A public forum on the future of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) was told the newly formed, standalone NOSM University, has every intention of maintaining its academic relationships with hospitals and universities in both Sudbury and Thunder Bay.
It might even be able to expand at some point with initiatives such as a midwifery training program.
The NOSM University, which was created as the result of an act of the Ontario legislature in June, follows the insolvency of Laurentian University, which was declared earlier this year.
With NOSM operating out of both the Laurentian campus in Sudbury and the Lakehead University campus in Thunder Bay, it was decided NOSM would become its own degree-granting medical school.
NOSM will still maintain a physical presence on both campuses, as it has long-term leases on several buildings.
During an online forum held Tuesday afternoon, NOSM CEO, President and Dean Dr. Sarita Verma said there is every good reason to believe NOSM could expand its academic curriculum to include other medical professions.
Verma said much of modern health care already has physicians working with other health-care professionals in interprofessional and interdisciplinary settings. Family health teams, especially, have been created around that model.
Midwifery program
She said NOSM is already involved in interprofessional education with programs for physician assistants and dietetics. She added NOSM also has "some involvement" in such disciplines as physiotherapy and medical physicists.
Verma said interest has also been expressed in programs for registered nursing, for personal support workers and more.
"We have a lot of people asking us, in fact, to look at midwifery, because Laurentian has closed that program. All of these opportunities are possible," said Verma.
She quickly added that does not mean NOSM is setting out on an empire-building exercise.
"I would prefer that instead of doing what all institutions have done, which is to create their own empire, is to work with others who are already doing that work, and to create building the strength together for Northern Ontario, because it's not about having a program and being a university and having that program in the university,” Verma told the forum.
“It's about generating the workforce that's needed to address the ills for Northern Ontario.”
She said there is no question that NOSM will continue to build the physician workforce. For Northern Ontario, Verma said, NOSM "is the only game in town" and it will continue to build and grow on that basis.
"But we will also look for opportunities to work with others, to really closely develop those relationships across all of Northern Ontario with nursing, dentistry, physiotherapy, even pharmacy," said Verma, “and they are calling us because we're so successful."
She said changes like that will not happen overnight, as NOSM has enough work to get through in the immediate future.
"I think what we'd like to do is just leave the doors open for that kind of growth," said Verma.
Research powerhouse
One of the questions at the forum was whether research would be included in the transition to NOSM University. Verma said yes. She said collaboration is the new form of competition. Verma said there would be a success in partnerships.
“And if we were able to put together the two research institutes, the two hospitals, the two universities, the leading universities, but also all the other universities, as well as NOSM being essentially the glue, we would become a research powerhouse," said Verma.
She said it would be worthwhile to create a research consortium to apply for funding for programs that are relevant across the North.
“If we were able to take the themes that we are all doing and competing with each other for the same funding on Indigenous health, on chronic disease on population health, on post-pandemic health on public health,” Verma said.
“And if we were able to come along those themes and actually apply for collaborative funding, we would actually be a consortium that would be a force to be reckoned with.”
Sudbury.com
