Finally, Somebody Gets It

Doctor shortage? Long wait-times for specialists? You can propose all the new funding possibilities that you want. You can propose public-private partnerships until the veterinarians come home with the cows.

Here's a marvel idea... What about training MORE doctors? Maybe that would alleviate, the er, doctor shortage and some wait-times. Granted, some wait times have nothing to do with a lack of doctors... But I can assure you that the only time in my life that I had to see a specialist, I had to wait too long because there simply were not enough of them.

The reverse side is this: Thousands of highly qualified applicants to medical schools are getting turned down every year because the competition is so fierce and the spaces are very limited. This fuels a race to the top for the medical profession, but handicaps qualified applicants not in the top 4% and the public, who needs more doctors.

Finally, the G of Ontario is leading the way and creating more spaces for doctors. Four new campuses across Ontario, including one in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. Virtually all medical schools in Ontario are seeing space increases, to the tune of 23% overall. This is on top of the new spaces created at the new medical campus in Northern Ontario last year.

The University of Waterloo is rightfully giddy at the new prospects of having a McMaster satellite medical campus on its turf. Waterloo Region is quickly becoming a brain-bank with all its new education-based growth. For a detailed article on the new med school spaces in Waterloo and elsewhere, trust nothing but the UW alumni newsletter: Medical Schools Article.