Alumni Stories

“If you’re willing to work for it, you can do anything.”

Source: Northern Ontario Medical Journal | 2018/03/22 Written by: Nadine Robinson “Becoming a doctor can be a sacrifice, but sacrifice pays off. It has opened up so many doors for me to pursue other passions of mine, such as travel. If you’re willing to work for it, you can do anything.” If you ask Dr. Rebekah (Becky) Neckoway what the hardest part of medical school was, it was deciding to apply: “I battled negative thoughts, wondering ‘Am I good enough? Can I do this?’ And even once I got in, I had to overcome those feelings. I did this by showing up, and doing the work. I know firsthand that self-doubt has the...

“Believe in your potential for success.”

Source: Northern Ontario Medical Journal | 2018/03/20 Written by: Nadine Robinson “Tânte kekî iši-wîcihitân anohc?” is something Kevin Brousseau is getting used to repeating. Translated from Moose Cree to English, it means “How may I help you today?” Kevin Brousseau is a medical student at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) in his third year, who speaks Cree, English, and French. His love for language runs deep as he also holds a Master’s degree in Linguistics from the Université du Québec à Montreal. He also maintains a blog on the Cree language online. “All three languages have been he...

“I feel a gravitation to small towns because of what you can do…”

Source: Northern Ontario Medical Journal | 2017/07/26 Written by: Norm Tollinsky “I feel a gravitation to small towns because of what you can do with family medicine in a rural environment,” said Francois, who grew up in Terrace Bay and Marathon. “You can work in the Emergency Department, find a niche and gear your practice to that. Plus, when you are working with a team of physicians in a small town, you really work together as a team to support each other.” Working as a registered nurse with physicians at the Marathon Family Health Team turned out to be a life-changing experience for Francois Doiron. “It wa...