COMMUNIQUé - College of Medicine - University of Saskatchewan

Creating a provincial campus
Distributed Medical Education moves forward
With the recent $2 million in funding provided by the Ministry
of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration and
the Ministry of Health, the College of Medicine is developing a
plan to expand distributed medical education throughout the
province. Distributed medical education (DME) is an approach
that has medical students study and train in a variety of different
environments, such as smaller rural facilities, as opposed to
studying only at the large tertiary institutions.
Dr. Tom Smith-Windsor, Associate Dean of Rural Programs, thinks
the development will allow medical students to gain a wider
range of experience of medicine as a whole: “Right now we’re
teaching on a somewhat narrow perspective for the disease
process, and not at the beginning or the end of that process
where most physicians work. DME will allow students more
contact with patients throughout the disease, as well as outside
the hospital setting. They’ll also learn about solving medical
issues within the patient’s social and economic environment.”
Other medical programs in Canada are already reaping the
benefits of distributed medical programs, and DME could help
solve some of Saskatchewan’s specific challenges, such as a
lack of family physicians, especially in rural areas. Dr. Smith-
Windsor points out that “the literature on distributed medical
education overwhelmingly shows that where students get the
majority of their clinical experience is where they will establish
practice.” Dr. Anurag Saxena, Assistant Dean of Postgraduate
Medical Education at the U of S, agrees, stating that DME
“has huge potential for Saskatchewan as far as recruiting and
retaining general practitioners.”
As with any program development, there are implementation
challenges. “The training received at these distributed sites
s
Keewatin Yatthé
Prairie
North
Heartland
Cypress
On July 7th, 2010, U of S President MacKinnon and Dean
Albritton, together with Premier Brad Wall and Minister of
Health Don McMorris, welcomed
four new family medicine residents
Athabasca
Prince
Albert
Parkland
Saskatoon
Marnawetan
Churchill
River
Kelsey Trail
Regina
Qu’appelle
Five Hills
Sunrise
Sun Country
to Swift Current. Over the next two
years, these postgraduate medical
education students will be the first
to receive their training outside of
Saskatoon, Regina or Prince Albert.
Establishing the training site in
Swift Current is a significant step
for the College of Medicine as
we continue with the expansion
of our distributed medical
education model.
For the College of Medicine,
developing a distributed model
of education is essential to
meeting our social accountability
mandate and addressing the
reforms in medical education
suggested by the recently
released Future of Medical
Education in Canada project
developed through the
Association of Faculties of
Medicine of Canada.
Specifically, enhancing
our distributed education
model will enable us to
concentrate on three of the
ten recommendations outlined in the FMEC report:
1. ADDRESS INDIVIDUAl AND COMMUNIty NEEDS: The College
of Medicine is mandated to serve the people of Saskatchewan.
For us to achieve this mandate, we must first reach the people of
Saskatchewan. A distributed education model is the vehicle by
which we will achieve greater connectedness to the communities
we seek to serve. This includes both rural and urban populations
and also encompasses meaningful engagement with underserved
communities.
2. Diversify lEARNING CONtexts: This is at the heart of a
distributed model. Students must be exposed to a wide range of
learning contexts in order to become well-rounded physicians.
While training in large, tertiary care facilities is an important
aspect of medical school, it cannot be the only environment
students are exposed to.
3. ValUE GENERAlISM: Recognizing that generalism is
foundational for all physicians, MD education must focus on
broadly generalist content, including comprehensive family
medicine. Moreover, family physicians and other generalists
must be integral participants in all stages of MD education.
The expansion of our rural family medicine residency program
to Swift Current is a positive step towards further developing
our distributed medical education model and it demonstrates
our commitment to serving the people of Saskatchewan.
12 C O M M U N I Q U É College of Medicine • University of Saskatchewan