The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held its Annual Members and Board of Directors meetings on Wednesday. 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.

At the Annual Members Meeting, which involves one representative each of Laurentian University and Lakehead University, the audited financial statements for the year ending April 30, 2008 were approved, and members of the Board of Directors for 2008 – 2009 were appointed. Drs. James Taylor and Claire Perreault were inducted into the Board.

Dr. Fred Gilbert, President of Lakehead University, was confirmed as Chair of the Board. Robert Bourgeois, Acting President of Laurentian University, was confirmed as Vice-Chair of the Board.

The Directors received reports from Board Committees, including the Finance and Audit, Quality Monitoring, Governance, Board Executive, Advancement, and Nominating Committees. At the recommendation of the Board Executive Committee, the Board approved an Employee and Volunteer Legal Indemnification Policy.

The Board of Directors received a presentation by Ian M. Fraser of The Fundraising Network, which described Advancement trends and models.

The next meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on December 4 and 5, 2008 at Laurentian University in Sudbury.

School Reaches Full Complement of Medical Students for First Time

Today officially marks the first day of school for 58 new medical students at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), following a whirlwind orientation week of exposure to the diversity and vitality of Northern Ontario.

During their unique orientation, the School’s fourth intake of medical students traveled across Northern Ontario, participated in working sessions, met physicians and community leaders, and became acquainted with their new life as a medical student. Following introductory sessions at the students’ respective home campuses at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and Laurentian University in Sudbury, the full class of students gathered in Sudbury, where they embarked on a week-long bus excursion to Thunder Bay.

Stops along the way included Sault Ste. Marie, where the class experienced a warm welcome from physicians and local dignitaries. In Wawa, students were given a tour of Lady Dunn Hospital and were treated to a lunch with local MDs and dignitaries. In the community of Marathon, the class enjoyed a hearty barbeque at Penn Lake organized by Dr. Sarah Newbery and a group of community physicians. The final stop for the group was Thunder Bay, where they attended a dinner at Chippewa Park Pavilion, hosted by NOSM’s Aboriginal Reference Group and Aboriginal Affairs Unit, before returning to their respective campuses.

In its recruitment efforts, NOSM continues to follow its mandate of social accountability, and aims to have class profiles which reflect the cultural diversity of Northern Ontario. Demographic profiles of the 2008 incoming class show that:

■ 91% are from Northern Ontario
■ 5% are self-identified Aboriginals
■ 26% are self-identified Francophones

Almost 1,900 applications were received for the 2008-09 academic year, of which 395 were interviewed. NOSM’s Associate Dean of Learner Affairs, Dr. Gerry Cooper, noted that this was an exciting time for NOSM. “This year will mark many milestones for the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and the fourth intake of medical students is certainly one of them. With the entry class of 2008, the School is preparing 224 aspiring physicians for careers in medicine, and has reached its first full complement of undergraduate students,” he said. “On behalf of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, I officially welcome our newest students.”

Students will now get down to work and immerse themselves in all things NOSM: state-of-the-art smart classrooms, an innovative distributed learning curriculum, and a community-based learning environment with placements across Northern Ontario. Each of these elements helps to ensure that NOSM graduates physicians with an appreciation for the unique health-care needs of Northern Ontario, as well as the cultural diversity of the people who call it home.

On Friday, August 22, 2008, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) celebrated the graduation of the first class of the Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program (NODIP). A videoconferenced graduation celebration linked the four principal community sites – Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins, and Thunder Bay – that began training the School’s dietetic interns in October 2007.

Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Founding Dean, congratulated the interns at the graduation last Friday. “The Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program’s first graduation marks the beginning of an exciting year of milestones and graduations at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. The success of the program is spectacular. I would like to congratulate the interns on their outstanding achievements, and wish them success as they begin their careers as dietitians,” said Dr. Strasser. “I would also like to thank the preceptors, partners and communities that have supported the Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program for their generosity and dedication.”

The achievement of a sustainable Dietetic Internship in Northern Ontario represents over six years of committed effort by a number of key stakeholders, including Dietitians Canada. Marlene Wyatt, Regional Executive Director of Dietitians Canada, was on hand in Sault Ste. Marie to congratulate the graduates. “Securing an internship program in Northern Ontario has been a long process, dating back to the first proposal in 2000. It is wonderful to see the culmination of years of dedication in such a successful program. Congratulations and best wishes to the first graduating class of dietetic interns,” she said.

With placements across Northern Ontario in rural, Aboriginal and Francophone communities, and the four principal sites, ten dietetic interns worked with, and learned from, preceptors in hospitals, public health units, long-term care facilities, and clinics. Graduates now have an appreciation for the unique health-care needs of Northern Ontario, as well as the cultural diversity of the people who call it home.