NOSM hosts virtual Board meeting during COVID-19 outbreak

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held its regular board meeting on Wednesday, March 18, 2020 using telephone and online technology to accommodate a virtual meeting.

Highlights of the discussion and decisions include:

• Sarita Verma, NOSM Dean, President and CEO, provided the Board with an update regarding the monitoring of COVID-19 for NOSM learners, faculty and staff.
• The Financial Report ending January 31, 2020 was reviewed and approved as presented to the Board.
• A revised Faculty Appointment and Reappointment Policy was approved.
• Each of the standing committees reported updates.

A key focus over the past four months has been re-evaluating the School’s mission to ensure that its areas of focus remain relevant. The development of a new strategic plan is grounded in input from nearly 2,000 stakeholders including students, staff, faculty, partner organizations, and community members from across Northern Ontario. Input was gathered through a mix of interviews, community visits, town halls, external environmental scan of best practices, focus groups with students, staff, faculty, Indigenous and Francophone leaders, online survey and in-person advice from two newly constituted Social Accountability Advisory Groups.

The Board of Directors approved proceeding with the development of a draft Strategic Plan 2020-2025 based on the following emerging strategic directions:

1. Innovate Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education
2. Strengthen Research Capacity in Northern Ontario
3. Transform Health Human Resource Supply
4. Advance Social Accountability through Health System Advocacy

In addition to significant progress on a draft strategic plan, three other priorities have been a key focus: the onboarding of NOSM’s new senior academic leaders and the search for additional positions in the academic team; the finalization of accreditation documents for the MD program and submission to the Canadian Committee on Accreditation of Medical Schools; and, managing the learning and work environment during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The next meeting of the Board of Directors is scheduled for May 2020 and will again be hosted virtually.

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