First Nations partner in medical education

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The Northern Ontario Medical School now has two campuses, one at Laurentian University in Sudbury and a new one at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.

The new Lakehead campus has hired its first dean of medicine, Dr. Louis Francescutti, who was welcomed by Naishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) officials Jan. 7.

The medical school was originally planned for one location only-Laurentian University. "But NAN and other First Nations and municipality leaders got involved to try to influence the government to cause Lakehead to be an equal partner. And we were successful doing that because no one group wants the ownership of this health care, it affects us all," said Goyce Kakegamic, NAN deputy grand chief.

He said NAN, which includes 48 First Nation communities and represents 40,000 people, is supporting the school, but with three conditions.

NAN wants to be involved in the school's curriculum development. Kakegamic said, "We want to get involved in governance of the institution . . . and also to reserve some seats for Aboriginal people."

"We are working with them in governance, which looks good, and on the curriculum. The ongoing dialog is to reserve some seats. So when we say 'reserve some seats' we're not saying they're only for Treaty number 9, but you know, we're looking also there are Treaty 3 territories and Union (of Ontario Indians).

"I think it's imperative that we have reserved some seats within the institution because we feel if doctors reside in Northern Ontario then they would want to stay in the area."

Kakegamic said that Dean Francescutti mentioned that the school wants only top students.

"There's a common qualification, we agree with that," Kakegamic said, "and we have people who would be qualified to enter the medical school, just like their non-Aboriginal counterparts."

Kakegamic said there has been no specific number of seats reserved yet, but the number would have to be mutually agreed upon by both parties. "We feel comfortable-at least they're willing to talk."

Kakegamic said geographic representation should be another consideration in student selection.

"Of all 50 students I think that we should consider- pending that they qualify-to have to try to find students who are from Northern Ontario. Because if we don't have some sort of mechanism, they're going to have students from all over the country and down south flooding the seats."

Kakegamic said he is planning to discuss this topic with the school.

The school's communications officer Michael O'Reilly said as many Aboriginal students as can qualify will be accepted. "Obviously, we want people from the North and we want people especially from the Aboriginal communities. Exactly how those supports are going to be built into the system is still being worked out," he said.

The medical school will accept 50 new students for each year of the program for September 2004.

Three hundred delegates from Aboriginal, Franco-Ontarian, university, medical and political communities attended a general curriculum workshop held in Sault Ste. Marie Jan. 16 to 18. Another workshop specifically tailored to address the needs of Aboriginal people in Northern Ontario is being scheduled for some time in April or May, O'Reilly said.