The Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce hosted a luncheon Tuesday featuring Dr. Michael Green, the president of NOSM University.
He shared his vision for the future of the school, health care education and research in northern Ontario.
NOSM is in the midst of expanding enrollment, Green said.
“From 64 to 108 first-year medical students and up to 123 first-year residency positions,” he said.
“We’re currently at 88 students and growing our residency numbers.”
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The school is looking for support from local health care partners to make it possible and give hands-on experience to the medical students, using hospital and community family doctor placements.
“And (we’re) really hoping to develop some really great facilities, like primary care teaching clinics in the north, which we haven’t had before,” Green said.
One area that needs to change, he said, is funding for medical education in Ontario, since it remains unaltered since 2009.
“We work very closely with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Colleges and Universities,” Green said.
“I think they understand where our position’s at. And we’re in an election period right now, so we are waiting for the election to be over and see where the government’s at so that we can carry on those conversations after this is done.”
NOSM University has had a major economic impact in the north.
In 2019 alone, direct program and learner spending in the region totalled $64.6 million.
“We hear it all the time from our … members, is that in order to attract talented staff, we need to have health practitioners in the community," said Trevor Lalonde, Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce chair.
“Because if our community doesn’t have health care, good education, it’s really hard to attract those talented individuals to help grow our workforce and help grow our city.”
Green said NOSM University is currently only graduating enough new doctors to fill retirements, while northern Ontario needs at least 380 full-time equivalent physicians.
He said the good news is that when physicians train at NOSM, 90 per cent stay and practice in the north.
