Canada's rural-medicine crisis is not unique to this country, and Dr. Roger Strasser says the solution isn't either. His answer? Build it, and they will come.
In this case, “it” is the new medical school that is supposed to open in Sudbury, Ont., in 2004, and “they” are the medical students and teachers who are supposed to start solving Canada's shortage of rural MDs. Strasser, an Australian, was named founding dean of Canada's 17th medical school in April.
“This is the best possible solution to help solve Ontario's and Canada's rural and remote workforce problems,” he says. “It is a long-term investment. The payoff [will come in] 10 to 15 years — and it isn't just going to be in the physicians who graduate and then stay. We've shown this in Australia … and it will work here.”
Critics have challenged the need for a new school (see CMAJ 2002;166 [4]: 488), but Strasser heard the same arguments when — as Australia's first professor of rural health — he helped establish the School of Rural Health at Monash University 10 years ago. “I've had to confront and deal with those sorts of attitudes … so I haven't been surprised to find them in Ontario as well. [But] giving medical students' positive clinical experiences in rural settings at the undergrad level translates into improved numbers returning to rural practice. The evidence is clear on that.” — Michael OReilly, Marathon, Ont.