Med Students Don't Represent Patients
Lack of diversity in medical school admission at the University of Manitoba
LARRY BAILLIE
The University of Manitoba has accepted 101 students to medical school this year, the largest class since 1976. An article in the Winnipeg Free Press listed a few interesting facts about this year’s new class of medical students. The picture that ran in the paper above the title “A huge crop of docs” was of two very attractive women. I quickly realized that in 1976 we would be very hard pressed to see more than two women in any medical class. What was even more refreshing was the fact that there are 53 females and 48 males! This got me wondering whether admissions to medical school reflect the demographics of the people that use the most medical services.
Of the 101 students admitted into medical school, only 22 are from rural Manitoba and only two students are Aboriginal. The doctor shortage in rural Manitoba has been widely reported, yet only 22 students are from rural Manitoba.
There are questions about how fair and diverse this class is actually. One would think that more 20 years after the Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into law, this year’s class would reflect the diversity of this country. But the admission numbers do not mention any students that are from the access programs. Just as worrisome is the fact that it appears in that none of the students lives with a disability.
As a person who lives with a disability, I would expect the faculty to represent the demographics of the people that utilize medical services the most. They would be able to handle cases not just professionally, but humanely. One of the complaints of people who utilize medical services the most is that they often feel their medical practitioner does not truly understand the challenges that they live with.
In 2000, Statistics Canada reported over 10 per cent of Manitoba’s population was of Aboriginal ancestry. Also, according to Statistics Canada people of lower economic status are less healthy, and hence should have been more represented amongst these future doctors.
The dean of medicine, Dean Sandham, was quoted as saying “you can develop a sense of entitlement. You’re not entitled. You’re privileged.” These comments worry me for several reasons. Such pontification makes doctors indifferent and aloof to their poorer patients when they start working.
The Winnipeg Free Press article addressed the severe doctor shortage that Manitoba is projected to experience in 2010. However, the issue of experienced physicians from other countries who cannot get into medical school or be recertified in the province remains unresolved. The shame of this is that some of these individuals who have had extensive medical experience are doing menial jobs such as housekeeping and cab-driving.
In a conversation on the Free Press article, some expressed concerns about primordial sentiments being used to determine who gets into medical school. Others in the impromptu discussion group became hostile when I mentioned that medical students should reflect the demographics of the people that use medical services.
My challenge to the University of Manitoba medical school is to look at the demographics of the people that utilize medical services to select future medical students. One of the best ways of ensuring fairness is to have a very diverse selection committee that represents the demographics of the people that utilize medical services. Otherwise, we might be making nonsense of Canada’s policy of multiculturalism.
Larry Baillie is a social work student of the University of Manitoba.
