Undergraduate MD Program Goals The Undergraduate MD Program at McMaster University fosters a cooperative, supportive and respectful environment. The curriculum evolves continuously, responsive to the changing needs of Ontario society, nurturing the development of the following competencies at the time of graduation:. Medical Expert: Students will be able to apply scientific principles from human biology, behaviour and population health to the solution of health problems; they will have the ability to seek out new information and evaluate this information critically. Communicator/Collaborator: Students will demonstrate effective communication skills, sensitive to the needs of patients and cognizant of the roles of other members of the health care team in delivering patient care. Advocate/Resource Manager: Graduating students will be knowledgeable about the determinants of health and be proactive advocates for their individual patients and for healthy public policy within the context of the health care system.
See more of McMaster University MD Student Affairs on Facebook. Create New Account. See more of McMaster University MD Student Affairs on Facebook. Forgot account? Create New Account. Suggest Edits. 1280 Main St. Hamilton, Ontario. Get Directions.
Scholar/Learner: Students will be self-directed lifelong learners, whose exposure at McMaster to role models in research and clinical care will encourage them to apply innovative approaches to solving health care problems. Self-Reflective Practitioner: Graduating students will be expected to have developed an awareness of the influence of their attitudes, values and assumptions, how these affect their practice of medicine and the impact of the practice of medicine on themselves as individuals.
The COMPASS Curriculum The COMPASS curriculum focuses on the mastery of fundamental concepts in medicine. It continues the McMaster tradition of problem-based learning but incorporates research findings from cognitive psychology. The curriculum is structured on the integration of critical concepts and each step of the curriculum is based on the growth of important concepts learned previously.
Tutorial problems are selected to illustrate these concepts in a clinical setting and when students are exploring tutorial problems, which remain the focus of learning, they will be directed towards asking questions of “what”, “why” and “how” as much as “what is the diagnosis?”. The Pre-Clerkship curriculum is divided into five Medical Foundations as shown in the curriculum outline. A novel feature of the curriculum is a horizontal Professional Competencies curriculum which runs throughout the three years of the program. The Clerkship program consists of rotations in medicine, medical subspecialties, orthopedic surgery, surgery, family medicine, anesthesia, psychiatry, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology and emergency medicine.
There is also elective time. The program concludes with a short unit dedicated to review and consolidation of concepts. Learning Methods To achieve the objectives of the Undergraduate Medical Program, students are introduced to patients within the first Foundation of the curriculum.
In this way, students understand the relevance of what they are learning, maintain a high degree of motivation and begin to understand the importance of responsible professional attitudes. In the Pre-Clerkship Foundations, the students are presented with a series of tutorial problems, requiring for their solution the understanding of underlying biological, population and behavioural principles, the appropriate collection of data and the critical appraisal of evidence.
The faculty function as learning resources or guides. Learning by a process of inquiry is stressed. The central focus of the pre-clerkship program is the tutorial. The class is divided into small groups of approximately 6-8 students, each with a tutor. In the tutorial session students develop a series of learning objectives from each tutorial case and negotiate how they will approach their learning tasks. They then acquire the knowledge and skills to meet the objectives of the Foundation in which they are working.
They also learn to work as a team, helping and learning from peers. The study habits and sense of responsibility to self and others provide a basis for lifelong working and learning habits. Attendance is mandatory. In the Professional Competencies curriculum, students work in groups of 8 to 10, with two facilitators, one an MD, the other a non-MD, clinician from an allied health care field. Learning formats include Large Group Sessions, small group tutorials, work with Standardized patients, role-plays, written projects and reflections which are collected as the student’s Reflective Physician Portfolio.
Students admitted to the Undergraduate Medical Program have the responsibility and privilege of taking an active role in the planning and evaluation of the education program. Through representation on most policy-making and implementing committees, students can influence decisions in such areas as education, philosophy, faculty recruitment and curriculum design. It is expected that all students will participate in the continuing reappraisal and improvement of the program. Such participation is a hallmark of the Program. Student Assessment Methods The assessment format has been designed to complement learning in the Undergraduate Medical Program. Assessment methods have been developed to measure how well the student achieves the stated educational objectives in the various components of the program.
Continual assessment of the student occurs within the tutorial setting with input from their peers, faculty preceptors and the tutor. Several short assessment exercises are required during each Foundation and at regular intervals during the Professional Competencies component of the program. At the completion of the Foundation or the Professional Competencies assessment period, the tutor or facilitator is responsible for the final summary statement of student learning progress. The tutor prepares a summary of the student’s performance in the tutorials and all associated activities during that Foundation.
The summary is provided to the student and to the student advisor electronically while the original is kept in the student’s electronic file. In addition to the tutorial-based assessment, the accumulation of medical knowledge is assessed at regular intervals by means of the Personal Progress Index. This is in a multiple-choice format. Results are given to the students for self-assessment and, in summary form, to the student advisor. The Personal Progress Index is in addition to, and does not replace, tutorial- and performance-based evaluation. The Program monitors student progress, and responds to students showing persistently low progress.
The acquisition of clinical and professional skills is assessed by clinical skills preceptors in each Foundation and in Clerkship. Also, students participate in an Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation (OSCE) on an annual basis. The Student Assessment Committee has the responsibility of working with the Medical Program to assist with the development and implementation of valid and reliable assessment methods to provide timely and helpful information to assist students and faculty in assessing progress and performance. Continuation in the Program is subject to satisfactory performance. Transportation Costs Students are expected to travel outside their home campus area for mandatory teaching sessions, clinical placements and clerkship rotations. Students are responsible for their own transportation and associated costs in order to complete program requirements. It is anticipated that further rotations will be developed in rural, under-serviced and remote areas.
In certain cases, there will be some external funding available. For students who are accepted into the Waterloo Regional Campus and the Niagara Regional Campus, the first Medical Foundation will be spent in Hamilton and students will be expected to cover the cost of commuting and/or accommodations. Each Regional Campus is approximately a one-hour drive from Hamilton.
The elective experience can be spent in various activities utilizing local, regional or distant resources. Students are expected to cover all transportation and associated costs for electives. Funding may be available for elective travel expenses through a number of funding programs. Professional Competencies The Professional Competencies curriculum is longitudinal. There are seven learning domains of this component of the curriculum: effective communication; health equity and determinants of health; interprofessional education; medical decision-making; moral reasoning and ethical judgment; professionalism and self-awareness; and social, cultural, and humanistic dimensions of health. During the Pre-Clerkship, students are assigned to a small group of 8-11 students at the beginning of MF1 and they remain with this group until the end of MF5. Each group is co-facilitated by a physician and an allied health professional who bring a complementary skill and model inter-professional relationships. During the Clerkship, the curricular content relating to the Professional Competencies domains becomes integrated into the core teaching in each clerkship rotation and is developed by the clerkships in their own formats.
The Clerkship Clerkship is the prime opportunity for students to participate in the direct care of patients while they continue to learn about the management of health and illness. The Clerkship curriculum is firmly linked to the Pre-clerkship concept-based curriculum and includes continuation of the Professional Competencies curriculum. The student moves from “virtual” tutorial cases to experiencing the care of real patients and populations. Students integrate good habits of learning and assessment into the hospital and clinic environment.
The core Clerkship program consists of rotations in Internal Medicine, Medical Subspecialties, Orthopedic Surgery, Surgery, Family Medicine, Anesthesia, Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Emergency Medicine. Clerkship Electives allow students to hone their skills in a variety of clinical areas as well as the opportunity for dedicated research time. The Clerkship rotations take place in hospitals and clinics in the Hamilton, Niagara, Brant, Haldimand-Norfolk, Waterloo, and Halton regions. Electives Elective studies form an integral part of the Curriculum Plan.
They may be considered the epitome of self-directed learning, since students must define goals for electives which are appropriate for their own learning objectives. These objectives represent specific areas of educational need or interest. The responsibility for planning electives rests with each student in collaboration with the student advisor. The two types of electives in the Undergraduate Medical Program are:. Block Electives: These are blocks of curriculum time dedicated to full-time elective activities. Their satisfactory completion is a mandatory component of the Undergraduate Medical Program. Block Electives occur after Medical Foundation 4 and during the Clerkship, for a total of 24 weeks.
Clinical electives in the MD Program must be organized so that each student has an elective experience in a minimum of three different disciplines, each of which will take place for a minimum of two weeks. Horizontal Electives: These are undertaken concurrently with other parts of the curriculum. Horizontal electives are entirely voluntary, not being required for completion of the program, but are used to explore or review a specific area of knowledge or practice in more detail. Horizontal electives must be a minimum of two half days or one full day. It is particularly important that the student’s advisor be involved in all decisions concerning the selection and carrying out of horizontal electives. Concept Integration and Review (CIR) Concept Integration and Review (CIR) is the final 6-week block of the program, after Clerkship and before graduation. The aims of the block are to help students review and synthesize important concepts that are essential for transition to residency and to help prepare students for the MCCQE Part 1 exam through concept review and exposure to sample questions. Dedicated self-study time throughout the 6-week block is provided and students are expected to review area content prior to attending scheduled sessions.
Large group sessions focus on highlighting key concepts and exam writing skills are provided by content experts. Enrichment Program The purpose of the Enrichment Program is to stimulate an interest in research and scholarly activity among medical students and to attract some to careers in academic medicine and medical research. There are arrangements in place for a small number of students from each class to devote longer periods of time to the pursuit of special academic experiences. These experiences will not normally begin until the pre-clerkship is completed. Applications will not be considered for the post-clerkship period. Program The McMaster MD/PhD Program has been training future clinicians since 2007.
The rapid pace of healthcare related research and discovery requires exceptional people who are trained to bridge the gap between basic sciences and clinical application. The McMaster MD/PhD program combines the strength of a unique, patient oriented medical education with a strong, internationally renowned healthcare research environment. At the present time, students enrolled in the MD/PhD program may carry out the PhD component of their program in one of the following graduate programs affiliated with the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. Medical Sciences, Biochemistry, Health Research Methodology, Neurosciences, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Biology and Health Policy.
Minimum criteria for admission to the PhD component is a 4 year Honours BSc or BHSc with aminimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.8 on a 4 point scale in the final two years of the Bachelor’s degree study and a score of 127 or higher on the Critical Analysis and Reasoning (CARS) section of the MCAT 2015 or a Verbal Reasoning (VR) score of 10 or greater on the pre-2015 MCAT. Please note that McMaster will use the most recent MCAT score for those who write the MCAT more than once. As some PhD programs may have additional requirements specific to their program, applicants are recommended to review the relevant sections of Graduate Calendar. Eligible students will have a proven record of research involvement at the undergraduate or graduate level. Existing in-program Master’s students or students in their first year of PhD training in an eligible Health Sciences Affiliated Graduate program at McMaster University are welcome to apply to the MD/PhD Program with the written consent of his or her research supervisor. MSc students from other McMaster University programs or other Universities are welcome to apply if they will finish their degree requirement before enrolling in the McMaster MD/PhD program.
Existing MD students with a strong research background are also welcome to apply in their first year of medical school. To apply to the MD/PhD Program, applicants must submit a separate application in addition to the OMSAS application. To gain admission, applicants must be accepted to both the MD Program at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and one of the PhD programs listed above. Application to the PhD component of the program is due on November 1st of the application year. Further information, and the PhD application can be found at.
Regulations for Licence to Practise A degree in medicine does not in itself confer the right to practise medicine in any part of Canada. To acquire this right, university graduates in medicine must hold a certificate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the province in which they elect to engage in practice. Students in Ontario medical schools will be required to register with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO). Students intending to practise outside Ontario are urged to consult the licensing body of that province regarding registration.
Licensing requirements vary somewhat among the provinces. The current Ontario requirements for issuance of a Certificate of Registration Authorizing Independent Practice are:.
Certification by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada or the College of Family Physicians of Canada;. Parts I and II of the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination;. Canadian Citizenship or Landed Immigrant Status. In general, students are expected to obtain a certificate from either the College of Family Physicians of Canada or from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in order to be licensed in the province of Ontario.
Immunization The Ontario Public Hospitals Act requires that all persons working in a hospital setting meet certain criteria regarding surveillance for infectious diseases. In order for the requirement of the legislation to be met, students are required to complete the immunization screening process prior to registration in the medical program and annual recertification before starting each academic year. Failure to do so will result in suspension of clinical work. Information will be sent to successful applicants prior to registration. Police Records Check Through the course of their medical school program, all medical students will serve vulnerable populations.
In an effort to protect these vulnerable people against potential risk of harm, the Ontario Faculties of Medicine and many clinical agencies require that all medical students provide confirmation of the absence of a criminal conviction or outstanding criminal charges. An offer of admission is contingent upon provision of a Police Records Check, at the applicant’s expense, by early August of the year of admission and at the beginning of each academic year they are registered in. Financial Information Financial difficulties are among the most frequent problems experienced by students in undergraduate medical schools. At McMaster, these are intensified by the lack of opportunity for summer employment. In this situation, it is incumbent on students admitted to the MD Program to clarify immediately their personal financial situation and to secure or identify sufficient support to meet their financial obligations over the subsequent three years. The Undergraduate MD Program cannot assume this responsibility.
In 2017-2018, the academic fees (tuition and student supplementary fees) for a student in the McMaster Undergraduate Medical Program were: Canadian Citizens and Landed Immigrants Year I $28,201.34 Year II $28,201.34 Year III $28,201.34 International (Visa) Students Each Year $95,960.18 In addition, the cost of books and diagnostic equipment for a Year I student was approximately $3,000. It is strongly recommended that students purchase the full complement of medical equipment necessary for clinical skills. Equipment lists and special prices will be offered to medical students within the first few months of medical school. Students are also responsible for their transportation costs related to their training.
Financial assistance is available to Ontario residents from the federal and provincial governments through the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). To be eligible a student must be a Canadian Citizen or permanent resident of Canada and fulfill certain requirements for residency in Ontario. Students who are legal residents of other provinces need to check with their respective provincial financial aid programs about eligibility for support prior to acceptance. In addition, the following sources of funding are available to undergraduate medical students: Bursaries There is a bursary program which has been developed by the Faculty of Health Sciences and the central University campus.
Bursaries are awarded to students who are Canadian citizens and demonstrate financial need. All bursaries are distributed during the late fall of each year. Bursaries are intended to offset provincial financial assistance and cannot supplement the full cost of medical education. Elective Travel Awards The Undergraduate Medical Program has in the past indicated its preparedness to recognize students who distinguish themselves and the University by virtue of their scholarship and their contribution to the university community.
At the same time, the School has indicated that the terms of reference for such awards should neither compromise the spirit of cooperative scholarship which characterizes its MD Program nor replace its priority of concern for financial assistance awards. A growing number of estates and agencies have donated funds to the University and the Undergraduate Medical Program for purposes of recognizing scholastic merit among medical students. In order to meet the requirements of these awards within the spirit of cooperative scholarship, these funds are available to support individual students in their pursuit of specific elective projects or activities. Students are required to submit an application through the Undergraduate Medical Education Program Office, outlining the nature of their work and the need for funds.
School of Graduate Studies Calendar, 2018-2019 School of Graduate Studies Calendar, 2018-2019 1280 Main Street West Gilmour Hall 212 Hamilton, Ontario Canada L8S 4L8 Telephone: 905-525-9140 ext. 23679 Website: Email: An official publication of the School of Graduate Studies McMaster University Produced by the School of Graduate Studies, Christina Bryce, Assistant Graduate Secretary Cover photo copyright Peter Self Applying to Graduate Studies at McMaster University Consult the department/program website and listing in the Graduate Calendar. A separate application for financial assistance is not required as all applicants are automatically considered for financial support. There is an application fee of $110. Applications will be considered at any time, but graduate programs commence in September, January, and May.