Social and Cultural Wellness

Social wellness involves connecting with others and maintaining good and healthy relationships. Surrounding yourself with people that accept you for who you are, and maintaining solid relationships will go a long way to improve your overall wellness. As well, having a strong social support network to rely on can improve your wellness during rough patches in other areas of your life.

Cultural wellness involves accepting and celebrating the different cultures in your community and worldwide. It involves treating everyone as your equal, with respect, no matter their race or ethnicity. Cultural wellness is about building positive relationships with people of different backgrounds, genders, ages and lifestyles.

Connecting to your own cultural background, and maintaining your relationship with the traditions of your family and/or community can be an important aspect of cultural wellness. This might be especially important when you are separated by distance, or when your culture is not part of the dominant culture of the land you live on.

Resources

I Need Help

Addressing Learner Mistreatment

Learner Support

NOSM U Well App

Resident Wellness Program

Student Assistance Program (SAP)

Need Time Off?

Health & Wellness Guide

Being Active at Home

Address relationship challenges
If you are having an issue in any of your relationships, Homewood Health has counselling and coaching opportunities to help you work through them.

Addressing learner mistreatment
If you have been mistreated, do not hesitate to report it. Visit the webpage on Learner Mistreatment to learn more.

Indigenous resources
Indigenous Affairs has put together a list of resources to learn about Indigenous culture and history.

You can also subscribe to the Indigenous Affairs Calendar to keep up to date on opportunities to get involved and learn more about Indigenous cultures, such as the Knowledge Sharing Circles, which are open to all NOSM University learners and community members.

Indigenous medical learners are always welcome to use the Indigenous Cultural Room on either campus to maintain their wellbeing.

For information on the Friendship Centres in Sudbury and Thunder Bay, please see their respective webpages:

N’Swakamok Native Friendship Centre - Sudbury

Thunder Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre - Thunder Bay

To find Friendship Centres in another location, you can check out the Friendship Centre directory.

Francophone resources
Francophone Affairs has put together a list of resources for French-speaking learners at NOSM University.

You can also visit the webpage on the Francophone Reference Group to learn about the FRG and their efforts to keep NOSM University connected to the Franco-Ontarians of the North.

Take part in social accountability
Learn more about NOSM University’s Social Accountability Mandate and the Okanagan Charter, and consider what these values mean to you and how to integrate them into your daily life and work practices.

Peer Support Program
NOSM University's Peer Support Program offers the chance to connect with a peer. If you are facing any challenges, whether social or not, you can reach out to your Peer Supporters by completing this Peer Support Qualtrics form.

NOSM University Student Council connections
Feel free to reach out any time to any of your Wellness Year Reps or members of the Learner Wellness Committee Chair.

You can also join a variety of Interest Groups through the NOSM University Student Council to explore different medical specialties and special topics in healthcare.

Resident wellness program
Make sure to familiarize yourself with what is available through the Resident Wellness program, in addition to support provided by Learner Support Services and your LAO. Your Resident Wellness supports can be accessed by contacting:

Dr. Sean Sullivan
Assistant Dean, Resident Affairs
residentwellness@nosm.ca

IMG Support

International Medical Graduates are encouraged to visit NOSM U IMG Support to learn more about the resources available to them at NOSM University and in our various northern communities.

Nurture your relationships
Take the time to talk and build trust with someone you care about. Be intentional about making plans with friends, and reschedule when something comes up.

Try new things
Be open to meeting new people and trying new experiences. It can be stressful to socialize with strangers when it does not come naturally, but you never know who you might connect with when you put yourself out there.

Join a group or club in the wider community, or attend events at the local library. This will allow you to meet new people with the same interests as you, who may eventually become your friends.

Establish and maintain boundaries
Learn to distance yourself from or maintain boundaries with people who are not good for you. It is important to be surrounded by people who appreciate you for you, and if you are required to spend time around people who you have a challenging relationship with (for instance, a family member who, during the holidays, engages you in debate on subjects you know neither of you agree on), make a plan to care for yourself and manage any negative emotions or experiences that might come from that. When possible, lean on your support system and prioritize your own wellness, even if it means having to leave an event or situation early.

If you are facing a challenging or harmful relationship, reach out to somebody, whether it be a friend or a Homewood Health counsellor. Visit the ontario.ca webpage on domestic violence to learn more about the signs of domestic violence, and resources available to you.

Learn about the land
Learn more about the land you are on through Native Land. Connecting with the local community and physical space you occupy can be enriching not only culturally, but spiritually, and physically as well.