Ontario to open new medical residencies

Graduates will have to work in areas lacking primary care providers

The Ontario government has announced plans to invest up to $23 million to create new medical residency positions over the next six years, including 53 extra spots in the coming academic year.

The positions are for medical school graduates who have completed their undergraduate training at one of Ontario’s six medical schools, Health Minister Helena Jaczek said on Tuesday.

Graduates who fill the positions will be required to work in northern Ontario and other parts of the province that do not have enough primary care providers.

The mismatch between the number of medical school graduates and residency positions came to national attention a year ago when the Star reported on the suicide of Robert Chu, a graduate of McMaster University’s medical school. He took his life after twice being passed over for residency positions.

“By funding more residency opportunities in the province, our government is ensuring access to care in the areas where Ontarians need it most and supporting medical students in achieving their potential,” Jaczek said.

“This forward-looking investment is yet another way we are providing high-quality health care, closer to home,” she added.

Medical students must complete residencies before being licensed to practise. This involves supervised training in areas of specific clinical practice, such as family medicine or surgery.

Medical students across the country compete against one another for residency spots by applying through a matching process administered by the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS).

In recent years, there has been a growing mismatch between the number of applicants and the number of spots available to students.