Medical education in Canada
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IntroductionSee also Electronic patient record, Health libraries and Medical informatics Medical education in Canada is offered at seventeen university-based medical schools (across eight provinces, but no territories), fourteen of which provide instruction in English and three in French. Medical schools in Canada receive most of their financial support from governments, and tuition fees. Unlike other countries, both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education is the responsibility of medical faculties at Canadian universities. Much continuing medical education is provided by medical schools making medical education part of an educational continuum. Alberta has two medical schools, Quebec has four and Ontario has six; British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland all have one each. New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island fund both undergraduate and postgraduate positions at medical schools in neighbouring provinces. Schools range in size from fifty-six at Memorial University to more than two-hundred students at the University of British Columbia and University of Toronto. Problem-based learningProblem-based learning (PBL) is an educational format centred around clinically-based problems. PBL encourages independent learning and gives students practice in finding answers and defining gaps in their own knowledge. PBL encourages a deeper understanding of the material rather than superficial or rote memory work. Based on an innovative program introduced by McMaster University in the 1980s, this learning style has been incorporated into curriculum in medical schools around the world. Many schools in the United States and Canada, have introduced PBL into curricula, and there is evidence that students learn at least as well using a problem-based learning format as they do in a conventional curriculum. The small group setting used in PBL encourages an inquisitive and detailed look at all issues, concepts and principles contained within the problem. The time spent outside of the group setting facilitates the development of skills such as literature retrieval, critical appraisal of available information and the seeking of opinions of peers and specialists. PBL encourages students to become more involved in, and responsible for, their own learning, and most students and faculty report that this is a highly enjoyable way to learn and teach. Medical informaticsThe move to PBL has given health librarians new opportunities to participate in curriculum planning and to contribute to student learning. A major opportunity for educators who introduce medical informatics into PBL is to get involved in MI programming. As health librarians support the information needs of medical programs, they spend a considerable amount of time helping students learn and manage biomedical information. Using computer technologies, they can take active roles in teaching information literacy, retrieval and management skills. MI in PBL is an important component of recent educational reform and poses special instructional and collection challenges for health librarians. Clerkships and residenciesDuring the final year of medical clerkship, students enter the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) (also known as the Match); and rank their specialties and hospital preferences, which determine their residency placements. Family medicine (also, general practice), is a two-year residency program that is also matched through the CaRMS service. In fourth year, medical students complete the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) exams to be licensed for practice in Canada. Students are awarded an M.D. degree (an undergraduate not graduate degree) and register with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Thereafter, students commence further training as determined by the CaRMS match. See also
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