National Award Recognizes NOSM University’s Contributions to Northern Ontario’s Francophone Community

(L-R) Danielle Barbeau-Rodrigue, Director of the Francophone Affairs Unit, Dr. Nicole Ranger, Faculty Lead for the Francophone Curricular Initiative, and Dr. Sarita Verma, President, Vice-Chancellor, Dean, and CEO of NOSM University, stand with an award from the Societé Santé en français.

NOSM University is the proud co-recipient of a national prize for excellence in Francophone community engagement.

The Prix de l’engagement de la communauté, awarded annually by the Société Santé en français, recognizes success in ensuring quality services for the Francophone community in a minority-language context. The award goes to organizations that have engaged Francophones in evaluating their needs and determining the kind of services they require.

NOSM University was recognized for offering diverse initiatives to improve health-care services for Francophones. These include ensuring that Francophones represent 20-25% of the MD student body and mandating training so that medical students know to actively offer French language health services in all patient interactions. NOSM University also offers a variety of medical training in French, including the new Francophone Curricular Initiative, as well as clinical opportunities with Francophone preceptors during medical school and residency, and professional development opportunities in French.

The Francophone Affairs Unit and the Francophone Reference Group at NOSM University help ensure strong Francophone representation in all University activities.

“NOSM University’s work is ongoing on many fronts to ensure that Francophone culture is integrated into health-care education. The University recognizes the importance of living, working, and studying in French, regardless of where Francophones reside, and of making a concrete contribution to the development of the Francophone community,” says Diane Quintas, Executive Director of the Réseau du mieux-être francophone du Nord de l’Ontario, who nominated NOSM University for the award.

“We feel honoured to be nominated by our partners at the Réseau and to be recognized with this national award,” says Dr. Sarita Verma, President, Vice-Chancellor, Dean, and CEO of NOSM University. “Our university’s founding mandate is social accountability—to be responsive to the unique health-care needs of the people of Northern Ontario, including Francophone communities. This work is part and parcel of our social accountability mandate, and it strengthens the positive impact our graduates will have in their health-care practice.”

The 2023 winners were announced at the Société Santé en français’ Annual General Meeting on September 28, 2023. NOSM University shares the prize with Retraite active de Peel, an active retirement group based in Peel, Ontario.

Dr. Nicole Ranger, Faculty Lead for the Francophone Curricular Initiative, and Danielle Barbeau-Rodrigue, Director of the Francophone Affairs Unit, were present at the AGM to receive the award. They thanked the Réseau for the nomination and the Société Santé en français for this recognition.