In the Spotlight
A Prescription for burnout
NOSM is a pioneer in prioritizing mental health and wellbeing by offering mindful self-compassion training to learners and faculty. Doctors in the North, stretched thin prior to the pandemic, are reaching out for help as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. “Yes, I’m good at caring for patients, but not good at taking care of myself and I feel completely overwhelmed,” writes a remote family physician registering for the training. It’s an all-too-common scenario across Northern Ontario right now. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is leading the way in learner and faculty wellness in Canada in providing self-compassi...
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How one NOSM alumna is supporting the next generation of physicians in Iroquois Falls
Dr. Auri Bruno-Petrina (Dr. Bruno) says Iroquois Falls reminds her of the small town in Brazil where she grew up. An alumna of NOSM (Family Medicine 2017), she is now an Assistant Professor and a busy family physician at Iroquois Falls Family Health Team and Anson General Hospital. With very few physicians in the community, Dr. Bruno understands the importance of encouraging and supporting current health professionals and prospective students to apply to medical school in an effort to recruit more doctors to the community. She and her husband Mike Petrina are very generously contributing $10,000 per year to NOSM over the next 10 years...
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NOSM student from Timmins aspires to be a hometown doctor
Sébastien Labelle is a second year Francophone medical student at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM). He holds an undergraduate degree in biomedical science from the University of Ottawa, where he studied solely in French. “I was a little nervous about coming to NOSM to study in English for the first time, but I have been very well supported here,” Sébastien says. “The Francophone Affairs team at NOSM, specifically Danielle Barbeau-Rodrigue and Laïla Faivre, have been a great support and have ensured I can secure placements in French.” Sébastien says he is inspired by his family—his uncle, who is a surgeon...
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