Federal funding expands northern Ontario medical training
NOSM University is getting a federal investment to establish and grow training facilities.
87 medical centers in municipalities and Indigenous communities across Northern Ontario will receive a piece of the $1,968,386 grant. With this funding, NOSM’s Doctor of Medicine program expects to double its enrollment from 425 to 852 students within the next four years.
“This is to support the hospitals,” said NOSM President Mike Green. “They’re taking in a lot more medical students as a result of this expansion, and they need things to support having our learners on-site that wouldn’t be in their normal budget.”
The grant comes from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario (FedNor)’s Northern Ontario Development Program. The initiative invests in projects led by municipalities and First Nations that support economic development, job creation and self-reliant communities in the region.
“This will create healthcare jobs, obviously, but it will also make sure we have a region that people don’t just come to work, but to stay,” said FedNor minister and Thunder Bay MP Patty Hadju. “Healthcare is a critical ingredient to growing the north strong and so this is a great fit for FedNor.”
People living with chronic disease in remote northern communities often have to fly in to see a practitioner who might not speak the same language. Hadju says she hopes this grant will attract more medical students from these communities to account for these shortfalls.
“Across Canada, when people have access to education [in their community] and then become doctors, they will choose to practice closer to home,” Hadju said. “That provides better access to care throughout our region.”
An additional 13 medical centers will be classified as Comprehensive Community Clerkship sites, where students will travel to a smaller community and practice family medicine for up to 8 months.
“It’s the longest experience like that in Canada, and those communities will get support through this announcement,” Mike Green said.
