THUNDER BAY - The future of medicine in Northern Ontario could look vastly different than it does today, and Dr. Sarita Verma wants to be at the forefront of the change.
Verma, the new dean and CEO of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, says the challenges facing NOSM and health care in Northern Ontario could lead to innovations that change medicine in the region and help build stronger relationships between communities.
“Why did I come here?” she asks herself from her office at the ATAC building at Lakehead University.
“Because I’m a Canadian who cares about Northern Ontario, and I just think it’s amazing people are going to give me a job and let me learn about culture, community, courage and custom.”
Verma’s first official day on the job was July 1, replacing Dr. Roger Strasser who had been dean for 17 years.
She comes to NOSM with many years of academic medical experience at Queen’s University and the University of Toronto.
Verma says the vastness of Northern Ontario creates a unique set of challenges for establishing relationships with communities that extend beyond medicine.
“The challenge for Northern Ontario isn’t just physician production, but for rural and remote communities it’s food security, water security, and personal security,” Verma said.
In the last few years, Verma says NOSM been perceived as more interested in its international relationships, and less so in its relationships with Indigenous, Francophone, and rural and remote communities.
“My mandate is to rekindle those relationships and I’m really excited to do that.”
Verma says part of the solution will be to ensure graduates of NOSM are employed in communities where they’ve studied.
More than 90 per cent of students who complete their undergraduate and residency at NOSM stay in Northern Ontario. However, Verma believes rural and remote communities aren't seeing the benefits of this number.
“Other technologies need to come into play, I’m not sure if it’s sustainable for a physician to come into these communities... You have to have communities where there are opportunities for them to have a lifestyle.”
The ongoing healthcare issues that deal with long distances will ultimately lead to exciting medical innovations, Verma said.
“I’m not just talking about telemedicine, I’m talking about avatar medicine, I’m talking about virtual reality medicine. I’m talking about stuff that would get people excited about health care.”
NOSM’s next 15 years will be dedicated to a social accountability mandate that will strive to improve the health and advocacy for high-quality health services in the region.
“I can’t assure you there will be a doctor in every community, but I can promise you the medical school will revisit its social accountability mandate to address those determinants of health," Verma said.
“The medical school can be the glue and it can actually provide the chance for us to create a network across Northern Ontario.”
