Update from Dean of Medicine on New Seats

[MSc-microbiology]

For those associated with Dalhousie that haven't received this already and for those that haven't read this in the Accepted/Rejected/Waitlist sticky I am reposting it here. It was an email I received May 20, 2008.

 

"MEMORANDUM

Date: May 20, 2008

From: Dr. Harold Cook, Dean, Faculty of Medicine

To: Faculty, staff, students and residents

Subject: Major announcements and enrolment expansion of medical school

 

Two recent announcements - one by the Province of Nova Scotia and the

other by the Province of New Brunswick - will affect a major increase in

enrolment at our medical school.

 

The announcement by the Nova Scotia government that it plans to increase

enrolment of Nova Scotia students at our medical school is welcome news.

We have had ongoing talks with government over the past several years

about generally increasing enrolment, although this focus on 10

additional seats has been a recent development of the past few days

only.

 

The Province wants to add 10 new undergraduate seats at Dalhousie Medical

School, to be reserved for Nova Scotians only. In the announcement, the

government proposed that initially, five of the additional students would

be admitted in September 2009, with another five in September 2010

although the exact configuration is flexible and negotiable. As part of

the announcement, the Province indicated a commitment to at least

$400,000 towards covering the full cost of educating the additional

students starting this September. It is our understanding that some form

of a return of service arrangement is an expected component of this plan.

To quote the Minister, ''The intent of this program is to increase the

supply of family doctors in Nova Scotia.''

 

The exact configuration and arrangements with regard to the additional

students is negotiable, and we are involved in ongoing discussions with

faculty, staff and government about what might be optimal and feasible. I

will provide you with further details as these discussions move forward

and plans become more concrete.

 

With the additional seats, enrolment at our medical school would grow

from the current 90 seats to100 - and seats for Nova Scotia students

would increase from 55 to 65 in the immediate term.

 

We are excited about this opportunity and are supportive of the Nova

Scotia government's plan. We are working rapidly to scope out the fiscal

and operational costs and impact of the proposed enrolment increase. For

example, we are looking at our requirements for additional faculty and

support, administrators, as well as space and infrastructure

requirements. We are operating at near capacity within our current

enrolment, and we must ensure that we have adequate resources and

infrastructure to offer the same high standards in our medical education

with additional students in the program. While this plan represents

significant challenges, it is also an exciting opportunity, and we

continue to work closely with the Nova Scotia Department of Health to

finalize the details of how the program will be delivered and

administered.

 

At the same time, we have received equally exciting and welcome news from

New Brunswick where the Premier has announced the government has accepted

the Dalhousie New Brunswick medical education program agreement. All the

work done by the tri-partite committees of Dalhousie University, the

University of New Brunswick and the Province of New Brunswick to arrive

at this juncture was done in close collaboration among the three

partners. We will continue to work collaboratively to make sure that the

infrastructure meets the requirements that we defined, as well as the

requirements of the LCME/CACMS accrediting body for medical schools. The

government of New Brunswick has a responsibility to provide a facility

that meets the requirements outlined, and they are committed to doing

that, probably as ''phased implementation''.

 

Media reports have referred to various temporary spaces being considered

until a permanent facility is available. However, we have not yet

concluded our discussions with our partners regarding the feasibility of

specific options being considered in the short-term. We have provided

the government with detailed infrastructure requirements and the space

must meet those requirements.

 

The New Brunswick-based program will also add to our overall enrolment

increase. As you are aware, the program calls for an increase in the

number of seats available to New Brunswick students, from 20 to 30.

(Currently, these 20 seats for New Brunswick students are at the Halifax-

based campus but once the New Brunswick program starts, the 20 existing

New Brunswick seats plus the 10 new ones will be sited in the New

Brunswick program.)

 

The 10 new seats would bring the total number of first year students to

110 across both campuses once the New Brunswick-based program is up and

running. Furthermore, the intent is to eventually admit 90 students in

the Halifax-based program, which would increase total first year

enrolment to 120 for both programs.

 

Put in context, these proposed changes represent a significant increase

in the number of seats compared to 82, just five years ago. We are

excited about the prospect of additional seats because we have long

recognized that more physicians are needed in our region and across

Canada. Increasing medical school enrolment at Dalhousie is part of the

solution and, in reality, this will bring us to a level of contribution

close to the majority of medical schools across the country.

 

I look forward to apprising you on details of our planning as we prepare

for major changes ahead."

[ScholarsWander]

Good if you're an applicant, but not really a reasonable solution to the doctor shortage. The incentives need to change in addition to increased availability of education.

[BlackJack]

Increasing med school admissions is meaningless without increasing residency spots.

[KMG007]

Increasing med school admissions is meaningless without increasing residency spots.

 

Over the last few years in Ontario they have increased residency spots, they will probably increase those in NS too once those 10 students are getting closer to residency.

[BlackJack]

Over the last few years in Ontario they have increased residency spots, they will probably increase those in NS too once those 10 students are getting closer to residency.

 

In which specialties were those increased spots allocated to?