The new medical school dean advises Ford on family physician supplies

Although he’s not entirely sure why this particular province focusing on the ban on foreign students from studying at medical universitiesgiven their small numbers, the new dean of Northern Ontario’s medical school has some advice for increasing the supply of family records.

Dr. Michael Green took the helm NOSM University On November 1, where he became vice-rector, dean and general director, successor to Dr. Sarita Vermawho is retiring after five years in this position.

Green is the outgoing president College of Family Physicians of Canada and joins the Northern Ontario School of Medicine from Kingston, where he was chair of family medicine at Queen’s University.

On Friday, he was made available to reporters during a virtual interview to mark his first day on the job at NOSM University.

Sudbury.com asked Green what his advice would be to Ontario Premier Doug Ford to increase the number of family physicians in Ontario.

He said he is very pleased with the current development of medical education in Ontario, with the opening of two new medical schools in Ontario (at York University and Toronto Metropolitan University) and more places in medical schools in existing schools.

NOSM University is will expand to 108 places in the medical school curriculum, a complete doubling of seats in the 2005 charter class, and expansion of the graduate program.

Overseeing this expansion is Green’s priority in his new role, as well as developing a new strategic plan for NOSM University.

But “it’s one thing to announce the numbers,” Green said, adding that government funding is needed to provide community support to train all the new doctors going into hospitals and doctor’s offices for clinical internships.

“I would like to see support for creating local teaching units, which we call clinical teaching units,” he said, providing “support for us to allow our community teachers to take more students into the community and provide care.”

Since its founding nearly two decades ago, the northern Ontario medical school has focused on community-based physician training.

But such training isn’t free, Green said, citing the example of a family doctor who may need additional clinical space to accommodate students.

He said GPs need “support in their practice” because even if doctors are trained, they will not stay in the company “if their working conditions are not good”.

Green also recommends “fair compensation” for doctors, “but OMA (Ontario Medical Association) needs to work that out with the province.”

Further expansion of NOSM University beyond its current goals will depend on all of the above factors, he said:

We also asked Green about recent high profile announcements surrounding medical schools, made by the Government of Ontario.

This includes a ban on international students from medical schools starting in fall 2026 and covering tuition for more than 1,000 students who commit to becoming a family doctor in Ontario.

Asked why he thought the province was focusing on barring international students from attending medical schools in Ontario, even though there were only a small number of them, Green replied: “I really don’t know what it is.”

NOSM University there are no foreign studentsas applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents. In fact, 91 percent of the school’s students come from northern Ontario.

“NOSM does not have any international students and there are only 11 in all of Ontario,” Green said.

“Three schools have them. In my understanding, these are so-called additional positions, meaning they do not take away places from Ontarians, but are an addition to what medical school normally offers.

“But we (NOSM University) don’t have them. We are focusing all our energy on training Canadian citizens and permanent residents in northern apprenticeships.”

Green said he is pleased to see the expansion of the Stay and Learn program, which covers tuition and other education costs, including for students who commit to becoming family physicians in Ontario.

He said medical students graduate with as much as $200,000 in debt each. “So if you take that pressure off of them, that’s one more thing that will make it easier for them to agree to family medicine,” Green said.

Over the twenty years of NOSM University’s existence, there has been some success in alleviating the physician shortage in northern Ontario.

If students complete both medical school and residency in Northern Ontario, 90 per cent will remain in the region. Overall, “it’s a little bit less, but still more than half persists in the long term,” Green said.

Although Green comes to NOSM University by way of Kingston, he is no stranger to Northern Ontario, having practiced as a young doctor at the Moose Factory on the James Bay coast from 1995-2003.

He said he has already secured an apartment in Thunder Bay, where one of NOSM University’s campuses is located, and is looking for another one in Sudbury. He will travel back and forth between the two northern cities.

Green said his previous experience in northern Ontario will be extremely helpful because he has already built relationships with other health care professionals in the area.

“Many of the doctors I have worked with over the years, like me, have aged out and moved on and now work all over northern Ontario,” he said. “That’s why I’m looking forward to reconnecting with them.”

-With files from the Canadian Press

Heidi Ulrichsen is deputy editor of Sudbury.com. He is also involved in education and the artistic scene.