Section E
Location Profiles
Northern Ontario School of Medicine
West Campus
955 Oliver Rd
Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5E1
Tel: (807) 766-7300
Fax: (807) 766-7370
East Campus
935 Ramsey Lake Rd
Sudbury, ON P3E 2C5
Tel: (705) 675-4883
Fax: (705) 675-4858
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) opened its doors in September 2005 as the first new medical school in Canada in more than 30 years. NOSM is also the first Canadian medical school hosted by two universities: Lakehead University (or the “West Campus”) in Thunder Bay and Laurentian University (or the “East Campus”) in Sudbury. Despite a close relationship with the host universities, NOSM is the only Canadian medical school that exists as a stand-alone not-for-profit corporation with its own by-laws and Board of Directors. In addition, education at NOSM is not restricted to Thunder Bay and Sudbury, but takes place in remote, rural, small and large urban communities across Northern Ontario.
In 2005, the Charter Class of the NOSM MD Program began its studies with 32 medical students based at the East Campus and 24 at the West Campus. In 2007, NOSM welcomed its first residents into the Family Medicine Residents of the Canadian Shield program. Though communities in Northern Ontario have hosted medical residents for decades, this was the first time medical residents were trained in a program developed and administered in the North. This program is two years in duration and it accepts 30 residents per year. In addition, NOSM will eventually offer residency training in eight major general specialties: anesthesiology, general internal medicine, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and community medicine.
To connect its students dispersed across a vast geographic area and to facilitate its unique distributed learning model, NOSM is supported by a network of broadband digital technology. NOSM also features a unique research program that targets topics with particular relevance to Northern populations. In all programs there is a particular focus on Aboriginal and Francophone populations.
NOSM seeks to develop physicians who are able to practice anywhere in the world but who have a particular understanding of Northern and rural populations. NOSM graduates will be resourceful, have a preference for collaborative care settings, and take an interprofessional approach to practice and research. The context of the School is Northern, but the applications are national and international.
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario comprises 90% of Ontario’s land area but less than 10% of its population. Northern Ontario spans over 800 000 km2 from the Muskoka region in the South (less than 2 hours’ drive from Toronto), to the Nippissing and Temiskaming regions in the East, to the Hudson and James Bay coasts in the North, to the Manitoba border in the West. The region is economically, politically, socially and geographically distinct from the rest of the province.
Approximately 750,000 people call Northern Ontario home. There is a large Francophone population especially in the Northeast, and French is widely spoken there. Aboriginal groups are also prominent, not just in rural and remote communities, but within urban areas as well. In addition, the larger urban areas feature even greater diversity of cultures and ethnicities.
The largest city in Northeastern Ontario is Sudbury with a population of 158 000, and the largest city in Northwestern Ontario is Thunder Bay with a population of 109 000. These communities serve as economic and educational hubs in addition to hosting the two main campuses of NOSM. There are three other urban communities: Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay and Timmins. In addition, many Northern Ontarians live in rural and remote communities stretching across the region.
Mining and forestry are the two major industries in Northern Ontario, with manufacturing, transportation and tourism also contributing to the economy.
Northern Ontario is a region of four distinct seasons. Summers are pleasantly warm in Northern Ontario, with cottagers from across North America escaping to the region for its climate and beautiful waterfront settings. You can also expect the full winter experience; most of the region is notorious for snow and cold temperatures in the winter months.
All of the North features outdoor recreational opportunities in all seasons. Skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, skating, ice hockey and curling are popular in the winter; while fishing, canoeing, kayaking, camping and hiking are popular in the summer. In addition, communities large and small feature seasonal festivals, music and movie festivals, theatre groups, league sports, nightlife, museums, art galleries, and more.
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