Press Release
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is pleased to announce all undergraduate medical students in its charter class successfully have matched to Canadian residency programs on their first attempt.
In fact, NOSM was the only Canadian medical school in which all students were matched in the first round.
Each student, in their final year at a Canadian medical school, must apply for residency training to become a fully-trained physician.
Post-graduate residency programs are offered at all Canadian medical schools in various disciplines (for example, family medicine, orthopedics, surgery, anesthesia, pediatrics, etc.) ranging in duration from two-five years, and beyond.
Students apply to the discipline and the medical school of their choice, and then are granted interviews after which both the student and the program they have applied to rank each other for preference through the Canadian Residency Matching Service (CaRMS).
CaRMS then matches students, based on rankings, to post-graduate residency programs across Canada.
March 9 marked the date of the first of two rounds of matches facilitated by CaRMS.
Dr. Maureen Topps, NOSM’s associate dean of post-graduate education, was confident that NOSM undergraduates would do very well in the match, but was thrilled about the remarkable rate of success.
“It is unusual to have all medical students of one medical school match in the first round,” she noted. “It certainly speaks to the quality of education demonstrated by the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s first graduating class.
“This is excellent news both for the school and students of the charter class.”
“The successful first match of our charter class students provides testament to the years of preparation, selection process, and distinct model of medical education that has been established at the school,” echoed Dr. Joel Lanphear, NOSM’s associate dean of undergraduate medical education.
“I would particularly like to acknowledge the dedication of the school’s charter class, and the overall quality that these students have come to represent,” he added. “I congratulate them on their achievement.”
Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM’s founding dean, was delighted to receive the exceptional outcome of the residency match for the school’s first-ever graduating class.
“This is another great milestone for the Northern Ontario School of Medicine,” he enthused. “The results of this year’s CaRMS match very tangibly demonstrates how highly our students are regarded across the country.
“I applaud the tireless efforts of our physicians, faculty, and staff at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine who have worked so hard to contribute to this success, and extend my full congratulations to each and every one of the charter class students on this accomplishment.”
A significant proportion of NOSM’s charter class students will continue their education in Northern Ontario, beginning their residency training in various NOSM post-graduate training programs.
The remainder will represent NOSM across the country in residency programs at other medical schools, in some cases to gain specialized training not available in Northern Ontario.
NOSM also is pleased to have attracted significant numbers of medical students from other institutions to its residency programs—paving the way for more physicians-in-training to gain exposure to northern health issues.
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is a joint initiative of Lakehead and Laurentian universities, with main campuses in Thunder Bay and Sudbury, and multiple teaching and research sites across Northern Ontario.
By educating skilled physicians and undertaking health research suited to community needs, the school will become a cornerstone of community health care in Northern Ontario.
