.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s next Board of Directors meeting is scheduled to occur on March 19, 2014.

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