Distributed Medical Education (DME)
Throughout the 2008/2009 academic year our VP Education undertook a student-centred review of Distributed Medical Education in Canada. With the majority of Canada's 17 medical schools now employing DME in some format and more and more CFMS members experiencing their education in distributed sites, the need to examine this phenomenon from a student perspective and make student-oriented recommendations was growing. Focus groups and a student survey were conducted this past year and preliminary findings were presented at the Canadian Conference on Medical Education in Edmonton in May, 2009. The findings touched on such areas as the equitability of academic experiences in alternate sites, housing and transportation support, replacing traditional on-campus supports, isolation and social inclusion, the impact on personal finances, and the impact on location and specialty of future practice. A report and policy statement are forthcoming.
Electives Application Standardization Initiative (EASI)
By popular demand, the CFMS is collaborating with the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada to bring harmony and simplicity to Canada's complex system of visiting student electives. The average medical student chooses to undertake 3 electives at medical schools other than his or her own in order to explore career interests, encounter different patient populations, and explore areas for post-graduate education or practice. Tradtionally this process has been unduly difficult with each school requiring different application forms, different immunization standards, and employing different timelines and deadlines for applications. Busy senior medical students are then faced with a stack of paperwork, multiple physician appointments, and extra headaches at a time when clinical duties and post-graduate applications are intense enough.
The CFMS has created a series of evidence-based recommendations pertaining to visiting student electives which can be viewed here. They include a central web-based electronic application portal for all schools, standardized timelines for application, and standardized immunization requirements that are completed upon admission to medical school.
As this project becomes a reality, for your convenience the websites for visiting student electives at each CFMS member school are listed here:
University of British Columbia
University of Alberta
University of Calgary
University of Saskatchewan
University of Manitoba
Northern Ontario School of Medicine
University of Western Ontario
McMaster University
University of Toronto
Queen's University
University of Ottawa
McGill University
Dalhousie University
Memorial University of Newfoundland
|
