Medical education in Canada moves to a competency-based approach

By Karen Birchard. Students will have to achieve various “milestones” before moving on to next level. A new era in Canadian medical education is underway as it switches from a primarily time-based learning system to one where core competency levels, dubbed “milestones,” must be achieved and demonstrated by students before they move on. The system is being phased in over the remainder of this decade, with a few residency specialties testing the new approach this fall as part of a pilot program. Although not yet officially announced, those specialties in the pilot program could be anesthesiology, medical oncology, pediatric surgery and plastic surgery. It’s not a simple task to bring change to the entire profession, nor will it happen overnight. More...