NOMS Information at the HBSU Medical School Symposium

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

Dr. Jill Konkin, Associate Dean of MD Admissions and Student Affairs was present to share the following:

 

1) NOMS is still undergoing the medical school accreditation process. They are expecting their accreditation visit and review by the end of March and hope to receive a provisional accreditation by June 2004.

 

2) NOMS students will be based in either Sudbury or Thunder Bay for the pre-clerkship years. During these two years, the curricula for both sites will be identical and the classes may be web-linked, on occasion. Additionally, these two years will be focused on case-based rather than problem-based modules. In year 3, the rural clerkship will take place in smaller communities outside of Sudbury and Thunder Bay. In year 4, there will be opportunities to do clerkship rotations in urban centres.

 

3) The NOMS curriculum will be similar to that of McMaster, but there will be more methods of assessment introduced than are currently present in the McMaster curriculum. Additionally, NOMS is working with U. Ottawa to adopt the E-curriculum approach to training. Akin to U. Ottawa students, every NOMS student will have a laptop.

 

4) The school's focus will be to train general practitioners and general specialists, e.g., general surgeons, etc., although NOMS graduates will not be limited in their application to Canadian residency programs.

 

5) In terms of admissions, NOMS are aiming to select a class that is reflective of the demographics of Northern Ontario. Currently, 9-10% of all Canadian medical school applicants are from rural communities and they are aiming to generate higher proportions of such applicants and medical school matriculants. A four-year degree will be required (although some exceptions may be made for mature applicants) and no MCAT will be required. Additionally, at this time, no international applications will be accepted. Significant advantages will be offered to rural, remote and Northern Ontario applicants during the selection process.

 

The initial selection screen will be based on the GPA and the score from an admissions questionnaire. Regarding GPA, it is unlikely that the cut-off will be less than 3.00, but they expect that it could range between 3.00 and 3.30. NOMS are aiming to use a WGPA calculation that is similar to that currently used by U. Ottawa, i.e., the applicant's final year will be more heavily weighted, etc.

 

The questionnaire will focus on areas such as giving of oneself and community service. They would like to see significant evidence of applicants looking into the community to identify needs and then creating solutions. The questions chosen for inclusion in the questionnaire will be those that generate responses that correlate closely with selecting a career in family medicine.

 

Finally, with respect to interviews, NOMS yet again is turning to the evidence-based approach to designing their admissions process and curriculum and it is highly likely that they will use the MMI interview approach.

 

Cheers

Kirsteen

[Guest tirisa]

Hi Kirsteen,

 

Again, thanks for this NOMS info. I do hope that they succeed in finding and accepting applicants who truly want to work in rural and remote communities.

 

One question popped into my head as I read your summary... you mention that the first "two years will be focused on case-based rather than problem-based modules". Could you explain what the difference is between case based and problem based?? I thought they were similar, since PBL generally begins with the description of a person, or case, with a problem. And case studies also imply some type of problem to solve. However, I may be on the wrong track in my understanding. Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers,

Tirisa

[Guest Elaine I]

Hi Kirsteen,

 

Thanks for the information! What is an MMI approach to interviewing?

 

Elaine

[Guest mydream88]

Multiple, mini interviews. check the mac postings for further details. at mac interviews this year, there will be 8-10 interview stations. Students may be asked to read an ethical question, enter a room with interviewers, and answer the question. or, the station may consist of a 'patient' (actor) and the interviewee is to react to a scenario.

 

hope this helps,

mydream88

[Guest Raven526]

It's helpful since I will be applying to NOMS. Most of the info you put out wasn't from their website. I was just curious where you found it in order to better prepare myself during the application process.

 

Thanks

 

Raven

[Guest UofT Student]

Hey Raven,

 

As Kirsteen posted in her subject title, she got the information from the HBSU Medical School Symposium, which is an annual event (usually every February) run by the Human Biology Students' Union at UofT.

 

For future reference, here is a link to the HBSU's website: hbsu.sa.utoronto.ca .