For Immediate Release

Medical Society weighs in on residency program

Stratford, PE, Wednesday, May 9, 2007 - The Medical Society of PEI (MSPEI) believes that the establishment of any further formal ongoing physician residency training initiative will require that first physician resource issues within the province be stabilized. The teaching of residents is important work and requires that physicians have dedicated sufficient time for the teaching of residents.

“In our current physician workforce environment, it is difficult to contemplate setting out dedicated time for physician teachers to teach, on a regular basis, without compromising clinical patient care time,” noted Medical Society President, Dr. Scott Cameron. He added that proposed initiatives to recruit and retain more physicians in PEI would have the additive benefits of meeting patient care needs in the province as well as creating a clinical environment conducive to teaching.

MSPEI affirms there is not at this time any one best model for the training of medical residents in PEI. A co-coordinated approach, offering rotations on a regular basis to established programs in the region with a central one stop scheduling approach within the province may best serve the needs of medical schools and residents. The offering of as wide exposure as possible to medical residents of multiple programs may best serve the objective of long term recruiting to meet Island needs.

In the spring of 2006, The Medical Society’s Board of Directors discussed and assessed the issue of a stand-alone residency program for PEI. At that time and currently, residents from Dalhousie’s Northumberland teaching unit receive core residency rotations in PEI. In addition, other students from other medical residency programs can request and are offered elective rotations on PEI. The outcome of that meeting was a motion that stated the Medical Society support, in principle, an appropriately timed, funded and staffed family residency program for PEI as part of a comprehensive long-term physician recruitment program for PEI.