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CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal logoLink to CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal
. 1993 May 1;148(9):1550–1553.

An American's view of Canadian medical education.

R G Petersdorf 1
PMCID: PMC1491871  PMID: 8477379

Abstract

Undergraduate medical education in Canada and the United States is remarkably similar, except for the fact that Canadian medical schools are supported by their provincial governments. However, the systems diverge sharply at the postgraduate level. In Canada, the number and specialty mix of residents are negotiated by medical schools in response to educational and social needs; in the United States, these factors are largely determined by hospital service needs. The Canadian systems of accreditation, certification and payment for medical education after graduation are much simpler than those of the United States, and the accreditation and certification systems are more objective. In addition, the US system promotes subspecialization and a costly specialty imbalance, whereas Canada's system has achieved an appropriate balance of specialists and generalists. In general, Canadian medical education appears to be simpler, more accountable and more socially responsive.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Martini C. J. Graduate medical education in the changing environment of medicine. JAMA. 1992 Sep 2;268(9):1097–1105. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Whitcomb M. The organization and financing of graduate medical education in Canada. JAMA. 1992 Sep 2;268(9):1106–1109. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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