"While attention in recent years has focused on the expansion of the MD undergraduate program at UBC, similar expansion of postgraduate (residency) programs (PGYs) has also taken place. The less obvious postgrad expansion is closely coordinated with undergraduate expansion, although the approach and schedule have been different.
With the medical school graduating class increasing from 128 to 200 students per year, at least 200 first-year residency positions are needed in 2008 to match the size of the graduating class.
With expansion and distribution of the undergraduate program, more residents are needed in major specialty programs at distributed sites to support clerkship education. The Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME), which accredits medical schools in Canada and the United States, stipulates that "Medical students should learn in clinical environments where graduate and continuing medical education programs are present" ( IS-12A).
This is not only an accreditation requirement but a practical necessity for optimal education of medical students and residents. The students in the first expanded medical class were scheduled to begin their clerkship in September 2006, so postgraduate programs needed increased resident numbers in 2004 to be ready for these students.
"Expansion of postgraduate medical education" British Columbia Medical Journal (BCMJ) 2008;50(7):384-7.http://www.bcmj.org/expansion-postgraduate-medical-education
"While attention in recent years has focused on the expansion of the MD undergraduate program at UBC, similar expansion of postgraduate (residency) programs (PGYs) has also taken place. The less obvious postgrad expansion is closely coordinated with undergraduate expansion, although the approach and schedule have been different.
With the medical school graduating class increasing from 128 to 200 students per year, at least 200 first-year residency positions are needed in 2008 to match the size of the graduating class.
With expansion and distribution of the undergraduate program, more residents are needed in major specialty programs at distributed sites to support clerkship education. The Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME), which accredits medical schools in Canada and the United States, stipulates that "Medical students should learn in clinical environments where graduate and continuing medical education programs are present" ( IS-12A).
This is not only an accreditation requirement but a practical necessity for optimal education of medical students and residents. The students in the first expanded medical class were scheduled to begin their clerkship in September 2006, so postgraduate programs needed increased resident numbers in 2004 to be ready for these students.