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For Applicants

To apply for an elective at NOSM University, and dependent upon which province or country you are currently studying in, please click on the link below that applies to your specific situation. We look forward to hearing from you!

NOR-STAR Funding Program: New Funding for PGME Visiting Electives – Effective July 1, 2023

This initiative provides funding for travel and accommodation for postgraduate trainees from any Canadian residency program to undertake electives in Northern Ontario.

Northern Ontario is defined as all communities in the Territorial Districts of:  Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay or Timiskaming and including the single-tier municipality of Greater Sudbury.

Muskoka District is not designated as Northern Ontario.

All applications electives must be submitted through NOSM University’s Medical Electives Program. Although, placements in specific communities are not guaranteed at the time of application, every effort will be made to connect Residents and Fellows with a similar community if the community of interest does not have capacity, or alternatively, we will work to find alternate elective timing to fit their needs.

The NOR-STAR Program is specifically designed to help Family Medicine and Specialty Medicine Residents and Fellows learn through electives in Northern Ontario by providing supplemental travel and housing funding. This funding is available effective July 1, 2023, and will continue for a duration of 3 years, ending March 31, 2026.

For information regarding all the elective opportunities across Northern Ontario, please visit NOSM U’s Interactive Clinical Electives Catalogue.

View the NOSM U PGME Elective Opportunities Poster.

Application Process:

General Application Rule:

  • All Elective Applications must be submitted 12 weeks ahead of the placement start date.
  • If coming from outside of Ontario, please allow additional time for the licensing process.
  • The elective must be a duration of 1 weeks or more (Note: 1-week electives are not eligible to utilize NOSM U Housing)

Application: Apply through the NOSM U’s Visiting Resident Elective Application website.

Funding Eligibility:

  • In order to be eligible for travel and expense reimbursement via NOR-STAR, resident electives must meet the following criteria:
    • Start on or after July 1, 2023
    • Booked on the NOSM University Online Portal
    • The elective must take place in Northern Ontario (those communities covered by the Northeast or Northwest Ontario Health regions). Please note: electives in Muskoka District (which includes Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Huntsville) do not meet this criteria and therefore are not eligible for NOR-STAR funding.
    • Fellows must be registered with a Canadian Medical University or Program.

    Within the NOR-STAR Funding Program, there are two Programs (i.e., Locum Dyads or PGME Electives) that seem very similar but are distinct and have separate eligibility and funding parameters. Please refer to the table below to see what Program you belong to.

NOR-STAR Funding Program
Faculty-Learner Dyad Program NOSM U PGME Electives Program
General Description:
  • A resident from another Canadian university undertakes an elective in Northern Ontario with one of their own  institution’s faculty members who is coming to northern community to locum. This is considered a faculty-learner dyad and not a NOSM University Elective.

i.e., A resident from University of Toronto travels with a faculty member from UofT who is working as a locum in Northern Ontario. The UofT faculty member (locum) is responsible for learning goals, teaching and supervision and learner assessment.
  • This initiative provides funding for travel and accommodation for postgraduate trainees from any Canadian residency program to undertake electives with NOSM U faculty in Northern Ontario.

i.e., A postgraduate trainee comes to Northern Ontario to work with NOSM U faculty. The NOSM U faculty member is responsible for teaching, supervision, and assessment.
Application/ Scheduling
  • All scheduling, credentialling, and any possible housing accommodations is completed between the preceptor/faculty/locum and the Hospital/FHT for the resident.
  • PGME trainees that are eligible for this program can be determined by their own institution.

Please Note: Faculty-Learner Dyads are completely separate from NOSM University, and they do not need to go through NOSM U’s Northern Electives Program (for visiting PGME electives).
  • Applications are submitted on the NOSM University Online Portal.
  • The elective must take place in Northern Ontario (those communities covered by the Northeast or Northwest Ontario Health regions).

Please Note: Electives in Muskoka District (which includes Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Huntsville) do not meet these criteria and therefore are not eligible for NOR-STAR funding.

PGME Learners eligible for NOR-STAR funding:

1. NOSM U Resident:

  • Elective must be conducted outside of their home base community (still within Northern Ontario)
  • Must be a duration of 1 weeks or more. (Note: 1-week electives are not eligible to utilize NOSM U Housing)
  • Application: Apply through normal PaNDa Application.

2. Visiting Resident or Fellow:
Funding:
  • Funding and Reimbursement is completed and processed strictly though Ontario Health – Health Force.
  • Funding and Reimbursement is completed and processed strictly though Ontario Health – Health Force.
  • Please find all the funding and reimbursement information and processes included in the NOR-STAR Resident Information Document.
Questions/Help:
  • For more eligibility or funding information, connect with Ontario Health – Health Force at norstar@ontariohealth.ca.

Funding and Reimbursement Information:

Please find all the funding and reimbursement information and processes included in the NOR-STAR Resident Information Document.

Please direct all questions to the following offices:

  • Please have a look at the NOR-STAR FAQ document to see if you questions is there.
  • For Elective Applications, connect with NOSM U’s Electives Office: electives@nosm.ca
  • For more funding information, connect with Ontario Health – Health Force at norstar@ontariohealth.ca.

Last update: November 30, 2023

Mandatory Vaccination Policy for all Visiting Learners – Effective February 7, 2022

Learners applying for visiting clinical placements:

In accordance with the advice of the Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health, effective May 1, 2022, NOSM University has paused its COVID-19 Vaccination Policy for Staff, Faculty, Volunteers and Visitors and no longer requires proof of vaccination to enter NOSM U buildings. All employees are encouraged to receive their booster vaccine(s) before coming to campus to help protect themselves and those around them.

As Learners who engage in clinical placements through NOSM University are required to follow the COVID-19 vaccination policies of their clinical location, the COVID-19 Vaccination Policy for Learners in Clinical Settings remains in effect.

As such, the Community Relations Unit will collect vaccination status and supporting documentation from all visiting learners during the credentialing process of the application. The teaching site safety requirements can be found on the NOSM University’s Response to COVID-19 site and is updated regularly based on the most relevant information provided by the community/teaching sites.

Group 1: Undergraduate medical students and residents enrolled at NOSM U 

Group 2: Undergraduate medical students in any Canadian medical school (other than NOSM U) 

Group 3: Medical residents enrolled in Canadian medical schools (other than NOSM U)

Group 4: Undergraduate medical students enrolled in International medical schools (outside of Canada)

Group 5: Global Health Electives (students enrolled at NOSM U)

 

Medical Electives