Surgical resident says NOSM is a leader in clinical education innovation
“Nobody enters their third year at NOSM having never seen a patient. By that time, we’ve interacted with multidisciplinary teams of people in healthcare. A lot of other medical students don’t gain that valuable level of interaction early, they don’t have these higher comfort levels and tangible medical skills.”
Dr. Logan McGinn
Dr. Logan McGinn, NOSM alumna (MD 2015), says a key strength of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine is hands-on clinical opportunities.
“I can say—without a doubt—that NOSM is one of the strongest medical schools in the country. As medical students, we start off learning from multidisciplinary teams in clinics and we go on placements early. We quickly start seeing standardized patients and learning about the health-care environment,” says Dr. McGinn, currently a fourth-year resident in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and MBA graduate of Ivey Business School at Western University.
“If you want to have opportunities in surgery, NOSM is an exceptional place to train. The School offers deliberate practice opportunities and that’s how it sets itself apart from other medical schools,” says Dr. McGinn. “You gain more knowledge, skills, and chances to make decisions in rural settings. I also see this in MDs from rural medical schools like Prince George campus at the University of British Columbia and from the University of Saskatchewan. The smaller medical programs have more of a world focus and wider scope of practice. The students gain more competency.”
For Dr. McGinn, she says her NOSM education helped set her apart early as a surgical resident. She felt confident in her abilities based largely on the clinical skills the School’s faculty in rural placements had provided. “In Northern Ontario, some of the smaller communities don’t have resident doctors, and physicians and the community appreciate that you are there to offer care and to learn. Faculty appreciate you, are dedicated to teaching you and there is no hierarchy of residents who come before you,” she says.
For prospective medical students, Dr. McGinn says NOSM should be among their top choices of school’s to apply and accept an offer from. She attributes her ability to specialize in medicine to the fundamental experiences and opportunities she gained early on.
“I just adored my time at NOSM. The School is a huge part of the success that I have today because it made me an extremely competitive candidate for my surgical specialty. I was able to stand out immediately simply because I had more practical experience,” Dr. McGinn says.