Article Title

Indigenous Student Matriculation into Medical School: Policy and Progress

Abstract

Access to health care remains suboptimal for Indigenous people in Canada. One contributing factor is the longstanding undersupply of Indigenous physicians. Despite awareness of this issue, underrepresentation in medical schools continues. In 2002, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry (SSMD) policies were modified to enhance access for Indigenous students. This article describes our school’s continuing journey of policy and process revision, formative collaborations, early learner outcomes, and lessons learned towards this goal. In the first 10 years, SSMD matriculated 15 additional Indigenous students via this new stream. All candidates were successful in the undergraduate medical curriculum, licensing examinations, and residency match. The majority were attracted to primary care specialties, training programs affiliated with SSMD, and practices in southern Ontario. While the process and curriculum have revealed their potential, its capacity is not being maximized.

Acknowledgments

This manuscript is submitted in memory of the late Dr. Francis Chan and the late Dr. Dana Winterburn who provided local and national leadership on this issue. The authors also wish to thank Debbie Dolson, Pam Bere, Matt Wannan, Matt Longstaffe, Scott Rumas, as well as past and present members of the Indigenous Subcommittee. We will be known forever by the tracks we leave - Dakota proverb

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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