Nineteen members of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) charter class are celebrating their graduation from the school’s two-year Family Medicine Residents program this summer. Most of them will immediately begin seeing patients as fully licenced physicians in communities across Northern Ontario, while one or more have opted for another year of training in the school’s Post Graduate Year Three program, which offers more intensive exposure to emergency medicine and anesthesiology.
In the following pages, we introduce you to six graduating residents: Dr. Megan Messenger of New Liskeard, Dr. Rob Pastre of Sudbury, Dr. Todd Spencer of Sudbury, Dr. Ben Quackenbush of Little Current, Dr. Adam Moir of Thunder Bay and Dr. Sandi Adamson of Bracebridge.
This is the third graduating class of the NOSM Family Medicine Residents of the Canadian Shield Program, but the first to include doctors who completed both their undergraduate degree and residency training in Northern Ontario.
Graduating NOSM residents this year scored first in Canada in their Medical Council of Canada Part 2 exams, an achievement that reflects well on the school’s growing reputation for academic excellence.
NOSM also operates eight specialty residency programs in Community Medicine, General Surgery, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Orthopedic Surgery, Anesthesiology, Obstetrics/Gynocology and Psychiatry.
This spring, NOSM celebrated the graduation of its third class of MDs, all 59 of whom were matched to their preferred residency programs, which has only happened twice in the last 10 years at medical schools across Canada and, in both cases, at NOSM.
See Page 30 for NOSM Dean Roger Strasser’s remarks on these accomplishments.
Dr. Megan Messenger
In her application to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) seven years ago, Dr. Megan Messenger wrote that she wanted to be a rural family physician in Northern Ontario. A lot can happen to change someone’s mind in that span of time, but not in this case.
Once in medical school, Messenger made a point of checking out other options, “but nothing else felt quite right,” she said. “Now, I know that family medicine was the right choice for me.”
Born and raised in New Liskeard, Messenger completed an undergraduate degree at Laurentian University, earned her MD from NOSM as a member of the school’s charter class and began a two-year residency through NOSM’s family medicine residency program in 2009.
On the completion of her residency, Messenger plans to work for a year as a locum, filling in for vacationing family physicians in Sudbury, New Liskeard and other communities. She’ll also see inpatients, do shifts in Emergency and some OR assisting.
“Physicians will often locum for a few months or up to a year (after completing their residency) because it’s a big undertaking to set up a practice,” she said. Working as a locum will give her time to decide on a location, rent office space and hire staff.
Messenger has nothing but praise for NOSM’s family medicine residency program. The low preceptor to learner ratio was nice, she said, because “you’re not competing with someone else to learn a procedure. It was often just me and the preceptor.”
Sudbury served as her home base during her two-year residency, but she also did rotations in New Liskeard, Sturgeon Falls, Timmins and North Bay. Aside from her training in family medicine, she completed specialty rotations in obstetrics, pediatrics, internal medicine, emergency medicine and surgery.
Family medicine is great, she says, because of the scope. “You have the ability to work in the office, in emergency or to take care of inpatients. You can evolve your practice as you go and do different things, but the single most important thing I’m looking forward to is the opportunity to develop a close bond with my patients.”
Dr. Adam Moir
Dr. Adam Moir knew what he wanted to do with his medical degree after getting a taste of rural family medicine through his undergraduate studies and family medicine residency in communities across Northern Ontario.
Moir was born and raised in Thunder Bay, and was a member of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s (NOSM) charter graduating class in 2009. On June 30th, he completes a two-year family medicine residency program and becomes one of the first NOSM grads to begin medical practice.
Moir has moved to Dryden with his wife and two children and is joining the Dingwall Medical Group/Family Health Network.
“Dryden has a great group of doctors, it’s a beautiful community and they have a great recruiter, Chuck Schmidt,” said Moir. The decision to set up practice in Dryden was made even easier when a close friend of his was also recruited. “We played soccer together, so the idea of working with someone I already knew and liked appealed to me as well.”
Moir’s home base during his two-year residency was Thunder Bay, but he also spent time in Dryden, Huntsville and Mississauga. Specialty rotations in obstetrics, intensive care, anesthesia and emergency medicine prepared him for delivering babies and doing shifts at the Dryden Regional Health Centre.
Family medicine is appealing “because of the relationships you’re able to build,” said Moir.
“The community in Dryden is outstanding. A few weeks ago, my wife was calling to get our telephone hooked up. She gave her name and the lady said ‘I know you. Your husband is the new doctor in town. I live across the street. If you need anything, just come by.’ It seems like the whole town is committed to making new docs feel welcome.”
Moir likes the pace of life in a smaller community.
“When I work in a large urban hospital, it takes me a half-hour to see all of my patients. Here in Dryden, it takes me two minutes to walk from one end of the hospital to the other. And I can walk to work. I’m five minutes away and the clinic is right across the street from the hospital.”
Dr. Todd Spencer
A passion for the rocks, trees and lakes of the Canadian Shield persuaded Todd Spencer – now Dr. Todd Spencer - to apply to medical school after working for 15 years as a pharmacist.
Born and raised in Lively, a suburb of Sudbury, Spencer loved the lifestyle in Northern Ontario, but was forced to move to the concrete jungles down south in search of ever-greater challenges as a pharmacist. In 2006, he put some feelers out about doing some teaching or research at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM).
Instead, Spencer got talked into applying to med school “with zero expectations, thinking ‘I’m way too old,’” he said. Only after he was selected for an interview did it finally dawn on him that life as he knew it was about to undergo a radical transformation.
“There was no way I could say no if I was presented with this opportunity,” he realized.
Spencer was accepted as a member of the school’s charter class, graduated as an MD in 2009 and is about to complete NOSM’s two-year family medicine residency program at the age of 43.
He chose North Bay as his home base for his family medicine residency and did rotations in Elliot Lake, Sudbury, Huntsville and Callandar.
“Medicine was something I always wanted to do and never got around to it after getting caught up in pharmacy,” he said. “It also allows me to do more without leaving the north.”
Spencer has committed to joining the Elliot Lake Family Health Team. “Physical geography is very important to me and Elliot Lake is the heart of the Canadian Shield,” said Spencer. “It’s absolutely beautiful and there’s a great group of physicians here. They’re very collegial. They enjoy what they do and they’re an incredible group of hard-working GPs. It’s also a place where you can practise pretty broad-based medicine.”
However, he won’t begin practising until this time next year when he is due to complete another year of training in anesthesiology.
Dr. Rob Pastre
Dr. Rob Pastre wouldn’t think of practising medicine anywhere else but Sudbury. Born and raised in the Greater Sudbury community of Coniston, Pastre graduates from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s (NOSM) two-year family medicine residency program June 30th having completed all of his schooling in the city, including an undergraduate degree in medical biology from Laurentian University and four years of medical school at NOSM.
“Sudbury is a great,” said Pastre. “I have a lot of family and friends here and all of my educational experiences in the area have been fantastic.”
He ventured down Highway 17 to do four months of community-based medicine in Sturgeon Falls during his residency, but otherwise completed all of his rotations in his hometown. Aside from mandatory rotations in pediatrics, general surgery, emergency medicine and obstetrics, Pastre elected to do specialty training in ophthalmology, cardiology, sports medicine and ENT (ear, nose and throat).
He did close to 10 months worth of family medicine rotations with Dr. Reena Dhatt and Dr. Michel Gauthier in Sudbury and plans to continue practising with them at least temporarily while looking for office space of his own.
“They’re fantastic physicians,” said Pastre. “It was great training.”
Specialty rotations at Sudbury Regional Hospital were also great “because we were basically first call, meaning they called us before the specialist,” he said. “At other centres, you might not get that training.”
Building up a roster of patients won’t be a problem, he predicted. Once you’re ready to begin practising, you give your name to the Health Unit and “as soon as the word gets out that you’re accepting patients, you get flooded.”
Pastre will be getting married this summer, so he’ll take a bit of time off. His plan is to eventually enter into practice with some fellow NOSM students who are one year behind him in the school’s family medicine residency program.
Dr. Sandi Adamson
Dr. Sandi Adamson will bring several decades of life experience to her practice as a family physician in Bracebridge when she completes her two-year residency in family medicine this summer.
A member of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s (NOSM) charter class and a graduate of the school’s family medicine residency program, Adamson spent 15 years in the Canadian Armed Forces and served as commissioner of community services for the District of Muskoka prior to entering medical school at the age of 42.
A mother of three, aged 17, 23 and 26, Adamson jokes that she went back to school the same time her kids did.
Family medicine was appealing because of the flexibility and options it offers, she said.
“You can have areas that you’re more interested in and focus on, so you can tailor your practice toward your interests and to the needs in your community. If you specialize in surgery or neurology, that’s all you do, whereas in family medicine, you’re more of a generalist. You get to see quite a bit and you have to know an awful lot.”
Adamson has a special interest in delivering babies and hopes to work with a group of family doctors in Bracebridge who provide obstetrical care in the community.
She’s had a lot of practice through her six years of medical studies, estimating that she’s already delivered close to 100 babies, each of which, she said, “is just as exciting as the one before.”
Adamson will combine obstetrics with a practice as a family doc, satisfying her passion for obstetrics while also experiencing the broad scope of practice that is the hallmark of family medicine.
Her home base during her two-year family medicine residency was North Bay, but she also completed a number of rotations in Bracebridge and Huntsville.
Adamson has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Manitoba and an MBA from Athabaska University. She was a logistics specialist in the Canadian Armed Forces and retired with the rank of captain.
Dr. Ben Quackenbush
Dr. Ben Quackenbush always had an interest in becoming a doctor, even as far back as high school.
“It was always in the back of my mind, but it was never definite,” he said.
His inclination toward a career in medicine wasn’t surprising given the fact that his father is a nurse and his mother a paramedic.
Quackenbush began his post secondary studies at the University of Guelph, where he earned a degree in Biomedical Science, and then applied to and was accepted by the Northern Ontario School of Medicine as a member of its charter class.
After graduating in 2009, he opted for NOSM’s two-year family medicine residency program, which he completes June 30th. Quackenbush’s home base during his residency was Sudbury, but he did four months of family medicine rotations in Little Current and some specialty training in North Bay and Mississauga.
This summer, he hangs up his shingle in his hometown as a member of the Northeastern Manitoulin Family Health Team and will have to get used to friends, relatives and acquaintances in this close-knit community calling him Dr. Quackenbush.
He looks forward to the variety that family medicine offers.
“In any rural community, there’s an expectation that you not only see patients in your office as a family doctor, but that you also work in the hospital, in Emergency and provide obstetrical care,” he said.
As a member of a family health team, he looks forward to practising in an interdisciplinary environment with dietitians, social workers and nurse practitioners.
“Working with allied health care professionals makes your job as a doctor a little easier and provides better care for your patients,” he remarked.
Quackenbush, who is married with two children, participated in two medical missions to Nicaragua through Parry Sound-based Three Fold Ministries - once just before his fourth year of med school and again last year as a resident. His family, his practice and his volunteer work will keep him busy, but he also hopes to find time to camp, canoe and otherwise enjoy the natural charms of Manitoulin Island and Killarney Provincial Park.
