Distributed medical education : Bringing care closer to home

DME is the new norm for Faculties of Medicine, with more than 300 Ontario communities and thousands of community physicians involved in educating the next generation of doctors, helping to ensure that they have the skill, comfort level and interest to work in towns, villages and cities across the province. [...] In a strategic partnership with government, the Faculties of Medicine of Ontario have integrated distributed medical education (DME) into their education programs and created a new norm that allows medical students and postgraduate residents to experience and gain confidence in rural and community settings, where many of them will practice one day. [...] As will be evident in this report, there is need for a systematic, provincial approach to studying outcomes in order to strengthen and sustain the province’s investment in socially responsible medical education, and to build on the strong foundation of collaboration between the Faculties of Medicine, Ontario communities and the Ontario provincial government. [...] The priority health concerns are to be identified jointly by governments, health care organizations, health professionals and the public.”1 Distributed Medical Education DME is defined by the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) as a decentralized model of medical education utilizing a teaching and learning network that is integrated in and accountable to communities. [...] Strategy - Family Medicine Expansion A carefully planned and executed collaboration between Ontario Faculties of Medicine, the Ontario government and the medical profession led to a dramatic change in the number of family doctors in the province and improved access to primary care.