From October 7-9, 2013, NOSM hosted a delegation of medical educators and health service administrators who travelled from Northern Sweden to learn from NOSM’s successful model of distributed, socially accountable medical education and research.

Communities in Northern Sweden are experiencing severe shortages of health professionals. The north of Sweden encompasses 50 percent of the country’s geography, but holds only 10 percent of the population. Approximately 30 to 40 percent of family physician positions are vacant in the region – a problem that educators and administrators are having a difficult time addressing.

Comprised of medical leaders from Umeå University, the northern-most university in Sweden, and leaders from health organizations in Sweden, the delegation came to learn about many aspects of NOSM’s educational model. Most notably, they were interested in how NOSM collaborates with local communities and health services to recruit local students, how NOSM grounds its model of education in the Northern/rural context, and how NOSM supports learners in developing the skills and the desire to practice in rural and underserved areas.

“We heard Dr. Roger Strasser speak about the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in Sweden about a year ago,” says Dr. Herbert Sandström, Associate Professor at Umeå University. “His talk about the School really piqued our interest in what you are doing here, and how it can help us in Sweden.”

The group met with educational and administrative members of the organization, toured the School to learn more about the curriculum, and visited some of NOSM’s partner communities.

“Many countries around the world struggle with providing equitable access to health care, especially in rural and remote communities,” says Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean. “We were pleased to host our Swedish guests, to share our expertise, and to introduce them to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s unique model of education.”

“We work in different conditions than yours, but we hope that we can bring the essence of NOSM’s distributed model of education back to Sweden,” says Dr. Olav Rolandsson, Head of Family Medicine at the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine at Umeå University.

Cyanobacteria, known commonly as blue-green algae, pose a significant health risk for Northern Ontarians, especially for those who draw on lakes for summer recreation or drinking water. Exposure to cyanobacteria can cause vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, dizziness, and numb limbs, among other symptoms. For these reasons, many waterways in Northern Ontario face closures due to the growth of blue-green algae blooms.

Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) researcher Dr. Joe Eibl, in collaboration with Gerry Dignard of Canadian Shield Consultants, are currently developing a new, faster method of screening lakes and waterways for blue-green algae blooms. Their research suggests that blue-green algae can be identified aerially, using photographic technology that can visualize pigments of the live bacteria.

Although the research is still in its validation stage, Eibl and Dignard have had great success in identifying blue-green algae blooms in Lake Nipissing in St. Charles, Ontario. This new screening method is faster than the current system of screening for blue-green algae, wherein samples are collected from approximately a dozen local lakes, analyzed in Toronto, then returned to Northern Ontario where the information is disseminated. In the current system, there is approximately a week between the time the water is tested, and the time the public is notified of a problem.

The project has been piloted with positive results. “We are able to detect the blue-green algae by repurposing technology which is used in the resource industry,” explains Dr. Joe Eibl, Northern Ontario School of Medicine Researcher and principal investigator in this project. “The chlorophyll in the blue-green algae is picked up by this photographic technology, allowing us to identify at-risk areas very quickly.”

In addition to providing community members with faster, more comprehensive information regarding blue-green algae bacteria in local lakes, Eibl and Dignard feel that this is the first step in ongoing research.

“The work still ahead of us is to come up with a technology or strategy to identify areas of concern at the early stage when the nutrients are starting to grow – before the algae really blooms,” explains Gerry Dignard, CEO of Canadian Shield Consultants. “Once we can identify potential areas of concern before they become a problem, then we can work towards solving the problem itself.”

Eibl and Dignard are currently in the process of narrowing the parameters to identify the ideal conditions for photographing lakes to provide reliable data. They plan to turn this into an off-the-shelf technology that can be used broadly across the North.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held its Annual Members and Board of Directors meetings on Wednesday, September 18, 2013. These meetings were video-linked between the School’s West Campus at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and its East Campus at Laurentian University in Sudbury, with other Directors participating via teleconference.

The following members were thanked for their significant contribution to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, as their terms completed September 18, 2013:

• Dr. Roy Christopher Allison
• Ms. Tracy Buckler
• Mr. Derek Debassige
• Ms. Jacqueline Dojack
• Ms. Debbie Lipscombe
• Ms. Marianne Matichuk
• Ms. Rosie Mosquito
• Dr. Claire Perreault
• Dr. Lianne Villano

At the recommendation of the Board’s Governance Review Working Group, Directors of the Board voted to accept changes to NOSM By-Law No. 6 to reflect the responsibilities and functions of NOSM’s reconstituted Board. Comprised of 19 Directors, the new structure will give priority to the recruitment of different skills, expertise and experience of Board members, while still reflecting the geographic and demographic diversity of Northeastern and Northwestern Ontario, including Aboriginal, Francophone and rural and remote communities.

Changes to By-Law 6 include the adjustment of standing committees of the Board to include a Board Executive Committee; Finance, Audit, and Risk Management Committee; Governance Committee; and, a Nominations and Community Relations Sub-Committee to the Governance Committee.

In an overview of recent NOSM activities, Dr. Roger Strasser, Dean, conveyed to the Board that NOSM was thrilled to receive the prestigious ASPIRE award, which recognizes international excellence in medical education. Receipt of the ASPIRE award was based on NOSM’s success in fulfilling its social accountability mandate – the mission to direct its education, research, and service activities to address the priority health concerns of the communities of Northern Ontario.

The audited financial statements for the year ending April 30, 2013, and the Board approved that BDO Canada LLP be appointed as auditors for the fiscal year ending April 30, 2014.

The next Board of Directors meeting will be held in Thunder Bay on November 28 and 29, 2013.

For a complete list of Board members, please visit our website at  nosm.ca .

Contact:

news@nosm.ca