uOttawa Faculty of Medicine’s PGME program to launch Northern Indigenous stream with one residency spot for training in Ottawa, Northern Ontario and Nunavut

The uOttawa Faculty of Medicine’s Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) program is expanding one of its pediatric residency entry spots to encompass a shared training experience between Ottawa, Northern Ontario and Canada’s north in Nunavut with the aim to build capacity for health needs in remote northern communities.

Specifically, this PGY1 entry spot historically based out of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa will now also encompass pediatric training at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) in Thunder Bay and Sudbury, and at Qikiqtani General Hospital in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

“What makes this spot unique is that it is much more time spent in Canada’s northern communities,” said Dr. Hilary Writer, Program Director of Pediatrics at uOttawa and CHEO. “The curriculum is specifically designed to spend more time in Canada’s north and address the health needs of children in those communities.”

Along with Dr. Writer’s colleagues Dr. Tara Baron, Program Director of Pediatrics at NOSM, and Dr. Amber Miners, Site Director and Chief of Pediatrics at Qikiqtani General Hospital in Nunavut, this new stream will strive to meet the health needs of remote northern communities in Canada.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for residents who are looking for a unique opportunity to learn first-hand the issues facing children living in the far north while still having exposure to all the tertiary level rotations of a traditional training program,” said Dr. Baron. “This resident will learn how to function in resource limited environments which will prepare them to work in any area of pediatrics they should choose.”

“I am very excited to be involved in this unique and innovative program, bringing uOttawa, NOSM, and Nunavut together to train pediatricians to work in the north,” added Dr. Miners.

“This program will expose successful applicants to northern and Indigenous health issues early on, and throughout their training, helping to ‎enrich and broaden their experience, resulting in pediatricians who are optimally trained to work in northern Canada.”