Tell me about your NOSM placements...

[8th.note]

Good day all!

 

I was wondering if a current student on NOSM could describe their placement experiences. What was the regular day like? Were there opportunities to take part in cultural and/or traditional activities? Are you able to get enough time to explore the natural surroundings? How many students/profs/patients/professionals do you interact with while on placement?

 

I'm asking a bunch of questions cause I personally don't know any NOSM students (other than the folks on this site). I will be attending the admissions info session that takes place in a month, and I have been reading about the school's learning environment and application process. (By the way, why can't I open an OMSAS 2014 account, yet?) My plan is to apply this year, so any interesting/helpful/funny/frustrating/amazing stories about the student's experience in NOSM are welcomed.

 

Thanks everyone and good luck to those waiting for May 14th to roll around.

 

Take care ♪

[Hockeynut]

Good day all!

 

I was wondering if a current student on NOSM could describe their placement experiences. What was the regular day like? Were there opportunities to take part in cultural and/or traditional activities? Are you able to get enough time to explore the natural surroundings? How many students/profs/patients/professionals do you interact with while on placement?

 

I'm asking a bunch of questions cause I personally don't know any NOSM students (other than the folks on this site). I will be attending the admissions info session that takes place in a month, and I have been reading about the school's learning environment and application process. (By the way, why can't I open an OMSAS 2014 account, yet?) My plan is to apply this year, so any interesting/helpful/funny/frustrating/amazing stories about the student's experience in NOSM are welcomed.

 

Thanks everyone and good luck to those waiting for May 14th to roll around.

 

Take care ♪

 

 

You can't make an OMSAS accoun until early/mid July.

I live in one of the communities that NOSM students can do their placements, i know a few and they seem to get to experience a fair bit. Although that's only from seeing them around town.

[Real Beef]

I can only comment on the first year 106 Aboriginal placement. See my comments within the text ...

 

Good day all!

 

I was wondering if a current student on NOSM could describe their placement experiences. What was the regular day like?

 

We were in a decentralized health center so we travelled everyday. We would meet at the main office then meet with our LCC (preceptor) get our schedule for the day. Today we spent the morning with an Aboriginal nurse going on home visits and doing wound care ... seeing very disgusting wounds. Saw about 6 people ... a quadraplic, paraplegic with a tunneling wound on his coccyx, and a few other rotting wounds. For lunch we met at an elders center for an elders social, grabbed some lunch, spoke with some elders and then headed home. The day before we spent the morning in teleconconferenced class and the afternoon attended a clinic with a nurse in one of the small communities again commuting there. So everydday is different.

 

Were there opportunities to take part in cultural and/or traditional activities?

 

Yes. This is of course based on whether the community you end up in practices in traditional/cultural practices. Some communities have strong catholic/christian influences and very little cultural revitalization, while others have a larger secular population. But in our placement we have had an opportunity to be a part of a healing circle, will be visiting a traditional healers and be a part of some ceremonies.

 

Are you able to get enough time to explore the natural surroundings?

 

Yes. Weekends, evenings and some placements build this into your placement. We have been driving around Manitoulin so we haev had ample time to check things out and have toured all the way up to Meldrum Bay and up to Wiky.

 

How many students/profs/patients/professionals do you interact with while on placement? Lots ... from community members, elders, paraprofessionals to professionals. Many of my classmates have met with police, the chief and non-health sector professionals, as well as traditional health/cultural people. Its quite varied.

 

I'm asking a bunch of questions cause I personally don't know any NOSM students (other than the folks on this site). I will be attending the admissions info session that takes place in a month, and I have been reading about the school's learning environment and application process. (By the way, why can't I open an OMSAS 2014 account, yet?) My plan is to apply this year, so any interesting/helpful/funny/frustrating/amazing stories about the student's experience in NOSM are welcomed.

 

Thanks everyone and good luck to those waiting for May 14th to roll around.

 

Take care ♪

[8th.note]

Thanks Real Beef. I have a couple more questions, if you don't mind.

 

Do you pay for your accommodations and food, or is that included in the tuition? Where do you usually stay overnight?

 

♪

[NWOsw]

I hope this can answer some of your questions about placements at NOSM.

 

FIRST YEAR

You will have 1x 1month long cultural/Aboriginal community placement. Experiences vary greatly based on where you end up going. Some communities are 100% cultural, others offer a balance of cultural and clinical time. Also keep in mind that Aboriginal communities are not homogeneous, they are all very different from one another and your experiences will reflect that. Therefore some communities will focus on "traditional" events, ceremonies and practices; while others will not. Some will be well organized as far as your day to day schedule and other communities will have nothing planned for you (you need to be proactive and make your own). Generally speaking, the classes seem to have quite positive experiences during this time away. You still have classes while away - these occur via teleconference and pre-recorded lectures. Most people found they had sufficient time to study while away.

 

SECOND YEAR

You will have 2x 1 month long rural clinical placements. Again, each community runs these placements VERY different from the other, so generalizations are difficult to make. Clinical placements are family medicine based, although depending on your site you will get other experiences based on what is available. For example, many worked several ER shifts, did hospital rounds and spent time in surgery with both anesthesiologists and surgeons (some were already assisting surgeries). What preceptors let you do is highly dependent on the preceptor and the site. That being said, I was able to: take histories, complete physical exams, suture, assist in delivery of a baby, BBM respiration in a code, put in IVs, performed small procedures, and see a variety of surgeries. Again you will be responsible for all classes as normal. From what I heard, most sites had some general structure, but were flexible (ie if you wanted to work an extra ER shift on weekend you often can). Although you are often placed with at least one other student - most (ie >80%) of my time with physicians was 1 on 1.

 

 

Keep in mind you will have the opportunity to rank order your top three choices for each placement of where you would like to go. Most times, for most students this works out well. However, inevitably, there will always be a couple who end up with some random placement.

[NWOsw]

Thanks Real Beef. I have a couple more questions, if you don't mind.

 

Do you pay for your accommodations and food, or is that included in the tuition? Where do you usually stay overnight?

 

♪

 

 

All accommodation and travel costs during placements in first and second year are covered. Food costs are not (they are your own responsibility) - although if you are placed in a very rural and northern community they do provide a food subsidy to help cover the crazy costs of most food items up there.

 

 

In first year - most people are billeted with families from the communities. Although some people were placed in apartments, houses, or in motels.

 

In second year - most people seemed to be in a house or apartment with their classmates. There were some in appropriate cabins, basement units in the hospital, motels and we had a billet as well.