Respect and understanding core to medical philosophy

The Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held an Admissions Information Session on Aug. 16 for Aboriginal students who may be interested in pursuing a career in medicine.

The session focused on Aboriginal people who are interested in applying to medical school, and highlighted some of the services and resources the school makes available to them. It also included information about the application process and some of the important deadlines students must meet in order to be considered for admission.

“It is a lengthy process,” said Miriam Lappala, director of Admissions and Learner Recruitment. Her advice is to start early because there are no exceptions to these deadlines.

Students must create an online application account with the Ontario Medical Schools Application Service (OMSAS) by Sept. 15, and the deadline to submit the application and supporting documentation, such as transcripts, proof of Aboriginal ancestry and letter of recommendation from a community leader is Oct. 1 by 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
The school is the newest medical school in Canada in the last 30 years and has been open since 2005. Since the programs are four years in length, the school has seen only one graduating class pass through its doors. It has campuses in Sudbury (sharing a campus with Laurentian University) and Thunder Bay (sharing a campus with Lakehead University).

The school has an Aboriginal Reference Group, which advises the Dean about what the concerns of the Aboriginal communities are, and also gives students access to Elders who may be able to offer some guidance.

“There are Elders on campus every Friday,” says Lappala. “If they so choose, they can go see an Elder and receive counsel, or learn from them.” This service is also available to all students to would like to learn more about Aboriginal culture.

The school designates two places per year for Aboriginal students, however, “This is by no means a quota,” says Lappala. Each year since 2005 they have exceed those designated spots and “we will admit as many qualified Aboriginal students as possible.”

With the Aboriginal stream type of application, the school “aims to reduce the barriers that exist for Aboriginal students.”

In the first year of enrollment, there is a four-week placement, which is not a clinical placement, said Lappala, but a cultural one, where the students visit an Aboriginal community in northern Ontario to learn about the people, the community and what their health care needs are.

While participating in the cultural placement, the students still have the opportunity to work with the health care providers within those communities and work within their clinics.

NOSM is designed to promote respect and understanding for Aboriginal culture, and having Aboriginal people who are very involved in both the governance of the school and the development of the curriculum, “is an important aspect,” said Lappala. “Something that we are really proud of.”