Faculty Member Among Group to Write Book on Northern Ontario School of Medicine

 

 

The following appeared in the Summer issue of the NOSM newsletter Northern Passages 5:3 (Summer 2006): 3. 

 

It started with a dream, was fostered and developed by a few brave souls, and finally took shape in the Fall of 2002 with the official start of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

 

The story that is NOSM may not be on the grand scale of Tolkienor Tolstoy, but it has its share of heroic struggles, epic journeys and human pageantry. This story is now being committed to paper thanks to a fellowship of NOSM leaders, with the chief bearer of this quest being Dr. Geoff Tesson.

 

As the former Executive Director of Health Initiatives at Laurentian University, Tesson was involved in the early days of the School. He is working with fellow lead authors Drs. Geoff Hudson, Roger Strasser and Dan Hunt. Together they are mapping out a book that will capture the excitement and the detail that went into creating Canada's newest medical school.

 

"There really is a lot of interest and excitement about NOSM, both here in Canada and around the world," says Tesson. "Northerners built this School and they are particularly interested in the story. We hope to write something which will be of interest to both the academic world, as well as the lay reader, especially people in the North."

 

The writing team includes the four principal authors, as well as a number of people from NOSM's short past; people like Drs. Jill Konkin, Arnie Aberman, Ray Pong, Joel Lanphear and John Mulloy to name a few. Together they will trace the historic line that began decades ago, and culminated with the opening of NOSM early in the 21st century.

 

At their first workshop session in early June the team came up with a number of broad themes and topics. These run the gamut from politics and social accountability to admissions, curriculum and basic governance. "It was a lot of fun just talking about the big themes," says Tesson. "Sometimes we get caught up in the details, but big ideas are what created this School. Through this book we hope to share some of the thrill."