2008 NHRC Keynote Speaker

In the keynote presentation delivered at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s (NOSM) third annual Northern Health Research Conference, Dr. Joshua Tepper spoke to participants about the evolution of Health Human Resources, planning, physician recruitment and retention, interprofessional education, and collaborative patient-centred care.

The conference explored research activities within Northern Ontario and highlighted projects by health-care professionals, students, residents, and community-based researchers.

In his capacity as Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Health and Long term Care, Health Human Resources Strategy Division, Dr. Tepper’s presentation, entitled “Contemplating HHR research OR 10 Things I Wish I Had Known,” touched on several additional areas of topical interest.

The importance of Local Health Integration Networks (LHIN) in the distribution of research funding and the stewardship role of the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care were highlights. Dr. Tepper also described the evolution of the Ontario health-care model as it develops into a more collaborative and seamless system with a patient-centred focus.

Innovation in the planning and design of NOSM, and in the advancement of Northern research, Dr. Tepper continued in a post-presentation interview, is key to meeting the unique demands of the people of Northern Ontario.

“You are doing things very differently here by bringing in a different group of students and educating them in a fundamentally different model, in different settings, and under different principles and philosophies,” he said. “I think all this will lead to a group of physicians that is willing and eager to stay in the North. It’s great to have a new school,” he continued, “but it’s the way it’s designed that is really momentous.”

Biography

Dr. Joshua Tepper is a family physician and an Assistant Deputy Minister at Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Human Health Resources Strategy Division.

With a degree in public policy from Duke University, he has been involved in health policy and research relating to health human resources at both the provincial and national level. He completed his Masters of Public Health at Harvard University in 2005.

He was a senior medical officer for Health Canada, an adjunct scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and a research consultant for the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI).

Dr. Tepper was president of both the Canadian Federation of Medical Students and the Provincial Association of Interns and Residents of Ontario. He has sat on the board of both the Canadian Medical Association and the Ontario Medical Association.

He is happily married to Andrea Berntson and is the proud father of baby boy Ishai.