Medical training: Clarifications from McGill

Following certain media reports today, McGill University wishes to make some clarifications. More than 90 per cent of students admitted to the medicine program at McGill are from Quebec. Moreover, 75 per cent of our medical residents* remain in Quebec after their studies.

“We are dedicated to serving the population of Quebec and we will continue to work in close collaboration with the Quebec government to encourage doctors trained in Quebec to remain here,” said Dr. David Eidelman, Vice-Principal (Health Affairs) and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. “Our efforts are already bearing fruit, because the number of our students choosing to remain here to do their residence is steadily growing. All of our residency openings were filled this year in all specialties, including family medicine.”

Taking into account medical residents from outside Quebec who join McGill for that stage of their studies, 75 per cent of our residents* remain in Quebec to practice here after their studies.

In addition, McGill’s Faculty of Medicine and its affiliated hospitals represent a major attraction for the recruitment of doctors and researchers from around the world, who enrich Quebec’s pool of medical professionals.

“In the past 10 years, the McGill network has attracted and retained more than 550 doctors and researchers, from here and elsewhere,” Dr. Eidelman added. “Those recruited from outside Quebec represent a net gain in resources, because the costs of their training have been defrayed by other jurisdictions. The contribution of the Faculty of Medicine and its affiliated hospitals to Quebec is indisputable.”

The Réseau Universitaire de Santé McGill offers services across 63 per cent of the territory of Quebec, reaching some 1.8 million people.

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*According to the latest available data, for the 2009 cohort