Northern Routes

Focus on Public Health and Countdown to PGME Accreditation

The face of Public Health in Northern Ontario •Guest blog by Dr. John Tuinema• In every residency program, residents train for “the big one”: that one situation that is rare, life-threatening, and can happen suddenly. For example, anesthesiologists train to be ready for malignant hyperthermia which is complex, deadly, and can happen in an instant. They’re well trained to handle this even though they may rarely see it in their career. Public health physicians also train for “the big one,” but typically it may only appear once, if at all, in a career. Long before the arrival of COVID-19, Public Health and Preventive...

The doctor is in. And in. And in.

In an unprecedented commitment to health care in Northern Ontario, the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) was in Sudbury last week for the launch of their Northern health-care recommendations. In developing the OMA’s Prescription for Northern Ontario, more than 1,600 physicians and physician leaders provided input. The current health-care system is plagued by physician shortages; long wait times; a serious backlog of services; inadequate mental health and addiction programs; and, insufficient home and community care, among other problems. Nowhere are the issues more critical. Equitable access to health care in Northern Ontario...

Listening, learning and daring to lead

These past six weeks, I have had the joy of traveling across Northern Ontario to consult widely about NOSM University. I have met with leaders, physician teachers, resident doctors, medical students, alumni, community-based researchers and so many more. For me, this has been about listening, learning and respecting. Importantly, it’s been about transparency and honest conversations. As we make the journey to becoming NOSM University, our public consultation is employing a range of strategies to foster trust as a critical element in long-term, sustainable engagement. With trust, comes relationships that respect the right of partners...