Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) and Lakehead University

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) and Lakehead University are pleased to announce the receipt of two grants from HealthForceOntario (HFO) in excess of $650,000.

The grants were awarded through HFO’s Interprofessional Care/Education or health-care projects that foster and build interprofessional teams.

The first grant of $464,663 will be dedicated to the establishment of a Northern Interprofessional Centre for Health Education (NICHE). The goal of NICHE will be to support northern, rural, remote, and Aboriginal health needs. It will act as a unifying entity to build on the current Continuing Health Professional Education (CHPE) initiatives of NOSM and Interprofessional Education offerings of Lakehead University, as well as other partners such as Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC), Laurentian University, Sudbury Regional Hospital, community colleges across the North, and both the North East and North West Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs).

Dr. Ian Newhouse, Dean of the Faculty of Professional Schools at Lakehead University, says “NICHE will offer health-care professionals in the North access to an outstanding educational experience which will fit their practice, lifestyle, and the needs of the community. The resources available through NICHE will better equip practitioners with the knowledge, understanding, and functions of team-based, collaborative, patient-centred care.” A cornerstone of NICHE will be the development of a Pan-Northern Advisory Committee, ensuring appropriate representation from all community partners and stakeholders.

The second grant, in the amount of $189,000 was awarded to NOSM’s Rehabilitation Studies Program for Facilitating Leadership in Interprofessional Care (FLIC). FLIC will enable NOSM to establish a process for providing mentorship and leadership to health-care teams wanting to advance the concept of Interprofessional Care (IPC) in their practice settings.

Dr. Wayne Bruce, Associate Dean, Continuing Health Professional Education, believes FLIC will provide a unique opportunity for health-care providers in Northern Ontario. “FLIC will allow health professionals to bring interprofessional education into the workplace, and will support the ongoing training and facilitation of health-care teams that are dedicated to developing their capacity to providing the best care possible to the people and communities of Northern Ontario.”