The Program has an intake of two residents per year, who will be based in Thunder Bay. The educational model of the Program, from its inception, is the competence by design (CBD) model of training.  

NOSM University Urology residents will train in three main centres: Thunder Bay, Greater Sudbury, and the Greater Toronto Area. Each centre has unique features and patient populations that will expose residents to diverse patient populations that span across the province.  Residents will complete the majority of their rotations at the two main teaching sites: Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC), located in Thunder Bay; and Health Sciences North (HSN), located in Sudbury. An inter-institutional agreement with the University of Toronto will provide specific mandatory training rotations to supplement the residents’ exposure to the disciplines that the population in Northern Ontario cannot consistently provide them.  

Northern Ontario, a large landmass with approximately 800 000 residents, has a higher proportion of the population that identify as Indigenous (13%) and Francophone (16%) compared to the overall proportion in the province.  Furthermore, approximately 40% of the population live in rural communities. The opportunity for community and rural experience is a major component of resident training at NOSM University and is one of the aspects which will set this Program apart from others in Canada. 

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA), on the other hand, the largest metropolitan centre in Canada, encompasses a diverse population, including several ethnic and social backgrounds. While there are only a few rotations in Toronto, because of the large population, residents will be exposed to another dynamic learning environment which is unique to a metropolitan setting and learn from physicians that are practicing within the benefits and challenges experienced in a metropolitan centre. 

There are numerous communities located in Northern Ontario that do not have direct access to urological services. The program will help learners understand the needs and strategies to get urological care to these patients, including those in indigenous communities. The Program includes experiences in regional hospitals where residents will go to these smaller communities to perform clinics and urological procedures. To increase residents’ awareness of the community hospital urologic patient population, residents will be given the opportunity to interact further through receiving consultation from peripheral communities during calls and participating in Teleconsultation clinics. 

NOSM University will provide housing for Block placements and the Urology program will reimburse residents for short term housing and transport for residents in those clinical settings.