Applicants who successfully match to the NOSM Internal Medicine residency program will be required to home-base in the community/stream they've matched to (e.g. if you've applied and matched to the Internal Medicine Sudbury stream, Sudbury will be your home-base/location of primary residence).
While the majority of the training will occur from the home-base location, you will be expected to experience different training sites throughout Northern Ontario, in discussion with the program director.
Program application language: English
Applications will only be accepted through the CaRMS R-1 Main Residency Match application process.
Note: if applying to both streams, candidates are asked to submit the same supporting and reference documents in each application.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: As per the Ontario Provincial Eligibility Criteria, if you are submitting a Canadian Birth Certificate or Act of Birth, or Confirmation of Permanent Residence in Canada document, you MUST submit a government issued photo I.D. to accompany your citizenship documentation.
Reference letters must be written by clinical teachers and/or faculty who have reasonable knowledge of you, either through close association in clinical training situations or as your faculty advisor. References should provide an assessment of your: medical knowledge; clinical skills; interpersonal skills, ability to communicate effectively; and your attitudes toward learning.
Appreciated for memory aid.
Medical School TranscriptOrder from your registrar.
Medical Student Performance RecordOrder from your Dean's office.
Custom Résumé / CV Personal LetterThe personal letter (maximum 1000 words) focusing on the following:
If your transcript/CV indicates academic difficulty, failure(s), repeat of a year or any gaps in your education or work history please attach a supplementary statement to the END of your Personal Letter entitled "Transcript/CV Addendum" explaining the above.
Applications submitted after file review has opened on February 8, 2021
Supporting documents (excluding letters of reference) that arrive after file review has opened on February 8, 2021
Letters of reference that arrive after the unmasking date on February 8, 2021
Dates:
Applicants will be considered by the program based on:
Applicants are assessed through the following:
The NOSM Internal Medicine residency program strives to deliver a comprehensive clinical curriculum which includes core rotations in internal medicine and subspecialty rotations selected to incorporate a diversity of experience and proficiency in subspecialty areas integral to community-based practice.
Our program aims to equip our residents with the necessary skills/competencies to become well-rounded, general internists who are trained to deliver excellent, culturally respectful health care to patients in a wide variety of clinical settings, such as emergency and critical care units, inpatient wards, outpatient clinics, and community settings, including northern urban, rural, and remote communities.
We aim to provide our residents with ongoing support to meet the program training objectives, as well as their own individual learning/career goals. Our goal is that upon completion of training, our residents will be prepared to begin their careers as general internists in any setting, and/or be well-positioned to pursue subspecialty training to further meet their career goals.
Through our selection process, our program aims to identify candidates who have a strong academic history with demonstrated competence and interest in internal medicine. We are seeking candidates who possess superior clinical communication skills and have the ability to relate to patients, their families, and caregivers with compassion, empathy, sensitivity and humility.
We are looking for candidates who possess the ability and willingness to work collaboratively (within and across professional domains) in a team dynamic to secure optimal patient outcomes, while exemplifying the highest standards of professional behavior -- inclusive of responsibility, respect, and self-awareness.
We are also looking to identify candidates who would be a good fit for our program. As a socially accountable medical school, accountable to the needs and the diversity of the populations of Northern Ontario, candidates best suited to the NOSM Internal Medicine Program are those with a vested interest in rural medicine, who can adapt and thrive in a hands-on, distributed rural residency program that requires flexibility and some travel away from their primary location of residence.
We also believe that candidates who are resilient, can prioritize their personal well-being and work-life balance, and are also committed to self-directed learning, reflective practice, continuing professional development, and quality improvement, are well-suited to our program. Through our selection process we aim to identify and successfully match candidates who possess these attributes as well.
Review team composition : Each application is reviewed and scored independently by either the program director or another file reviewer. Members of our file review are the program director and other Internal Medicine faculty involved in our program.
Average number of applications received by our program in the last five years : 51 - 200
We average approximately a combined total of 75 applications between both streams.
Average percentage of applicants offered interviews : 76 - 100 %
We typically offer interviews to approximately the top 50-60 candidates, and interview approximately 25-30 candidates per interview site.
File component | Criteria |
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CV | Academic & work background/experiences, personal/professional accomplishments/achievements |
Electives | Internal Medicine elective(s), diverse range relevant to discipline, rural &/or northern an asset |
Examinations | We do not evaluate this file component |
Extra-curricular | Personal interests, volunteerism, an asset to demonstrate work-life balance & wellness |
Leadership skills | Any leadership roles held throughout training should be outlined in the CV |
MSPRs | Patient interactions, I.M. rotation competencies, any academic/personal/professionalism concerns |
Personal letters | Practice goals, interest/knowledge in I.M. and our program, personal & northern/rural suitability |
Reference documents | Performance, knowledge/clinical skills, character, attitude towards learning, suitability |
Research/Publications | Any scholarly activities, including academic or research awards, published or presented work |
Transcripts | Strength of academic record, any red flags/concerns |
Other file component(s) |
Transcript/CV Addendum: If any part of your application indicates academic difficulty, failure(s), repeat of a year or any gaps in your education or work history, a supplementary statement at the END of your Personal Letter is required. Please entitle your statement as "Transcript/CV Addendum", explaining the above. |
Interview format :
We may accommodate requests to re-schedule interviews for applicants due to weather, technology failure, or unforeseen circumstances.
Interview components | Criteria |
---|---|
Collaboration skills | Demonstrated ability to work well in a team setting/multidisciplinary environment |
Collegiality | Personable, respectful towards others, values the importance of a supportive/collegial atmosphere |
Communication skills | Able to reflect and communicate responses clearly and concisely, can communicate well with others |
Health advocacy | We do not formally evaluate this component during the interview |
Interest in the discipline | Genuine passion for internal medicine and future practice goals |
Interest in the program | Knowledgeable about our program, training sites, northern Ontario patient populations and challenges |
Leadership skills | Qualities such as: proactive/takes initiative, accountable, innovative, motivated and goal-oriented |
Professionalism | Conducts themselves in a professional manner, self-aware, unbiased, morally/ethically responsible |
Scholarly activities | We do not formally evaluate this component during the interview |
Other interview component(s) |
Problem-Solving Skills: Overcoming challenges, conflict resolution, ability to rationalize and take appropriate action. Personal Attributes: Personal characteristics and interests, experiences, learning style/attitude towards learning. |
Since its inception, the Internal Medicine program has grown and developed in response to resident feedback. Northern Ontario offers residents a rare opportunity to develop the broad-based knowledge and skills of a true general internist, in an environment with a wide variety of patient problems, diseases and conditions. Residents gain skills quickly in an environment with high clinical responsibility backed up by strong support from preceptors.
With a diverse exposure to all subspecialty procedures and clinical scenarios, residents completing NOSM’s program can expect to practice as highly trained, competent and confident Internal Medicine generalist.
This residency program is for 4 years.
Program length of training does not exceed the Royal College or College of Family Physicians of Canada standard.
The program includes core rotations in Internal Medicine and subspecialty rotations selected to incorporate a diversity of experience and proficiency in subspecialty areas integral to community based practice but less commonly emphasized in traditional Internal Medicine residency programs.
Based on the resident's personal learning plan, the content, sequence of training and schedule of movement between teaching sites may vary.
TTD (Y1 - BL 1-3) & Foundations (Y1 – BL 4-13)
Core 1 (Y2 – BL 1-13)
Core 2 (Y3 – BL 1-13)
4 MCTU
2 CCU or 2 ICU (whichever not done in Core 1)
1 Ambulatory GIM (MUST be scheduled in first half of year) =>50% outpatient To be define
Scheduled any time during Core 1 or Core 2 Training:
1 Community GIM
1 Nephrology
1 Medical Oncology
1 Respirology
3 Subspecialty
5 Electives
Additional Scheduling Notes:
Subspecialty Core:
Residents are strongly encouraged to do one rotation in each of the following subspecialties, in addition to the required rotations listed above.
Electives:
Electives can be done in any subspecialty at any academic institution. The resident is responsible for arranging these rotations.
1 and in some cases 2 elective blocks can be used for research. In order to choose this option residents, residents are required to complete an internal request form (Request for Protected Research Time Form), and there must be a deliverable at the end of each research block.
Scholarly Activity:
All residents MUST complete a scholarly activity. It may be done longitudinally or during elective research blocks as outlined above. Scholarly activities are presented by each resident to the faculty and their peers in their PGY3 year.
Community IM Experience:
A community experience outside of Sudbury and Thunder Bay is a key component of the NOSM IM residency program. A minimum of 2 blocks must be done in NOSM communities outside of Sudbury or Thunder Bay, and 1 block can be completed in Sudbury or Thunder Bay.
Approved Sites for Rotations:
PGY-4
After completing the three core years of Internal Medicine, residents may choose to continue in a 4th year of NOSM General Internal Medicine. Previous residents have been successful in either route - completing 4th year NOSM General Internal Medicine, as well as applying to subspecialty fellowships at other institutions.
The fourth year NOSM General Internal Medicine program will be designed to meet the particular interests of applicants.
The fourth year of training in Internal Medicine consists of 13 blocks of four weeks duration.
Clinical Responsibilities & On-Call:
The PGY-4 is generally expected to function at the level of a junior consultant not at the level of a senior medical resident.
Call for core rotations should be 1 in 4 to 1 in 5 (5-7 calls per 28 day block).
Rotation Objectives:
Specific rotation objectives are defined for all core and strongly recommended rotations.
For all elective rotations, the resident is expected to develop objectives based on their own learning goals. These require preceptor and program approval. Objectives must be received by the program 4 weeks prior to the start of the rotation. In addition to the resident developed objectives, there are also general objectives that will apply to elective rotations.
Procedural Training:
Training in the following procedures can be arranged. The resident must identify this goal prior to the beginning of their academic year.
If the resident requires training in other procedures due to a need in their expected community of practice, the program may be able to accommodate.
Procedures requiring more extensive training (e.g. echocardiography, endoscopy) are now included in the scope of a subspecialty GIM fellowship and cannot be accommodated in our PGY-4 IM year.
Academics
Academic half day sessions occur weekly, on Wednesdays, throughout the year during protected time from clinical duties. Academic half days are on a 2 year topic rotation. At the commencement of your residency, academic half days focus on Internal Medicine emergencies to provide an overview for new residents. Residents will also have the opportunity to participate in educational rounds, presentations, journal clubs and rounds through the Ontario Telemedicine Network.
Residents from both sites meet a minimum of 1 time each year for OSCE and other teaching sessions.
Simulation – Each year, NOSM residents gather for a weekend course designed to teach an approach to various clinical scenarios, including code leadership and core procedure skills with the help of new simulation lab and other modern technologies.
OSCE – Residents are given the opportunity each year to participate in a formative OSCE delivered in the same format as standard national certification and licensing examinations for the purpose of exam preparation and structured feedback on clinical skills by practicing physicians (including several certified Royal College examiners) in a non-intimidating setting.
Residents will participate in an evolving research curriculum. They will also have access to a Physician research advisor dedicated to Internal Medicine Residents, a research assistant, and a Research Librarian. All residents will do two four-week rotations in research or scholarly activity. Residents are expected to complete a research project and present their research at the Resident Research Day. Expert guidance and funding is available to provide high quality research experiences. In consultation with the Program Director, elective time can also be arranged for research.
NOSM’s Internal Medicine residency is one program, with two main training sites in Sudbury and Thunder Bay. Three spots are available at each site. While, residents will match to either the Sudbury and Thunder Bay sites, opportunities exist to complete rotations throughout NOSM's vast distributed list of training sites based on the resident's learning objectives and consultation with the Program Director.
Sudbury:
Health Sciences North is a modern tertiary health care facility located adjacent to Ramsey Lake in the heart of Sudbury that serves as the major referral centre for a large number of communities in Northeastern Ontario. Similar to Thunder Bay, the resident experience in Sudbury involves a mix of inpatient care (including medical and cardiac critical care), and outpatient clinics (general medicine and subspecialty). Due to the relatively small number of post-graduate trainees compared with most training centres, all rotations in Sudbury involve regular daily 1 on 1 interaction with preceptors and the opportunity to participate directly in the care of complex, undifferentiated medical cases. Residents working in Sudbury will discover that they quickly develop close relationships with staff and other residents from all departments.
The clinical teaching unit is an inpatient general medicine service at Health Sciences North comprised of one rotating staff physician (General Internist or Subspecialist trained in Internal Medicine), 1-2 Senior Medicine Residents (PGY2 or PGY3, Internal Medicine), 3-4 Junior Residents (PGY1 Internal Medicine or off-service), and 3-4 Clinical Clerks (4th year medical students from NOSM). Compared to other teaching hospitals where there may be 3 or 4 MCTU teams, there is only one MCTU team here at NOSM. We will typically be responsible for the care of 20-25 patients with a variety of acute medical illnesses. During your time on MCTU, you will encounter patients with a wide range of clinical problems including complex multisystem diseases. The primary objective of this rotation is to train our residents to become comfortable recognizing and dealing with the many underlying issues that exist in these patients and contribute to their admission to hospital. Residents also learn how to approach the most commonly encountered problems in Internal Medicine, a skill that is practical and will serve them well for the rest of their careers. Our intention is always to admit patients to the MCTU that will serve as good “learning cases” however; it is generally true that no matter how straightforward something seems at first, there are always new things to be learned from each and every patient. As with Thunder Bay, we do not have subspecialty call so the majority of interesting medical cases admitted through the emergency department will come to our MCTU service.
Most residents consistently say that they learn more in one week on the MCTU in Sudbury than in an entire block on other services! This is because we make every effort to make resident learning the priority. Our senior staff physicians and senior medicine residents are passionate about internal medicine and will do everything they can to make the experience on MCTU a good one. Our goal is to create a collegial and supportive environment where as residents; we can teach and learn from one another.
Sudbury is similar to Thunder Bay in that its residents have immediate access to hiking, camping, downhill skiing, cross country skiing, boating, rock climbing, fishing and much more all within the city limits. Health Sciences North is situated adjacent to beautiful Ramsey Lake which offers swimming, sailing, rowing, kayaking, and a 3 km ice skating path in the winter. Sudbury is home to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Sudbury Wolves and is a concert stop for many top performers. Sudbury is located less than 4 hours driving distance from Toronto and 5.5 hours from Ottawa. It also has an international airport served by Air Canada, Porter, and Bearskin Airlines. Sudbury also offers a range of popular restaurants and is home to a large student population with Laurentian University and Cambrian College located within the city.
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