This time of year is particularly electric at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM). For the third time, we have celebrated the graduation of medical students from NOSM’s M.D. program, and the completion of training from NOSM’s family medicine residency program. A real sense of excitement surrounds the ceremonies commemorating these joyful occasions.
Adding to the sense of celebration this year is the achievement of several additional special milestones by our learners. For the first time, NOSM M.D. charter class graduates who have been undertaking family medicine residency at NOSM are now completing their training and are fully licensed physicians. In other words, there are now individuals who have successfully completed the full spectrum of medical education at NOSM, a journey that began with entry into NOSM’s M.D. program in 2005, and has now finished with the completion of NOSM’s family medicine residency training six years later in 2011.
There are also graduates of NOSM’s M.D. program who have completed their family medicine residency training at other institutions, while still others continue their training in other specialty programs at NOSM and elsewhere. And there are still others who came to NOSM’s postgraduate program two years ago from other medical schools, and who are now ready to begin practicing family medicine.
We not only celebrate the completion of programs by our students and residents, but also the excellence of, and dedication to medicine made by our learners. In May, NOSM was advised that our residents – comprised of the charter class graduates and those who came to NOSM from other medical schools across Canada – ranked first among Canada’s 17 medical schools in overall performance on their Medical Council of Canada (MCC) Part II qualifying examinations. What an achievement! This group of NOSM residents achieved a 100 per cent pass rate and ranked first in the category of legal, ethical and organizational aspects of the practice of medicine, with above average standing in the categories of patient interaction and data acquisition. Additionally, the entire group of NOSM’s charter class M.D. graduates – whether they chose residency at NOSM or went on to pursue residency at other medical schools across Canada – did remarkably well. Ranking fourth nationwide compared to other medical schools, this group of graduates from 2009 also achieved a 100 per cent pass rate. NOSM’s learners are excelling nationally, and all of Northern Ontario should be proud.
Please join me in congratulating all of these residents, and wish them continued success as they prepare to open their practices, many in hospitals and health centres across Northern Ontario.
Excellence is also demonstrated by the graduating M.D. class of 2011. Early this year, there was much excitement when the School received notice that all undergraduate medical students in this year’s graduating class successfully matched to Canadian residency programs on their first attempt. This is the second time in more than ten years that NOSM is the only Canadian medical school to have all students matched in the first round of matches of the Canadian Residency Matching Service (CaRMS).
Please join me in congratulating the class of 2011 on their achievements, and wish them well as they move on to the next stage of becoming fully-trained physicians.
The exceptional accomplishments of NOSM’s learners underscore their commitment to excellence, the effectiveness of the School’s medical education programs, and the high quality of clinical training received from health-care professionals across Northern Ontario. NOSM’s distinct model of education and research is not only working, but the outstanding quality of education received by our learners in a curriculum that combines classroom and community learning is indisputable. Our learners are leaders.
In my first dean’s column eight and a half years ago, I promised Northerners that we were about to create “a medical school like no other.” In less than 10 years, I am happy to say that bold promise has come true. Physicians, health-care professionals, faculty, staff, donors, and supporters across the North – all of us who believe in NOSM’s vision of Innovative education and research for a healthier North – can today celebrate our learners. Congratulations one and all.
