National Launch - Project Report - The Future of Medical Education in Canada:
A Collective Vision for MD Education

OTTAWA , Jan. 25 /CNW Telbec/ - 2010 marks the hundred-year anniversary of the Flexner Report - a study of medical education in the United States and Canada . Since that time, there have been countless changes in medical practice, Canada's healthcare system and population, and the availability of medical and pedagogical technologies. Yet there has been no comprehensive study of the Canadian system of medical education in 100 years. Until now.

On Thursday, January 28 , the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) will hold a national launch of its report titled The Future of Medical Education in Canada (FMEC): A Collective Vision for MD Education.

The report contains 15 recommendations that form a collective vision; a vision that sets out a truly transformative agenda for change in Canadian medical education that will address many of the challenges facing our healthcare system.

The report includes recommendations pertaining to who is admitted to medical school, where and how they are taught and evaluated, the need to increase the number of generalists in Canada , including family physicians, and the need to train physicians to work as members of inter-professional teams.

The collective vision was unanimously approved by the AFMC Board of Directors, which includes all of Canada's Deans of Medicine and four public members. The recommendations, once implemented, will change the face of medical education in Canada and translate into optimized healthcare delivery and improved health status for all Canadians.

The national launch will be held in the Brooke Claxton Building at 70 Columbine Driveway at Tunney's Pasture in Ottawa (Boardroom, basement level, room 0115C) at 1:00 PM EST . Twenty-one sites from faculties across the country will join the launch via a live video-link.

Media are welcome to attend the launch in Ottawa or any of the other sites across the country. A live-streaming option is available to all media who request access in advance. Contact Irving Gold at [email protected] for the exact URL for the streaming site, or for the locations of the launch sites across the country.

The launch will involve a short video presentation and a 45-minute question and answer session with questions coming from across the nation.

FMEC Task Force Co-Chairs Drs. Nick Busing , James Rourke , and Jay Rosenfield will be available following the event for comment.

Documents:

The project report, including executive summary, will be made available at 8:00 am on January 28, 2010 under embargo until 1:00 pm . To receive a copy, please email Irving Gold at [email protected].

The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) represents the country's 17 faculties of medicine and is the national voice for academic medicine. Our organization was founded in 1943 and functions to support individually and collectively Canada's medical schools through promotion of medical education, research, and clinical care.

For further information: Irving Gold, Phone: [phone] Ext. 236, Mobile: [phone], Email: [email protected], Web: http://www.afmc.ca/fmec/