What is it like to be at the U of T Medical School?

There are many outstanding features of the medical education experience at U of T.

• First, the city of Toronto is one of the most vibrant and ethnically diverse cities in North America. The people of this city are the patients whom our students meet, learn from and help to look after.
• Second, the Faculty of Medicine in Toronto is fully affiliated with nine outstanding teaching hospitals, has associate affiliations with four hospitals, and has community affiliations with 11 others. In addition, there are multiple community-based agencies with connections to the medical school. This makes for an amazingly rich clinical and community environment in which to learn, and this is matched by an incredible array of research institutes that tackle every imaginable issue related to health. This includes the Wilson Centre for Research in Education. The learning of our students is organized in four academies, which are groupings of several of these teaching sites.
• Third, the there is a vast number of exceptionally capable teachers who are dedicated to providing the best possible program for our students, in both the first two years and the clerkship.
• Fourth, we have wonderful facilities, ranging from state-of-the-art lecture halls at the Medical Sciences Building to outstanding simulation centres at multiple sites. We have recently opened the Mississauga Academy of Medicine, housed principally in the brand new Terrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex.
• Fifth, we have explicitly organized the program around helping students develop competence in the many roles required of a modern physician. These are organized around the “CanMEDS roles [1] ”, each of which is supported by several “competencies” (essentially things physicians are able to do to help patients and populations).
• Finally, we have an unwavering commitment to making sure our students have an excellent and supportive curriculum, and strong support in each of the academic, career counseling, financial counseling and personal counseling domains.

[1] THE CANMEDS ROLES ARE: MEDICAL EXPERT, COMMUNICATOR, COLLABORATOR, LEADER, HEALTH ADVOCATE, SCHOLAR AND PROFESSIONAL.  FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE:HTTP://MD.UTORONTO.CA/PROGRAM/GOALS.HTM.