NOSM University - Public Health and Preventive Medicine including Family Medicine - Sudbury
2024 R-1 Main Residency Match - first iteration
CMG Stream for CMG
Last approved on October 04, 2023
Summary of changesAccreditation status : Accredited
Provincial Criteria
935 Ramsey Lake Rd
c/o Sonya Richard
SUDBURY, Ontario, P3E 2C6
Program Contacts
Important Information
Land acknowledgement
NOSM University respectfully acknowledges that our pan-Northern campus is on the homelands of First Nations and Métis Peoples. The university buildings we occupy in Greater Sudbury and Thunder Bay are located on the territory of the Anishinabek Nation, specifically Atikameksheng and Wahnapitae First Nations and Fort William First Nation.
Virtual Information Sessions
Please join us on October 4, 2023 @ 6:30 PM Eastern Time for a virtual information session. Program leadership, faculty, and residents will provide an overview of the NOSM U PHPM program. The session will conclude with a residents-only Q&A session.
Register using the link below to receive the connection details:
https://nosm.webex.com/weblink/register/r02ab8750d44ecd727df96bcf4492a870
Candidates also considering applying to the Sudbury PHPM-FM training stream may be interested in attending the NOSM U Family Medicine information session. More details are available here: https://www.nosm.ca/familymedicine/prospectiveresidents/program-information-sessions/
Training streams
NOSM U PHPM offers training through two separate streams, PHPM-FM in Sudbury and PHPM in Sault Ste. Marie.
- A total of two (2) positions are available each year, with one (1) position allocated to each stream respectively.
- The PHPM-FM training stream in Sudbury offers residents the opportunity to meet the training requirements of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) with two years of Family Medicine training during the five years of PHPM training. Candidates considering this stream are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the FM program: https://www.nosm.ca/familymedicine/.
Relocation and travel
Social accountability is one of NOSM University’s core values and the geographical area we serve is vast. In order to best prepare our residents to practice in a variety of contexts, and particularly northern, rural, and remote settings, relocation and travel are required during training. Residents receive financial support for travel to and from mandatory educational activities outside their home bases, and housing support for core rotations away from their primary residence.
Vaccination Policy
Some NOSM U training sites require proof of COVID-19 and other vaccinations. You will be required to provide documentation of vaccination to the appropriate institution if matched. Failure to provide appropriate documentation may result in the termination of the contract.
General Instructions
Program application language: English
Applications will only be received and reviewed in English.
Supporting Documentation / Information
• Canadian Birth Certificate or Act of Birth
• Confirmation of Permanent Residence in Canada
• Passport page showing Canadian Citizenship
• Canadian Permanent Resident Card (both sides of card)
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 preceptors, supervisors, or advisors who have worked with you. References should provide an assessment of your population health, public health, and medical knowledge; interpersonal skills; ability to communicate effectively; attitude toward learning; and your abilities to complete training in PHPM.
If you plan on pursuing certification from the College of Family Physicians, one of your reference letters should also reflect your commitment to Family Medicine.
Your medical school transcript can be submitted through one of the methods below:
- Obtain your medical transcript from your school and upload it directly to your CaRMS Online account. Follow your school’s policy regarding accessing or requesting your transcript;
- Ask your medical school to upload your medical transcript through their CaRMS Undergraduate Portal account; or
- International (IMGs) and United States (USMGs) medical graduates can transfer their transcript from their physiciansapply.ca account.
For current year Canadian medical graduates (CMGs), there is no action required from you. Your medical school will automatically submit your MSPR to CaRMS on your behalf for you to assign.
If your MSPR is in a language other than the program language of English or French, you are required to have the document translated.
The personal letter (maximum 1000 words) should focus on the following:
- Experiences that led to your interest in PHPM;
- Aspects of the NOSM U PHPM program that interest you;
- The reasons you wish to focus on public health as a career, and what that means to you;
- Your commitment to practice in northern, rural, or remote settings;
- How you anticipate this program will assist you in becoming an excellent practitioner of PHPM;
- Your greatest challenge if you are accepted into this program and what you would do to address this challenge; and
- Any additional information about yourself that should be considered by the Selection Panel.
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.
Custom Résumé / CV PhotoPlease complete the mandatory Personal Reflections Survey using the link below:
(no upload required, only your response via the survey link)
https://nosm.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6Fq3Wir7xywaGKW
Candidates who have completed prior graduate training are encouraged to submit their transcripts. Order from the relevant Registrar.
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
Interviews
Dates:
- January 30, 2024
First Iteration: Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Selection Criteria
Applicants will be selected for an interview based on a file review that considers their:
- Interest in northern, rural, remote, Indigenous, or Francophone health
- Understanding of health equity and population health
- Demonstrated commitment to train and practice in PHPM
- Academic performance, including transcripts and examination scores (when available)
- Critical thinking and problem solving
- Communication, including IELTS score (when available)
- Interpersonal skills and team work
- Professionalism
- Attitude towards learning, including ability to engage in reflective practice
- Ability to identify and address challenges that the candidate may encounter training in a northern, distributed residency program
As the clinical component of PHPM-FM residency is completed through the NOSM U Family Medicine residency program, the admission requirements for the Family Medicine residency program have to be met by PHPM candidates, which includes clinical examination score requirements for IMGs.
Final ranking of candidates is based on the combined file review score (60%) and interview score (40%). Interviewees may not all be ranked.
Program goals
Passionate about health equity? Plan to work in lower-resource or northern, rural, or remote public health contexts? Train at the first medical university in Canada, established with an explicit social accountability mandate.
The NOSM University PHPM program prepares physicians to practice full-scope PHPM in northern, rural, remote, and global contexts. Our residents train at sites across Northern Ontario, as well as sites outside Northern Ontario that offer experiences relevant to NOSM U’s social accountability mandate. Our program offers residents a supportive environment to create sustainable improvements in health outcomes.
Selection process goals
Our selection process seeks to identify diverse candidates with a wide variety of lived experiences committed to excellence in the practice of PHPM in northern, rural, remote, and global contexts, who have demonstrated:
- Passion for improving health equity, especially for northern, rural, remote, Francophone, or Indigenous populations
- A strong academic and scholarly record
- Competence and interest in PHPM
- Ability and willingness to work collaboratively
Social accountability informs not only our curriculum, but also our selection process. We are committed to ethical, equitable, and transparent recruitment and selection, and look forward to meeting the real you. This includes a commitment to supporting and retaining IMGs in PHPM training and practice.
As a medical university with a social accountability mandate to meet the needs and the diversity of the populations of Northern Ontario, candidates best suited to the NOSM U PHPM are those who can adapt and thrive in a hands-on, distributed residency program that requires flexibility and regular travel away from their primary location of residence. Residents will be required to relocate one or more times during their training.
File review process
Review team composition : The file review team is comprised of program faculty, other PHPM specialists, and residents, and may include family medicine faculty.
Average number of applications received by our program in the last five years : 0 - 50
Average percentage of applicants offered interviews : 76 - 100 %
| File component | Criteria |
|---|---|
| CV | Interest in PHPM, scholarly activity, and professional accomplishments |
| Electives | PHPM elective(s) and a diverse range of non-PHPM electives relevant PHPM; electives in northern, rural, or remote contexts are a strong asset. |
| Examinations | Candidates who have written the NAC and/or MCCQE1 are required to submit their scores, and these scores will be considered as part of the file review process. The NOSM U PHPM Program does not use specific exam score cut-offs, but candidates applying to the PHPM-FM stream are required to meet all FM examination requirements. |
| Extra-curricular | Experiences relevant to PHPM or northern, rural, and remote health are considered an asset. The NOSM U PHPM program acknowledges and takes into consideration that extra-curricular activities may not be accessible to students with other commitments outside school (e.g., caregiving). |
| Leadership skills | Evidence of one or more leadership roles is considered an asset |
| MSPRs | Evidence of professional behaviour is required. Evidence of academic excellence and strong interpersonal skills are considered assets. Any academic, personal, or professionalism concerns noted in the MSPR must be addressed by the candidate in their personal letter. |
| Personal letters | Ability to succinctly and coherently address the items listed under “Personal Letter” above |
| Reference documents | Positive assessment of your population health, public health, and medical knowledge; interpersonal skills; ability to communicate effectively; attitude toward learning; and your abilities to complete training in PHPM-FM |
| Research/Publications | Scholarly activity relevant to PHPM, interest in participating in future scholarly activity. |
| Transcripts | Strength of academic record |
| 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. |
Elective criteria
Interview process
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 | Clearly describes actions and behaviours indicative of mature and effective collaboration. |
| Collegiality | All interactions with the program demonstrate collegiality. Clearly describes cooperative actions and behaviours with colleagues from one or more professions. |
| Communication skills | Delivers clear, succinct responses that directly address interview questions. Provides examples of applying communication skills to resolve conflict. |
| Health advocacy | Demonstrates commitment to social accountability and health equity. |
| Interest in the discipline | Articulates population health strategies, and differentiates a population health approach from an individual patient care approach. Articulates how clinical training will support their future public health practice. |
| Interest in the program | Demonstrates interest in northern, rural, or remote settings. Candidate’s career goals align with those of the NOSM U PHPM training program. |
| Leadership skills | Demonstrates self-reflective leadership, meaningfully reflecting on personal leadership style. |
| Professionalism | Demonstrates compassion, insight, honesty, and respect for diversity during all interactions with the program. Meaningfully reflects on ability to manage conflict. |
| Scholarly activities | We do not formally evaluate this component during the interview. |
Information gathered outside of CaRMS application
Specifically, we may consider:Ranking process
The behavior(s) exhibited below during the interview process may prevent an applicant from being ranked by our program :Program Highlights
Health equity and social accountability are foundational to the NOSM U PHPM program. Our program offers a comprehensive curriculum that integrates all the CanMEDS roles, while focusing on the knowledge and skills required to practice in northern, rural, and remote contexts, in Canada and around the world. Program highlights include:
- Outstanding program coordination and wellness support
- Excellent examination preparation
- Diverse, compassionate resident colleagues
- Social accountability and health equity focus
- Easy access to urban amenities and outdoor activities across beautiful Northern Ontario.
Key components of the five-year NOSM U PHPM residency program include:
- Weekly academic half-days, regular academic full-days, and biannual in-person learning events
- A minimum of 12 months of clinical training
- A minimum of 2 semesters of graduate training
- A minimum of 18 months of PHPM training
- A scholarly project
During their training, NOSM U PHPM-FM residents have the opportunity to complete graduate training, certification with the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and certification with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Residents are well-supported throughout their training, with financial support for travel to and from mandatory educational activities outside their home bases, housing support for core rotations away from primary residence, and funding for research, professional development, and conferences.
Please visit our website for more information: https://www.nosm.ca/phpm/.
Program Curriculum
This residency program is for 5 years.
Program length of training does not exceed the Royal College or College of Family Physicians of Canada standard.
The five-year NOSM U PHPM residency training program follows the Royal College Specialty Training Requirements, and ensures residents meet the Royal College Objectives of Training. Key components of the NOSM U PHPM-FM curriculum—clinical training, academic training, and PHPM training—are summarized below.
Clinical training
Residents in the PHPM-FM stream complete 24 months of clinical training with the NOSM U Family Medicine Residency program, leading to certification with the College of Family Physicians.
Academic training
NOSM U PHPM residents participate in weekly academic half-days (AHDs), regular academic full-days, and biannual in-person learning events. Regular academic activities include Discussion of the Week (DOW) and Knowledge & Skills sessions, journal clubs, joint academic rounds with other PHPM residency programs, practice OSCEs, and practice written examinations. Residents completing clinical rotations are expected to participate in the DOW (but can attend more of the AHD if other duties allow); senior residents attend the whole AHD.
NOSM U PHPM residents must complete a minimum of two semesters of graduate training, and residents in the PHPM-FM stream can complete up to one year of graduate training. Most residents choose to complete a Master of Public Health during their training. Residents work closely with the program director to select a Canadian or international university program that meets their interests and the Royal College requirements. Residents with previous graduate training may be credited, resulting in additional elective time or a reduction in training time.
Public health and preventive medicine training
NOSM U PHPM residents complete 6 core PHPM field rotations:
- Public Health Systems and Practice
- Communicable Disease
- Environmental Health
- Health Policy and Planning
- Health Promotion, Chronic Disease Prevention, and Injury Prevention
- Leadership and Management
NOSM U PHPM residents complete the majority of core rotations within NOSM U’s geographical service area in Northern Ontario, and complete all their core rotations at sites with training experiences relevant to NOSM U’s social accountability mandate. Residents are required to live and work in multiple communities.
NOSM U PHPM residents pursue a wide variety of PHPM electives at the local, provincial, national, and international level. Some examples include:
- Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario
- Public Health Agency of Canada
- Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority
- Government of Nunavut
- University of Global Health Equity in Butaro, Rwanda
Training Sites
Our residents train at sites across Northern Ontario—for example, in Thunder Bay, Sioux Lookout, or Richard’s Landing—as well as sites outside Northern Ontario that offer experiences relevant to NOSM U’s social accountability mandate, including provincial and federal agencies.
NOSM U PHPM-FM residents are based in Sudbury, on the territory of Atikameksheng and Wahnapitae First Nations, with occasional travel and relocation required across Ontario. Sudbury is a city of almost 170,000 people, best known for mining, beautiful lakes, and blueberries. Sudbury offers excellent restaurants, hiking trails, and French language opportunities. Residents complete the majority of their clinical training at Health Sciences North and Sudbury-based clinics, and many of their public health field placements at Public Health Sudbury & Districts.
NOSM U PHPM residents are based in Sault Ste. Marie, on the territory of Garden River and Batchewana First Nations, with occasional travel and relocation required across Ontario. Sault Ste. Marie is a city of just over 70,000 located on the St. Mary’s River, directly across the international border from Michigan. Sault Ste. Marie offers easy access to both Lake Superior and Lake Huron, and what locals believe to be the best pizza in the world. Residents complete the majority of their clinical training at Sault Area Hospital and Sault-based clinics, and many of their public health field placements at Algoma Public Health.
Additional Information
NOSM U PHPM residents typically select the location of their core field placements, but the residency program reserves the right to determine a resident’s training sites.
Public transportation options are limited in parts of Northern Ontario. NOSM U PHPM residents are strongly encouraged to have a valid Ontario driver’s license and access to a vehicle.
To learn more about Northern Ontario, please visit the Wider Campus of NOSM University webpage.
Summary of changes
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