MD/PhD Training in Canada: Results from a national trainee and program director review

Jones, Andrea A.; Ng, Enoch; Deguise, Marc-Olivier; Mak, Lauren E.; Ouyang, Ben; Sivapragasam, M; MacNairn, Ian Adam Smith; Nath, Siddharth; Benesch, Matthew G.K.; Forrest, Laura; Wang, Xin

doi:10.25011/cim.v39i4.27092

Cited by 15 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 13 publications

(15 reference statements)

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“…The training of physician-scientists in both research and clinical medicine affords them the unique position of serving as a bridge between these disciplines [ 8 , 9 ]. In Canada, MD/PhD programs function as a prominent, structured path for graduating physician-scientists and alumni of these programs are the focus of this study [ 4 , 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…MD/PhD programs also represent a substantial investment of resources on behalf of both the university (11 of 16 current Canadian MD/PhD programs guarantee at least $20,000 in Canadian Dollars (CAD) in yearly research stipends and several institutions further subsidize over $10,000 CAD of the MD portion of MD/PhD tuition per year) and to the local and federal funding bodies that support MD/PhD students across Canada [ 4 ]. Furthermore, MD/PhD trainees also make considerable financial and time commitments to their training [ 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cross-sectional-derived determinants of satisfaction with physician-scientist training among Canadian MD/PhD graduates

et al. 2017

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Although MD/PhD programs require considerable commitment on behalf of students and learning institutions, they serve as an integral means of training future physician-scientists; individuals who engage in translational medicine. As attrition from these programs has longstanding effects on the community of translational medicine and comes at substantial cost to MD/PhD programs, we aimed to identify determinants that were associated with satisfaction among MD/PhD graduates, a feature that might inform on limiting program attrition. Anonymized data from a national survey of 139 Canadian MD/PhD alumni was analyzed. Factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the reliability of three questions that measured satisfaction and logistic regression was used to assess the association of outcomes with 17 independent determinants. Eighty-one percent of graduates were satisfied with MD/PhD training. Factor analysis confirmed the reliability of the questions measuring satisfaction. Determinants of self-reported satisfaction with physician-scientist training included co-authorship of more than six manuscripts during MD/PhD training. Additionally, protected research time at the place of current appointment was strongly associated with agreement that MD/PhD training had helped career progression. Demographic variables were not associated with any satisfaction indicator. Taken together, the majority of Canadian MD/PhD graduates are satisfied with their physician-scientist training. Project collaboration leading to co-authorships and protected research time were strongly associated with training satisfaction among graduates. If the value of collaboration can be realized among current and future physician-scientist trainees who are dissatisfied with their training, this might ultimately reduce program attrition.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-sectional-derived determinants of satisfaction with physician-scientist training among Canadian MD/PhD graduates

et al. 2017

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“…This study by Yoon et al also suggested that the perceived availability of mentorship was a key component of program satisfaction [4]. According to a survey of trainees and directors of Canadian MD/PhD programs, eight of 13 programs did not offer formal mentorship opportunities [5]. Despite this lack of institutional mentorship programs, 98% of trainees felt that adequate mentoring was "extremely important" or "important" to their success in a clinician investigator program [4].…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Despite this lack of institutional mentorship programs, 98% of trainees felt that adequate mentoring was "extremely important" or "important" to their success in a clinician investigator program [4]. Trainees ranked their top mentorship needs as career planning and development, transitions in training, and synergizing clinical and research interests [5].…”

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confidence: 99%

Piloting a long distance clinician scientist trainee mentorship match in Canada

Mirali

Fan

Cook

et al. 2020

CIM

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Clinician scientists are physicians who are uniquely trained to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and clinical practice. However, the challenges of integrating research and medicine are often not directly addressed in the clinician scientist training programs. Furthermore, the demanding training path is financially and personally daunting. Previous studies have shown that MD/PhD trainees value the advice and expertise of senior mentors in navigating their academic career path. Despite this demand for mentors, there is a lack of formal mentorship initiatives at the institutional level across Canada. Recently, MD/PhD trainees have attempted to address this issue by implementing a nationwide mentorship match, with the aim of making mentorship more accessible to trainees across Canada.

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“…As an example, existing evidence suggests that effective mentorship is a crucial factor for clinician-scientist trainee success, but not all MD-PhD programs in Canada have mentorship opportunities [29,30]. A national body will be able to build on this evidence and ensure future investments in training creates opportunities for success for all trainees.…”

Section: Recommendations On Clinician-scientist Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Training the next generation of Canadian Clinician-Scientists: charting a path to success

Yin

Steadman

Apramian

et al. 2017

CIM

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Clinician-scientists are physicians with training in both clinical medicine and research that enables them to occupy a unique niche as specialists in basic and translational biomedical research. While there is widespread acknowledgement of the importance of clinician-scientists in today's landscape of evidence-based medical practice, training of clinician-scientists in Canada has been on the decline, with fewer opportunities to obtain funding. With the increasing length of training and lower financial compensation, fewer medical graduates are choosing to pursue such a career. MD-PhD programs, in which trainees receive both medical and research training, have the potential to be an important tool in training the next generation of clinician-scientists; however, MD-PhD trainees in Canada face barriers that include an increase in medical school tuition and a decrease in the amount of financial support. We examined the available data on MD-PhD training in Canada and identified a lack of oversight, a lack of funding and poor mentorship as barriers experienced by MD-PhD trainees. Specific recommendations are provided to begin the process of addressing these challenges, starting with the establishment of an overseeing national body that would track long-term outcome data for MD-PhD trainees. This national body could then function to implement best practices from individual programs across the country and to provide further mentorship and support for early-career physician-scientists. MD-PhD programs have the potential to address Canada's growing shortage of clinician-scientists, and strengthening MD-PhD programs will help to effect positive change. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45

show abstract

MD/PhD Training in Canada: Results from a national trainee and program director review

Cited by 15 publications

References 13 publications

Cross-sectional-derived determinants of satisfaction with physician-scientist training among Canadian MD/PhD graduates

Cross-sectional-derived determinants of satisfaction with physician-scientist training among Canadian MD/PhD graduates

Piloting a long distance clinician scientist trainee mentorship match in Canada

Training the next generation of Canadian Clinician-Scientists: charting a path to success

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