It is hard to believe a full year has passed since the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) celebrated the first graduation of M.D. students, and the completion of its first group of family medicine residents from the Family Medicine Residents of the Canadian Shield program. And what a year it has been! A second M.D. class has just been hooded, a new group of residents is now ready to practice medicine and a third class of dietetic interns are about to complete their internship. The school continues to have many reasons to celebrate.
Over the past academic year, NOSM has received considerable accolades for its leadership in distributed, community-engaged learning and health research. In February, the Ontario Library Association bestowed two awards in recognition of NOSM's Health Science Library's innovative programming and collaborative approach to adopting an open source library system. In April, NOSM was the recipient of the 2010 Rural Medical Education Award granted by the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada in recognition of its success in graduating physicians heading toward a career in rural medicine. And last, but not least (drum roll, please!), NOSM recently received top international honours with three 2010 Global Best Awards granted by the International Partnership Network for the successful relationships the school has built with Aboriginal community partners.
These accolades and the achievement of many other milestones are the result of the vision, commitment, teamwork, and leadership of NOSM's many contributors - including three exceptional individuals who are leaving senior posts at the school.
Dr. Marc Blayney, who has served as senior associate dean at the East Campus in Sudbury, and as associate dean of community engagement, will be retiring from NOSM in June 2010. Since his arrival in 2005, Dr. Blayney has been a passionate advocate for medical education in the North, and the partnerships he has worked hard to develop with the diverse communities of Northern Ontario have been key to the school's mandate to be socially accountable to the people and communities of the North.
Dr. Joel Lanphear, who has provided leadership in the role of associate dean of undergraduate medical education since 2005 and senior associate dean for NOSM's West Campus in Thunder Bay, is also retiring from his posts this June. Dr. Lanphear has worked tirelessly in the planning, development and implementation of NOSM's distinctive undergraduate curriculum and its accreditation.
Finally, Dr. Wayne Bruce, the associate dean of continuing health professional education, will soon be retiring from NOSM. Dr. Bruce has demonstrated exceptional leadership in bringing together people involved in a wide variety of programs, projects and educational initiatives across Northern Ontario.
I personally extend a heartfelt thank you to these three special, ground-breaking associate deans for their significant contributions to Canada's first medical school for the 21st Century.
With these departures come vacancies, and I am pleased to say that NOSM has successfully appointed three well-suited individuals to assume these vacant associate dean positions.
Dr. David Marsh, a provider of clinical leadership and strategic planning as a medical director for addiction, HIV/AIDS, and Aboriginal health services for the Vancouver community, has been appointed to serve as the new associate dean of NOSM's community engagement portfolio. Dr. Marsh's Aboriginal ancestry, coupled with a firsthand engagement with distinct populations, ideally positions him to respond to the needs of Northern Ontario's diverse cultural groups.
Dr. Lisa Graves will be taking up the post of associate dean of undergraduate medical education. Dr. Graves comes to NOSM from McGill University with a full understanding of medical education programming. Her interests in vulnerable populations, medical education and research, as well as her fluency in the French language, will support the many components of NOSM's distributed community-engaged learning model of instruction among the region's distinct cultural and linguistic groups.
Finally, I am pleased Ms. Sue Berry will be taking up the post of interim associate dean of the continuing health professional education portfolio. Ms. Berry, a physiotherapist who grew up in Kenora, and whose previous position was director of health sciences and interprofessional education at NOSM, will be responsible for delivering integrated and comprehensive continuing education and professional development for health professionals.
It is a pleasure to welcome Dr. David Marsh, Dr. Lisa Graves, and Sue Berry to their new positions. The range of skills, breadth of experience and level of commitment to NOSM's distributed, community-engaged learning and health research demonstrated by each of these individuals will undoubtedly contribute to the continued success and global leadership demonstrated by the school.
Please join me in acknowledging both the departing and incoming associate deans - I am profoundly grateful for the dedication demonstrated by all.
