Bienvenue dans le nouveau site Web de l’EMNO. Même si nous sommes en train de créer un site complètement bilingue, veuillez noter que seulement certaines pages existent en français en ce moment.
On Thursday, May 12, 2022, the NOSM University transitional board of governors met virtually at its second meeting since becoming Canada’s first independent medical university.
The Board reviewed the President’s achievements as highlighted in the NOSM University Making History 2021-2022. In this report, NOSM University celebrates its roots by highlighting key milestones from the past 20 years including how it is embodying health justice, opening doors for BIPOC women in medicine, empowering future learners, and changing the status quo by making NOSM University the research nexus for the North.
“With our newfound independence, we will strengthen our relationships, broaden our reach, and drive forward our vision for social accountability and equitable access to health care in the North,” says Dr. Sarita Verma, President, Vice-Chancellor, and Dean of NOSM University. “We now move forward with the priorities identified in The NOSM Challenge 2025 strategic plan.”
As part of its regular meeting of the Board of Governors, the standing committees reported updates. The Board approved the Financial Report ending March 31, 2022, and the proposed operational budget for 2022-2023. Dr. Sarita Verma, reported on the performance goals, which are closely tied to the outcomes of The NOSM Challenge 2025. “Becoming NOSM University” was approved as an additional direction in its strategic plan.
“Far from a break with the past, NOSM University is a seamless continuation of the work done by so many to make it the single greatest resource for health and wealth in Northern Ontario,” says Dr. Verma.
A full copy of the Dean’s report can be accessed at report.nosm.ca.
For a complete list of Board members, please visit our website at nosm.ca/board.
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NOSM University is Canada’s first independent medical university and one of the greatest education and physician workforce strategy success stories of Northern Ontario. More than just a medical university, it was purpose built to address the health needs of the region. While advocating for equitable access to care, the university contributes to the economic development of Northern Ontario. NOSM University relies on the commitment and expertise of the peoples of Northern Ontario to educate health-care professionals to practise in Indigenous, Francophone, rural, remote and underserved communities. With a focus on diversity, inclusion and advocacy, NOSM University is an award-winning, socially accountable organization renowned for its innovative model of distributed, community-engaged education and research.
“Humanity is waging war on nature. This is senseless and suicidal. The consequences of our recklessness are already apparent in human suffering, towering economic losses and the accelerating erosion of life on Earth.”
– UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, February 2021
Bonjour, Aanin, Boozhoo, Tanshi, Kwe Kwe, Hello,
The pristine air of Northern Ontario was choked again last summer. Due in part to prolonged drought linked to climate change, forest fires raged through areas of the North, wolfing down hundreds of thousands of hectares of wooded habitat on sacred land. In August 2021, 82 active fires were underway in the northwest alone. A 200,000-hectare fire near Wabaseemoong Independent Nation was one of the largest fires in Ontario’s history. People struggled to breathe for smoke, and many fled.
This is not normal, but it is increasingly common. For decades, climate scientists who understand the big picture have largely erred on the side of cautious, equivocating understatement. These days, many are using megaphones and short sentences. McGill University researcher and writer Shirley Cardenas wrote recently, “unless CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions drop significantly, global warming will make the Amazon barren, the American Midwest tropical, and India too hot to live in by 2500.”
Northern Ontario will not be spared. The environmental consequences of climate change, including extreme weather, extreme heat, and vector-borne disease are already impacting the physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of people in our region.
Indigenous people in the North have warned again and again that we are running headlong into our own undoing. For years, people who live on the land have been raising the alarms about issues like potentially hurried development, including in the resource-rich Ring of Fire region (5000 square kilometres of land north of Thunder Bay with so much nickel, copper, chromite and platinum underfoot that “the first 10 years of development could contribute $9.4 billion to the province’s gross domestic product”). While some lick their chops at the projected revenue, others remind us that“the deposits are near the James Bay lowlands, a globally significant carbon sink that stores an estimated 26 billion tonnes of carbon.”
With every missed opportunity for action, we are barreling toward catastrophe, eyes wide open. The oceans are a mess, the arctic is melting and Northern Ontario could lose everything from its air quality to its wildlife to its food and water security. If we don’t act now—right now—ours will be a story of collective inaction, and it will make for a pitiful epitaph for our species. At NOSM University, we are taking immediate action. The NOSM University Advisory Committee on Climate Change (NACCC) is a motivated and thoughtful group of learners, staff, faculty, and community members focused on slashing our greenhouse gas emissions, reducing our environmental footprint, advising on curricular change and advocating for research in Northern Ontario related to climate change and its impact on health.
As a start – please dig in. Plant a tree for NOSM University and the Earth.
This Earth Day, purchase a NOSM University spruce tree kit that you can grow and plant at home. Proceeds will support the NOSM Advisory Committee on Climate Change activities.
On the good news front, the 2022 first iteration Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) results are in!
One hundred per cent of NOSM University medical students matched in first round, and they were the only MD Class of 2022 in Canada to match all fourth-year students in first round!
41% matched to NOSM University residency programs
53% matched to Family Medicine at NOSM University and at programs across the country
27 students matched to specialty programs including:
11 in Internal Medicine
4 in Psychiatry
3 in Anesthesiology
3 in Paediatrics
2 in Obstetrics/Gynecology
2 in Emergency Medicine
1 in Orthopedic Surgery
1 in Anatomical Pathology
In terms of NOSM University filling our residency spots, the results are really outstanding. Only 19 positions went unfilled in total. We filled the Royal College Programs specialty programs as follows:
Anesthesiology 2/2
General Surgery 2/2
Orthopedic Surgery 2/2
Internal Medicine 4/6
Psychiatry 2/3
Public Health and Preventative Medicine 1/2
Pediatrics 3/3
Family Medicine positions filled as follows:
North Bay 4/4
Sudbury 8/8
International Medical Graduates 2/2
Rural 5/8
Sault Ste Marie 2/4
Thunder Bay 4/8
Timmins 2/4
Remote First Nations 0/2
Medical Officer Training Plan (MOTP) – Canadian Armed Forces 0/2
Congratulations to our medical students, programs and the leaders who influenced this outstanding result!
Miigwetch, thank you, marsi, merci,
Dr. Sarita Verma
President, Vice Chancellor, Dean and CEO
NOSM University
If you have any feedback or comments, please reach out at dean@nosm.ca and follow me on Twitter @ddsv3.
Dr. Sarita Verma, President and Vice-Chancellor of NOSM University invites you to the annual Dean’s Lecture Series—a student-led event. This year, in celebration of Earth Day and because it is NOSM University’s year dedicated to climate change and social justice, the theme is Environmental Accountability and Sustainability in Medicine and Medical Education. Watch live via YouTube live, on April 24, 2022 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. EST, as our incredible line-up of dynamic speakers from across the country share their perspectives on the importance of planetary health. Learn more.
Inaugural Meetings
NOSM University hosted its Inaugural Transition Board of Governors meeting on Tuesday, April 5 and the Inaugural Transition Senate Meeting on Thursday, April 7. After meeting reports are available publicly for both the Board of Governors and Senate meetings. Questions regarding these reports can be directed to Gina Kennedy, University Secretary at governance@nosm.ca.
NOSM University medical students create impactful video about cannabis use by teens
Northern Ontario has the highest rates of cannabis dependence in high-school students across the province, according to the study Drug use among Ontario Students, published by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in 2020. When a group of fourth-year medical students at NOSM University learned these statistics, they felt compelled to educate preteens and teenagers ages 12-18 as part of their unique advocacy curriculum. Read more.
Transition board affirms mission, vision and values
NOSM University held a transition board of governors meeting on April 5, 2022—its first since becoming an independent university.
The NOSM University Transition Board of Governors was confirmed, comprised of 16 members who reflect the geographic and demographic diversity of Northern Ontario, including Indigenous, Francophone, and rural and remote communities. Mrs. Joy Warkentin is confirmed as Chair of the transition Board of Governors and Mr. Mark Hurst as Vice-Chair. The transition board is in place until April 1, 2023.
Mrs. Warkentin is passionate about leadership and service. She was educated first as a nurse and then as an educator, holding a degree in sociology and a Master of Education in curriculum development. Mrs. Warkentin taught nursing, became Chair of Health Sciences and then Associate Dean Academic at Confederation College. After relocating to London, Ontario, she was the Senior Vice President at Fanshawe College from 2000 to 2009. Mrs. Warkentin has received many awards and accolades for her dedicated contributions.
Mr. Hurst is Past President and CEO North Bay Regional Health Care. Beginning his post-secondary education at Glendon College at York University, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in history and a minor in French. Mr. Hurst later earned a post-graduate diploma in hospital administration from the University of Toronto. Mr. Hurst played a significant leadership role in the merger of North Bay Civic Hospital and St. Joseph’s General Hospital in 1995, and became President and CEO of the newly consolidated North Bay General Hospital at that time.
The first order of business as a new Board of Governors was to ratify the NOSM University By-law No. 1 and reaffirm NOSM University’s mission, vision and values which remain as defined in the strategic plan, The NOSM Challenge 2025. The financial statements for January 31, 2022 as presented by the Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee were approved.
“This was a meeting that will certainly be marked in our history,” says Dr. Sarita Verma, President, Vice-Chancellor, Dean and CEO of NOSM University. “The energy was electric as we moved through many important items that will kick start this new chapter. Our mission to improve the health of Northern Ontarians by being socially accountable in our education and research programs and advocating for health equity is as important as ever.”
Dr. Verma reported on the progress made in 2021, which is closely tied to the work underway to achieve the outcomes of its strategic plan.
More information about the NOSM University Board of Governors can be found on the NOSM University website.
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About NOSM University
NOSM University is Canada’s first independent medical university and one of the greatest education and physician workforce strategy success stories of Northern Ontario. More than just a medical university, it was purpose built to address the health needs of the region. While advocating for equitable access to care, the university contributes to the economic development of Northern Ontario. NOSM University relies on the commitment and expertise of the peoples of Northern Ontario to educate health-care professionals to practise in Indigenous, Francophone, rural, remote and underserved communities. With a focus on diversity, inclusion and advocacy, NOSM University is an award-winning, socially accountable organization renowned for its innovative model of distributed, community-engaged education and research.
Facts about NOSM University:
NOSM University has produced 780 MDs, 55 of whom self-identify as Indigenous, and 165 of whom self-identify as Francophone. In addition, 692 residents have completed NOSM programs. More than half of these health practitioners have stayed in Northern Ontario.
Now that the legislation is proclaimed in force, NOSM University will form a new Board of Governors and a Senate.
NOSM University has partnerships and collaborations with more than 500 organizations, 90+ communities, and more than 1,800 clinical, human and medical sciences faculty dispersed across all of Northern Ontario.
NOSM University is the first medical university in Canada with a dedicated Centre for Social Accountability.
NOSM University is a signatory to the Okanagan Charter, an international charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges.
At NOSM University, we are taking immediate action. The NOSM University Advisory Committee on Climate Change (NACCC) is a motivated and thoughtful group of learners, staff, faculty, and community members focused on slashing our greenhouse gas emissions, reducing our environmental footprint, advising on curricular change and advocating for research in Northern Ontario related to climate change and its impact on health.
