On June 7and 8, 2013, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) and the North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) will be combining their conferences (Northern Health Research Conference, and the NBRHC Research Conference) into a single event.

The two organizations share a common commitment to improving health care for Northern Ontarians. This will be NOSM’s eighth annual conference and, building on the successes of the previous seven years, will grow through this collaboration with NBRHC. This two-day conference will be held at Canadore College in North Bay.

The conference will bring togetherNorthern Ontario clinicians, health professionals, academics, and learners, who are utilizing and sharing research and practices for the improvement of health care and education for the North. The conference will provide opportunities for collaboration and networking, and will highlight projects underway from community-based researchers, students, residents, and health professionals.

Over 60 presentations on a number of health-related topics relevant to clinical practice will be delivered. Additionally, the keynote address will be provided by Dr. Franco Vaccarino, Principal of the University of Toronto Scarborough and Vice President of the University of Toronto. Dr. Vaccarino’s presentation is entitledNeuroscience and Discovery Research . This conference will provide an optimal opportunity for the development and planning of future collaboration and networking between researchers, academics, and health professionals in the area.

This conference will inspire discussion, facilitate research collaboration, and highlight the variety of health care research being completed by Northern researchers.

Additional information can be found on the NOSM website at www.nosm.ca/nhrc or the NBRHC website athttp://www.nbrhc.on.ca/research/research-conference-e.aspx.

About the North Bay Regional Health Centre

The North Bay Regional Health Centre is a unique healthcare organization with three primary roles. It provides acute care services to North Bay and its surrounding communities, it is the district referral centre providing specialist services for smaller communities in the area, and it is the specialized mental health service provider serving all of northeast Ontario. For further information visit our website at www.nbrhc.on.ca

Hands-only CPR (CPR without mouth-to-mouth resuscitation), may not be the best method for rural or remote areas or for anyone who has to wait more than a few minutes for an ambulance, a new study suggests.

New guidelines released by the American Heart Association in 2010 permit the use of simpler hand-only or compression-only CPR in some cases instead of conventional CPR. If ambulances come quickly, experts believe that instructing people to just “push hard, push fast” saves more lives.

But a literature review by Dr. Aaron Orkin found little evidence to support those guidelines outside of urban settings or in communities with no 911 services. His findings were published in the Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine.

Of the 10 studies on saving lives with hands-only CPR he reviewed, only one included rural populations and people who had to wait longer than 15 minutes for an ambulance. Some of those studies showed that people who waited longer for ambulances to arrive had a better chance of surviving if mouth-to-mouth breathing was performed as well as chest compressions.

“Urban studies can’t always be applied outside big cities,” said Dr. Orkin, a physician and graduate student affiliated with the University of Toronto, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and Rescu, a St. Michael’s Hospital research team dedicated to improving out-of-hospital resuscitation.

“Rural communities might need different CPR recommendations to urban settings,” he said.

Dr. Orkin said the study suggests that “push hard, push fast” might be better refined to “push hard, push fast, if you’re downtown.”

One in five Canadians and nearly half of the world’s population live in rural areas. Even in the most developed and densely populated cities, people can wait longer than 10 or 15 minutes for ambulance services. “If someone is unresponsive, doing any kind of CPR is clearly better than doing nothing,” said Dr. Orkin. “But shouldn’t CPR guidelines serve everybody, not just people who live a few minutes from an ambulance dispatch station or hospital?”

About St. Michael’s Hospital

St. Michael’s Hospital provides compassionate care to all who enter its doors. The hospital also provides outstanding medical education to future health care professionals in more than 23 academic disciplines. Critical care and trauma, heart disease, neurosurgery, diabetes, cancer care, and care of the homeless are among the Hospital’s recognized areas of expertise. Through the Keenan Research Centre and the Li Ka Shing International Healthcare Education Center, which make up the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, research and education at St. Michael’s Hospital are recognized and make an impact around the world. Founded in 1892, the hospital is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.

This spring, medical students from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) will continue their outreach program through the Ontario Medical Association (OMA). The program, calledAltitude: Health-Care Mentoring, is aimed at encouraging students in their final year of secondary school to seriously consider a career in the field of health care.

“The first year of our program was a success. We provided them with unique networking opportunities with professionals to encourage their passion for a career in health care,” explained Kayla Berst, second-year MD student and Outreach Coordinator for the Thunder Bay Altitude team. “It is an amazing experience to go into a local secondary school and talk to young, passionate students about what it takes to have a career as a doctor, nurse, or physical therapist.”

“In addition to outreach in local schools, we are also running Altitude@ sessions for university students at all levels who have interest in the health-care field,” said Mélanie Patrie, second-year MD student and Site Coordinator for the Sudbury Altitude team. “Altitude Mentoring was a huge success this year, and we look forward to even greater developments next year.”

The Thunder Bay Altitude team includes first-year MD student Jessica Nairn and second-year MD students Hillary Bohler, Valerie Nicholls, Stacey Tokar, Paul Benvenuto, Michelle McLean, Anthony Valente, Alanna May, and Savanna Webb. The Sudbury Altitude Outreach Program includes first-year MD students Zsolt Toth, Kaitlin Sheridan, Katrina Hickey, Heather Smith, Robyn Rodger, Nick Fortino, and Rose Michael, as well as second-year MD students Jessica Chan and Sabrina Badio.

Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean, applauds the efforts undertaken by NOSM’s medical students for embarking upon this important initiative. “By taking the time to speak to secondary students in Northern communities, our learners highlight their incredible sense of commitment to improving the health of people in Northern Ontario. It speaks to their willingness to give back, and the kind of physicians they will be in the future.”

The Thunder Bay and Sudbury Altitude Team Outreach teams are currently accepting applications for the 2013-2014 school year. Students interested in a career in health care are encouraged to apply at:http://altitudementoring.ca/ . Applications are due June 1, 2013.