Program Contacts

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Important Information

Please visit our website for more information on the program.

NOSM U-Family Medicine (http://www.nosm.ca/familymedicine)

You will find:

• Interactive and multimedia information on our Program
• Curated information to help you in your program selection, given the virtual nature of the CaRMS selection process and absence of an in-person visit to our program
• Schedule of our promotion and information sessions
• Information on how to get your questions answered

 

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General Instructions

Program application language: English

NOSM University offers Family Medicine training in seven streams: 

• Larger urban streams (pop. greater than 100,000)
• Sudbury
• Thunder Bay
• Smaller urban streams (pop. 50,000-80,000)
• North Bay
• Sault Ste. Marie
• Timmins
• Rural/Remote/Distributed streams (pop. <20,000, often much smaller)
• Remote First Nation (RFN)
• Rural West - Dryden, Fort Frances, Kenora, Nipigon, Sioux Lookout
• Rural South - Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Huntsville, Parry Sound
• Rural East - Blind River, Elliott Lake, Espanola, Hearst, Kapuskasing, Manitoulin Island, Sturgeon Falls, Temiskaming Shores

Please note: If applying to more than one NOSM U Family Medicine urban stream, the same supporting documents may be used for each application. Rural streams and the Remote First Nation stream require additional documentation.

Rural streams (East, South, West): an additional document (the NOSM U FM Rural Addendum/Questionnaire) with specific questions pertaining to suitability for rural training is required. 

Remote First Nation stream: a customized personal letter and additional reference are required. 

Applications to additional streams (except RFN) must be completed by 11:59 p.m. E.T. on Sunday, February 4, 2024.

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Supporting Documentation / Information

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Review Process

Applications submitted after file review has opened on December 2, 2023

Supporting documents (excluding letters of reference) that arrive after file review has opened  on  December 2, 2023

Letters of reference that arrive after the unmasking date on December 2, 2023

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Interviews

Dates:

• January 18, 2024
• January 19, 2024
• January 20, 2024
• January 21, 2024

Selection Criteria

In keeping with the CanMEDs roles, please note that throughout the entire application and selection process, your interactions with NOSM University personnel may be taken into consideration by the program in their selection process and ranking decisions.

The NOSM University Family Medicine Residency Program will review candidate’s applications based on:

• demonstrated interest in Family Medicine
• ability to fulfill all CanMEDS-FM roles
• demonstrated interest in clinical practice in northern Ontario and/or rural medicine
• strong academic record
• strength of references
• excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills
• evidence of self-directed learning and reflective practice
• desire to train in variety of clinical practices and community settings
• connection to northern Ontario educationally, professionally, and/ or personally

Program goals

NOSM University (NOSM U) is committed to the education of high-quality physicians and health professionals, and to international recognition as a leader in distributed, learning-centred, community-engaged education and research.

The NOSM U Family Medicine Residency Program's vision is to educate physicians based on the CanMEDS-FM roles to develop the skills and attitudes necessary to deliver excellent, culturally respectful health care to the communities of northern Ontario, including rural and remote areas.

Selection process goals

Through our selection process, our program aims to identify candidates who have a strong academic history with demonstrated competence and interest in family medicine (e.g. FM rotations, electives, scholarly activities, conference involvement and/or other related work or life experiences). We are seeking candidates who possess superior clinical and 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 behaviour -- 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 university, accountable to the needs and the diversity of the populations of northern Ontario, candidates best suited to the NOSM U Family Medicine Residency Program are those with a vested interest in rural medicine, who can adapt and thrive in a hands-on, distributed residency program that requires flexibility and some travel away from their primary location of residence. At times, you will train in environments with very few learners, which affords excellent first-in-line, hands-on experiences.

We also believe that candidates who are resilient, can prioritize their personal well-being and work-life balance, and are also committed to self-reflective learning, continuing professional development, and quality improvement, are well-suited to our residency program. Through our selection process we aim to identify and successfully match candidates who possess these attributes.

File review process

Evaluation criteria :

Elective criteria

Interview process

Interview evaluation criteria :

Information gathered outside of CaRMS application

Specifically, we may consider:
Social interaction during program related events
Communication with program administration
Social media
Unsolicited reference letters
Unsolicited email references
Unsolicited verbal information on a candidate's prior performance
Unsolicited feedback from colleagues and co-workers
Other : In keeping with the CanMEDs roles, please note that throughout the entire application and interview process, your interactions with NOSM U team members may be taken into consideration by the selection committee and the program in their selection process and ranking decisions.

Ranking process

The behavior(s) exhibited below during the interview process may prevent an applicant from being ranked by our program :
Unprofessional or inappropriate behavior   
Did not attend interview   
Interview performance was not competitive   

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Program Highlights

• Our program spans the geography of northern Ontario and experiences exist across all our regions. At times, residents will travel for rotations, away from their home site, to experience the breadth of the discipline. Support is available for housing and travel costs.

• Practice opportunities are extensive and diverse allowing residents to immerse themselves in the unique lifestyle of northern Ontario.

• Residents are encouraged to undertake clinical electives in a wide variety of communities across the entire NOSM University geographic area.

• Opportunities exist to undertake either Family Medicine or other learning experiences in the French language and experience the Francophone culture of northern Ontario.

• Community rotations are available which will allow residents to immerse and familiarize themselves in the rural culture, and experience the challenges and rewards of delivery of care in rural and remote communities.

• Many diverse opportunities exist to encounter, immerse and deliver care to Indigenous Peoples including travel to northern First Nation communities.

• Initial block of training focused on transition to residency to ensure successful progression through the two years of training

• Rotation opportunities in over 40 Northern urban, rural and remote clinical settings.

• Opportunity for a wide variety of PGY3 enhanced skills options in northern Ontario.

• A unique opportunity for blended hospital­-based and community-based training with first call coverage in most disciplines.

• Early integration as a key member of an interdisciplinary health care team dedicated to professionalism, high quality patient care and excellent medical education.

• A diverse variety of inpatient and outpatient experiences emphasized from the beginning of residency.

• A non-clinical curriculum with dedicated time for academic sessions mapped to the CFPC Priority Topics, including a high-quality longitudinal simulation program

• Unparalleled preceptor support from physician faculty and preceptors whose primary focus is patient care and teaching.

• Commitment to resident learning.

• Financial support for resident travel to and from core clinical placements away from the home base and all mandatory educational activities at non home base locations.

• Housing support for core rotations away from home base and primary residence for up to 6 months per academic year.

• Opportunities to participate in a scholarly activity, including research and quality improvement, under expert guidance.

• Funding available for research, professional development and conference participation.

• Access to advanced technology and informatics that allows 24/7 access to electronic search engines, and electronic indexes, as well as an extensive collection of electronic medical/health journals and textbooks.

• Exceptional lifestyle balance with a wide variety of outstanding northern Ontario recreational opportunities.

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Program Curriculum

This residency program is for 2 years.

Program length of training does not exceed the Royal College or College of Family Physicians of Canada standard.

Program Overview 

The NOSM University (NOSM U) Family Medicine program is an accredited program of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC). We follow the Triple C competency-based curriculum in all of our training streams. Utilizing the CanMEDS-FM competencies, along with the CFPC's Priority Topics and Skills Dimensions, our curriculum is built with community Family Medicine in mind. All of our rotations are largely community based, with several opportunities within our hospitals. The vast majority of teaching is provided by family physicians. Comprehensiveness of practice, along with continuity of care and education are central to our work. Depending on the stream, the approach to the scheduling of clinical experiences will vary.  All Family Medicine residents will receive ongoing coaching and feedback, both informally and formally through our workplace-based assessment methods. Regularly scheduled periodic reviews provide an opportunity for self-reflection and coaching from a Competency Coach. Candidates who are self-directed and engage in reflective practice are particularly suited to our residency program.

Clinical Curriculum

The NOSM U Family Medicine Clinical Curriculum incorporates a diversity of experience and proficiency in areas integral to community-based Family practice.  Each resident will spend significant time in the community practice of Family Medicine preceptors. Residents participate in all aspects of the practice, including provision of continuous care to their own patients within the practice and participation in the care of all in-­hospital patients within the practice whenever possible.  Participation in the care of the practice’s patients in multiple environments including the hospital, patients' homes and other scenarios is encouraged.

Domains of Care	Curriculum Objectives
Across the Life Cycle	Care of Children and Adolescents Care of Adults Care of Elderly Maternal and Newborn Care Men’s Health Palliative Care Women’s Health
Care of Underserved Patients	Behavioural Medicine & Mental Health Global Health & Care of Vulnerable and Underserviced
Procedural Skills	Procedural and Surgical Skills

Throughout the program, elective rotations provide additional flexibility and enable residents to tailor their training to achieve competence in the domains of care and their individual learning objectives not met by immersions in the regular core rotations. Diversity of experience during elective rotations is encouraged and recognized as being extremely valuable.

Sample Clinical Rotation Schedule

Below is the typical NOSM Family Medicine Program Clinical Curriculum, represented in weeks. Due to the needs of the communities, some of the program streams will demonstrate slight differences in curriculum.

Note:  Family physicians (preceptors) who do not do hospital rounds – residents are required to do three (3) additional weeks of Internal Medicine.

• North Bay = NBAY
• Rural East = RUR-East
• Rural West = RUR-West
• Rural South = RUR-South 
• Sault Ste. Marie = SSM
• Sudbury = SUD
• Thunder Bay = TBAY
• Timmins = TIMM
• Remote First Nations = RFN

  

PGY1	NBAY	RUR-EAST	RUR-WEST	RUR-SOUTH	SSM	SUD	TBAY	TIMM	RFN
Family Medicine	16	-	-	-	16	16	12	15	-
Family Medicine - Inpatient	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-
Family Medicine Rural	8	24	24	24	8	8	8	8	16
Internal Medicine	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	6	8
Emergency Medicine	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Obstetrics/Women's Health	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	4
Mental Health	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	2	8
Pediatrics	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Addictions Medicine	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-
Electives	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8

 

PGY2	NBAY	RUR-EAST	RUR-WEST	RUR-SOUTH	SSM	SUD	TBAY	TIMM	RFN
Family Medicine	16	-			16	16	12 or 16	15	24
Family Medicine - Inpatient	-	-			-	-	4 or 8	-	-
Family Medicine Rural	8	24	24	24	8	8	8	4	-
Internal Medicine	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	6	-
Emergency Medicine	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Addictions/Pain Management	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
Psychiatry	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	8
Obstetrics/Women’s Health	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	4
Surgical Selective	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	-	-
Urology	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-
General Surgery	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-
Otorhinolaryngology	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-
Pediatrics	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Geriatrics	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-
Electives	8	12	12	12	12	12	8	12	8

 

Academic Program

The Family Medicine academic program consists of academic sessions, courses, and a transition to residency block. Residents regularly have protected time for virtual teaching, separate from clinical duties. Additionally, there are in person sessions at the end of blocks periodically through the year. These sessions will cover the vast majority of CFPC's Priority Topics, along with some hands-on skills including simulations, procedural skills and other small group learning. In the first year of residency, all residents will participate in the Core Curriculum offered to all NOSM U residents, across all specialties, which will cover key topics such as the Resident as Teacher, Indigenous health, medical errors and patient safety, etc. In addition, specific sessions in second year will be tailored to preparation for CFPC examination.

The NOSM U Family Medicine Residency program also provides financial support for residents to obtain certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP).  Residents are also provided with some financial support through the Resident Reimbursement Fund (RRF) to attend other courses or conferences such as Family Medicine Forum (FMF) and Society of Rural Physicians Rural and Remote Medicine Conference (SRPC).

Other learning sessions, virtual or in-person, are scattered throughout the year to address learning needs.

We value the importance of wellness and encourage protected time for residents to gather and dialogue with each other on a regular basis.

Resident Wellness

The mission of the Wellness Program is to assist our residents in achieving the knowledge and skills to develop healthy and productive professional identities during this important transitional time. The framework of the program includes occupational/academic health, physical health, emotional health and social health.

Our highest priority is providing and coordinating supports for residents who have specific health needs, whether pre-existing or arising during residency. Wellness Program personnel will assist residents with finding and coordinating health resources, as well as working with residency programs to accommodate the learning and training environment if needed. The program also includes proactive components for all residents such as: a wellness curriculum, promoting safe housing and transportation, ensuring your duty hour and leave protections are respected, cultural supports, and guidance with developing a healthy and productive professional identity.

Scholarly Activity

While the role of scholar will evolve throughout the two-year program, a number of activities are planned in the program:

• Scholarly activity, including research and quality improvement (QI), supported by a Tutor
• Ongoing didactic and small group sessions focused on Evidence-Based Medicine, Research and Quality Improvement
• The opportunity to participate in Resident Research Day, where everyone will share their scholarly activity with peers.

These activities contribute to the development of effective teaching practices, formulating and investigating scholarly questions, and disseminating and communicating knowledge to professional audiences.  Residents also contribute to the quality improvement of the Family medicine program by providing feedback on the clinical experiences and academic curriculum; this data is collected and utilized by the program to augment the overall program curriculum.  

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Training Sites

North Bay

The city of North Bay offers a delightful balance of work and learning opportunities and resources, coupled with the lifestyle factors that keep one sane during medical residency training. We’re a small city of under 60,000 which somehow still manages to host Nipissing University, Canadore College, a military base and an airport within the city limits, a kid-friendly waterfront and public marina and a diverse industry including mining engineering and high tech electric vehicle manufacturing. All this, while living near two in-city lakes (Nipissing and Trout), two in-city forests (Duschesnay Falls and Laurier Woods), two 30km+ trail systems (The Kate Paceway and the Education Trails which actually connect to the hospital grounds) and excellent mountain biking, nordic and alpine ski facilities. From the outside, residency can seem like an exercise in packing in too much learning into too short a time. When you’re actually living it, it’s often true that it’s the life outside the walls of the hospital that get you and your family through it. There aren’t a lot of places where you can exit your day at the hospital, get into a canoe within 10 minutes, paddle for 30 minutes, moor at a dockside ice cream store with fifteen flavours and then walk up the stairs to a gas station that sells authentic Indian Food and excellent poutine!

North Bay Regional Health Centre is a 400+ bed facility and is a direct referral centre for other outlying communities. We’ve had residency trainees in Family Medicine and also Anesthesia, Emergency, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, Psychiatry and Public Health. The Northeast Mental Health Centre, our psychiatric hospital, is physically attached on the same campus, facilitating the care of medically complex psychiatric patients. There is a 16-bed closed CCU/ICU and a post-28weeks NICU. Obstetrics is shared by FRCP OBs and midwives and newborn care is often done by family doctors. In other words, we might not be the ideal training site if you aim to be a neurosurgeon or plastic surgeon. For almost anything else, we pride ourselves in being a great place to learn directly, often one-on-one, from active-practice MDs.

Unusual for a community of its size, North Bay continues to have a core group of family physicians who also devote time to inpatient hospital medicine, both for their own rostered patients and for unattached patients who are admitted. For Family Medicine trainees, this means a more varied and challenging exposure to higher acuity medical care. For Specialists, both as residency trainees and staff, it can mean more sustainable on-call schedules, a closer working relationship with general medicine colleagues and more collaboration in care. Likewise, the emergency department is staffed mostly my FM-trained MDs and we strive for a friendly relationship between “the Door” and “the Floor”. If you’ve ever worked in a hospital where getting a patient admitted requires a fight or a “sales job”, North Bay Regional will be a welcome change!

There is a long tradition in our community of upholding a bedside teaching model by practicing clinicians. Unlike in the big city, there are no purely academic appointments and as a result, the day-to-day cases and study before and afterwards remain directly relevant to real world practice. Yet, we still balance it out with Resident-Led-Rounds and Workshops for the undergraduate medical students (we typically have about ten each year, some of whom are visiting from outside of NOSM University). Residents therefore can reinforce their own learning by being teachers themselves. We have access to a high-fidelity simulation lab at the Nipissing University which has also been used for workshops. Later on, learners are supported by several instalments of protected-time practice sessions and mentoring for the College exams and we hold Mock SOO (Simulated Office Orals) with experienced doctors serving as standardized patients.

We pride ourselves in the Lifelong Learning model and put our time and money where our mouth is. In addition to typical small group rounds and larger topics held within the hospital by the various departments, we are proud to have a very strong Local Education Group (LEG) and the majority of staff are members. The LEG holds several one-day symposia per year, accredited for CME and typically funded both for staff and learners to attend at no cost. Previous topics have included toxicology, sepsis, Derm, addiction and burns; basically, every once in a while, we take a day off, get together for free and, without having to travel anywhere, collect CME credits while eating.

It’s not all book learning, though. We have a stake in supporting your physical and mental health during residency while maintaining our own. The Learner’s Wellness Circle is protected time during which you are invited to kibitz with fellow students and go over trials and tribulations with your peers. We strive to find every resident and their family a primary care contact during their time in North Bay. Informal learning opportunities crop up all the time: there have been individual and group sessions presented at microbreweries, coffee roasters, trivia nights and, and maybe even one session might be held on a dock. A newsletter of factoids and info about the community is circulated monthly. And finally, we have a mentorship and competency coaching system that allows for periodic 1:1 review with an established MD tasked less with quizzing you on hyponatremia (…again…) and more with building out a sustainable, rewarding career after residency is done. We pride ourselves that even decades later, some of our senior staff still maintain in contact personally and professionally with students that they met on that first day of R1.

 

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Additional Information

To learn more about northern Ontario, please visit the "Wider Campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine" webpage. 

To learn more about our Program - visit us at http://www.nosm.ca/familymedicine and https://wanted.nosm.ca/