THUNDER BAY — The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is adding an optional fifth year to the MD program as a backstop for graduates who don't obtain a residency training spot after completing the initial four years of study.
The Lakehead University Senate approved the change last week.
It's a contingency that will be available if a problem many other Canadian medical schools have encountered in recent years begins to show up at NOSM.
For the final stage of their education, medical students must apply through the Canadian Resident Matching Service for positions in the specialty of their choice, such as surgery or family medicine.
A committee ranks the applicants, and the graduates rank the programs, after which an algorithm generates a match.
Over the last decade, the number of available residency spots has not kept pace with the number of medical students, so that by last year more than 120 current and prior-year graduates across the country were still waiting for placement.
Unsuccessful applicants must sit out for at least a year before they can try again.
"They're kind of in limbo," notes Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM's dean.
So far, all NOSM grads have found residencies, including a majority of years in which the entire cohort has been placed in the first round of applications. Strasser said that is a rarity among Canadian schools.
Some medical schools have already added an optional extra year to the course of study, giving their students the opportunity to gain more clinical experience, thereby positioning themselves better for obtaining a residency in the next round of applications.
Even though no NOSM grads to date have remained unmatched, Strasser told Tbnewswatch "We thought it was important to have this option up our sleeve, just in case the situation occurs in the future. It's a possibility for all medical schools."
He added, however, that NOSM graduates, to date, "seem to stand out" and that residency directors across the country are anxious have them complete their training in their programs.
