McMaster University Medical School

Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University
Established 1965
Dean Paul O'Byrne
Students 203 per year
Location Canada Hamilton, ON, Canada
Website Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine

The Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine is McMaster University's medical school, located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is operated by the McMaster Faculty of Health Sciences. It is one of two medical programs in Canada, along with the University of Calgary, that operates on an accelerated 3-year MD program, instead of the traditional 4-year MD Program.

Currently, McMaster ranks 25th in the world and 3rd in Canada for medicine according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015.[1] In 2012, McMaster ranked 1st in Canada and 14th worldwide in medicine, according to the Times Higher Education Rankings 2012.[2]

The school received 5,271 applications for the Class of 2018 and had an acceptance rate of 3.8%.[3] The average GPA of entering undergraduates in the Class of 2019 was 3.84 and the average MCAT Verbal Reasoning or Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills score was 10.75 or 129.1, respectively, a score in the 95th percentile.[4] Unlike many other medical schools, McMaster University's medical school does not drop any courses or years in their GPA calculation, as well as only uses the MCAT Verbal score in the MCAT component of their admissions calculation.[5] Students also have to write the CASPer admissions test, first developed by McMaster in 2010.

Founded in 1965, the school is a world leader in innovative learning, testing systems as well as multinational trials and thrombosis research.[6] Since its formation, the school invented the small-group, case-based learning curriculum which is now known as PBL or problem-based learning. In addition, the school was the first in the world to institute a 3-year M.D. program in 1965, with classes being held year round. In the 1980s, McMaster developed and coined the term "evidence-based medicine" as a way to approach clinical problem solving.[7] McMaster also developed the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) system in 2001 for medical school admissions which has been adopted as part of the admissions system in professional schools around the world. In 2010, McMaster developed the CASPer test for medical school admissions, which has recently been adopted at several medical schools across North America.

History

McMaster University had long been a target of proposals for a medical school. As early as 1892, Trinity Medical College in Toronto had sought affiliation with McMaster. In the 1930s, Dr. C.E. Cooper-Cole and Dr. Gordon Murray were invited to become the first professors of medicine and surgery at the university. However the plans were later shelved.[8] In 1956, Sir Francis R. Fraser, wrote the Fraser report and concluded that McMaster could feasibly host a medical school. At the same time, the Ontario government had expressed the opinion that Ontario would need an additional medical school by 1966. The main driving force behind the project was Harry Thode, at the time the vice president of the university and later, the president. By 1965, the first dean of the new medical school John Robert Evans, was appointed. By 1966, the first five faculty members, John Robert Evans, William Walsh, Bill Spaulding, James Anderson and Fraser Mustard were recruited.[9]

Facilities and teaching sites

St. Joseph's Hospital, Charlton Campus.

The school is located at McMaster University's main campus in Hamilton, Ontario, housed within the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery, a building built in 2004 and the adjacent Health Sciences Centre. The DeGroote facility is shared with the Centre for Function Genomics, Centre for Gene Therapeutics, Institute for Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Research, Robert E. Fitzhenry Vector Laboratory, Centre for Asthma and Allergy Research (Allergen) and North American Headquarters for West Nile studies, as well as the Bachelor of Health Sciences undergraduate program.[10]

The medical school currently operates three campuses; the main Hamilton campus, as well as the Waterloo Regional Campus and the Niagara Regional campus, located in Waterloo, Ontario and Niagara, Ontario respectively. All three campuses offer the same curriculum and lead to the same degree, but differ in patient populations and teaching locations.

McMaster's teaching hospitals are divided into two major hospital groupings: Hamilton Health Sciences, recently ranked 2nd in Canada among research hospitals and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton.

Hamilton General Hospital
McMaster University teaching hospitals
Institution Main specialty Number of Beds Affiliated research arm
Hamilton General Hospital Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery, Plastic Surgery, Emergency Medicine, Trauma, Rehabilitation, Neurology, Neurosurgery 607 David Braley Cardiac, Vascular and Stroke Research Institute, Population Health Research Institute
St. Joseph's Hospital Charlton Campus Nephrology, Urology, Pulmonology, Thoracic Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Neurosurgery, Otolaryngology 700+ Father Sean O'Sullivan Research Centre, Brain Body Institute, McMaster Institute for Surgical Invention, Innovation and Education, Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, McMaster Institute of Urology, Hamilton Centre for Kidney Research
St. Joseph's Hospital West 5th Campus Psychiatry 305
McMaster Children's Hospital Paediatrics 157
McMaster University Medical Centre Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ophthalmology 248
Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre Oncology, Orthopedic Surgery, Hepatobiliary Surgery 228 Escarpment Cancer Research Institute
St. Peter's Hospital Rehabilitation, Geriatrics 250
St. Mary's General Hospital Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery, Thoracic Surgery 191
Grand River Hospital Community Teaching Hospital 630
Joseph Brant Hospital Community Teaching Hospital 245

The school is also affiliated with the following Ontario hospitals, where students rotate and train during their clerkship:

Educational influence

The medical school is a pioneer in its teaching and admissions philosophies through the Program for Educational Research and Development, renowned internationally for grounding educational practice in evidence.[11] McMaster created a revolution in health care training by pioneering the problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum, which has since influenced health care education worldwide. The instructional strategy focuses on student-driven learning, which occurs in groups, to foster critical thinking, higher retention, and stronger cognitive competencies including coping with uncertainty and communication skills. Most medical schools in Canada and more than 80% of medical schools in the United States now employ PBL in their curriculum, and many international universities are continuing to do to the same.[12]

In the early 1990s, the School of Medicine developed the personal progress index (PPI) as an objective method for assessing acquisition and retention of knowledge for students in the medical program. The PPI is administered at routine intervals to all students in the program, regardless of their level of training, and plots students' increases in scores as they move through the program. Students typically score under 15% on their first write, and increase 5-7% with each successive write. Students are able to monitor the changes in their scores and receive formative feedback based on a standardized score relative to the class mean. Due to the overwhelming success and research supporting the use of the PPI as an evaluation tool, it is now used in Canada, US, Europe, and Australia.[13]

In 2004, McMaster developed the multiple-mini interview to address long standing concerns over the standard panel interviews as being poor reflectors of performance in medical school.[14] This format uses short, independent assessments in a timed circuit to obtain aggregate scores in interpersonal skills, professionalism, ethical/moral judgment, and critical thinking to assess candidates. The MMI has consistently shown to have a higher predictive validity for future performance than traditional interviews.[15] Although, it may be argued that most of the validation so far has been done by McMaster and/or its affiliated for-profit company which constitute a conflict of interest and any result must be interpreted with caution. By 2008, the MMI was being used as an admissions test for the majority of medical schools in Canada, Australia, and Israel, as well as other medical schools in the United States and Asia.

In 2010, McMaster began using a computer-based simulated test known as CASPer as an admissions tool at the pre-interview stage. This is an assessment of interpersonal and decision-making skills that is more reliable, and predicts much more validity than standard autobiographical submissions. The test involves several video clips lasting 1–2 minutes in length, followed by situational challenges and self-descriptive questions that may or may not be related to the preceding video clip.[16]

Admissions

Admissions into Canadian medical schools are highly competitive, requiring a bachelor's degree, a strong undergraduate grade point average (GPA), and strong scores on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). Applicants are required to have at least three years of prior university education by the time of admission, and are required to write the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). They are also required to complete a 90-minute computer-based test to assess interpersonal skills and decision-making, called the Computerized Assessment Sampling of Personal Characteristics (CASPer)[17]

The annual success rate for all applicants applying for admission to McMaster University's medical school is 3.8% and this rate is declining each consecutive year given the fixed number of available seats.[18] The Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine received over 5200 applications in 2014 for a class size of approximately 200 students, which is substantially more than any other school in Canada.[19] The average GPA of entering undergraduates in the Class of 2017 was 3.83 and the average MCAT verbal score was 11 (95th percentile).[20] McMaster University's medical school does not drop any courses or years in their GPA calculation. As a result, McMaster University's medical program reports an admission GPA that is cumulative taking all courses and years into account, which is contrary to many other medical schools in Canada that report and calculate their admission GPAs with the lowest courses or academic years dropped from the calculation.[21]

Interview offers for Ontario medical schools are typically given in January and February. Given McMaster's rigorous pre-interview screening process, only 550 students are invited for interviews to compete for the 203 seats.[22] Applicants go through the Multiple Mini Interview format, a 10-station interview circuit, to increase the validity and reliability of interview scores (see above).

Curriculum

The program is divided into two parts: the pre-clerkship curriculum and the clerkship curriculum, each spanning half of the three years. The pre-clerkship curriculum is divided into five medical foundations, where students meet with a faculty member twice a week in a small group setting for teaching. Learning is done using the problem-based learning approach, where students set objectives, complete independent research, and then use their small group sessions to teach others, ask questions, and challenge one another with the guidance of their tutor. Students also complete clinical skills and professional competencies training at this time. Students are not graded during pre-clerkship. Evaluations are given at the end of each medical foundation. Feedback from the students' tutors is given on tests and the PPI (personal progress index test) provides the student with a sense of his progress during pre-clerkship.

The clerkship curriculum consists of a rotating schedule. Students move through various medical disciplines. These include: Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, Surgery, Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Anesthesia, and a number of elective blocks for specialties of interest to the individual student. In their third year, students apply to the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) for residency training after completion of the MD Program.

Students are allowed to take an enrichment year that can last up to twelve months. Students can pursue academic work during that period, including research. In addition, up to 40% of the time is available for clinical electives. Students can also pursue a master's degree at McMaster or other universities during that period.

International health electives

McMaster students have 24 weeks of elective time to pursue at McMaster or elsewhere. McMaster encourages students to participate in electives abroad. Students routinely travel all over the world including to countries like South Africa, Uganda, UK, Germany, United States, China, India, Japan and South Korea. Most electives are organized through external organizations or through the students own arrangements, however, McMaster has agreements with different medical universities/cities for medical electives abroad. Currently, McMaster has arranged bilateral exchange agreements with the following universities and cities:

Residency

98% of McMaster graduates matched to a residency position in the first iteration of the match in 2016. This is well above the national average of 90.8%.[23] In addition, 58% matched to their first choice discipline and location.

Research

McMaster's Faculty of Health Sciences oversees $223 million a year in research, ranking it 2nd in Canada for 5 years in a row.[24] McMaster's Hamilton Health Sciences hospital group is ranked 1st in Canada for researcher intensity with each researcher bringing in $711,000. It is also ranked 2nd in Canada in the top 40 research hospitals list.[25] McMaster is considered a leader in clinical epidemiology and thrombosis research with names like Dr. Jack Hirsh, Dr. Salim Yusuf leading the way. In Thomson Reuters list of the World's most influential scientific minds in 2016, McMaster medical school had 9 different scientists mentioned with Prof. Gordon Guyatt mentioned in two different categories.

McMaster medical school is home to 30 research institutes including the:

McMaster initiated its M.D./Ph.D. program in 2007, accepting up to three students a year into the 7 year physician scientist program.

Philanthropy

In 2003, McMaster University Medical School received the largest ever donation to a university in Canadian history when Michael DeGroote donated $105 million to the medical school in the process naming it the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. In 2014, DeGroote donated an additional $50 million to the medical school.[31]

Charles Juravinski has donated over $43 million to Hamilton area hospitals including the Juravinski Hospital.

David Braley, owner of the BC Lions, donated $50 million to the medical school in 2007 to build the Braley Health Sciences Centre, a human embryonic stem cell library and an endowment fund.

In 2011 and 2012, the Boris Family donated a total of $41 million to McMaster University Medical School and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton to found the Boris Family Centre in Human Stem Cell Therapies, establish two chairs in Blood and Neural Stem Cells, found the Boris Clinic, fund alcohol addiction research and buy a surgical robot.

Notable alumni

Name Class year Notability Reference(s)
Andrew Padmos MD 1972 Canadian physician and CEO of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
Daniel Sauder MD 1975, Prof. Dermatology 1982-1990 Canadian dermatologist and Chair of Dermatology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, developed the field of cutaneous cytokine biology
Roberta Bondar MD 1977 Canadian astronaut and physician, NASA's space medicine researcher, first Canadian female astronaut, member of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame
Gordon Guyatt MD 1977, Prof. Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Canadian epidemiologist and physician, coined the term "Evidence-based medicine", member of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame [32]
Nancy Fern Olivieri MD 1978 Canadian hematologist, demonstrated the negative effects of deferiprone on the liver
John Cameron Bell PhD 1982 Canadian cancer researcher, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Jennerex
Eric Hoskins BSc 1982, MD 1984 Current Minister of Health in Ontario, founder and president of War Child Canada [33]
Ross Upshur MD 1986 Canadian physician, Director of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics [34]
Richard Heinzl MD 1987 Canadian physician, founder of the Canadian chapter of Doctors without Borders, founder of Medispecialist.com [35]
James Orbinski MD 1990 Canadian physician, President of Médecins Sans Frontières, co-founder of Dignitas International
Philip Steven Wells Hematology Fellow 1989-1991, MSc 1994 Canadian hematologist, created the Wells risk score for pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis
Samantha Nutt MD 1994 Canadian physician, executive director of War Child Canada, winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
Richard Whitlock BSc 1997, Cardiac Surgery Residency 2001-2007, Critical Care Fellow 2007-2008, PhD 2012, Associate Prof. 2012-Present Canadian surgeon, performed the first transcatheter aortic valve implantation on a pregnant woman in the world
Christopher Charles MD 2016 Canadian anesthesiology resident, inventor of the "lucky iron fish" project, a program to help alleviate endemic iron deficiency in Cambodia. [36]

Notable faculty

Notes and references

  1. "Top 100 clinical, pre-clinical and health". THE. THE. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  2. "Top 50 Clinical, Pre-Clinical and Health Universities". Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012. TSL Education Ltd. October 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  3. "McMaster University Undergraduate Medical Program Class of 2017" (PDF).
  4. https://www.aamc.org/students/download/361080/data/combined13.pdf.pdf
  5. (PDF). McMaster University http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/mdprog/documents/Classof2017.pdf. Retrieved 2 September 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "Undergraduate Medical Program".
  7. Rosenberg, William; Donald, Anna (April 29, 1995). "Evidence based medicine: an approach to clinical problem-solving" (PDF). BMJ. 310: 1122–6. doi:10.1136/bmj.310.6987.1122. PMC 2549505Freely accessible. PMID 7742682. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  8. Cochran, William B. Spaulding ; with the collaboration of Janet (1991). Revitalizing medical education : McMaster Medical School, the early years 1965-1974. Philadelphia: B.C. Decker. p. 235. ISBN 1556642814.
  9. Cochran, William B. Spaulding ; with the collaboration of Janet (1991). Revitalizing medical education : McMaster Medical School, the early years 1965-1974. Philadelphia: B.C. Decker. p. 235. ISBN 1556642814.
  10. "Tour of the Facilities". Faculty of Health Science. McMaster University. 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  11. http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/perd/
  12. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/55419.php
  13. http://ipptx.org/
  14. Barrick MR, Mount MK. The Big 5 personality dimensions and job performance: a meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology 1991, 44:1-26.
  15. Hofmeister M, Lockyer J, Crutcher R. The multiple mini-interview for selection of international medical graduates into family medicine residency education. Med Educ. 2009 Jun;43(6):573-9.
  16. http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/mdprog/casper.html
  17. "CASPer".
  18. "McMaster University Undergraduate Medical Program Class of 2017" (PDF).
  19. "McMaster University Undergraduate Medical Program Class of 2017" (PDF).
  20. https://www.aamc.org/students/download/361080/data/combined13.pdf.pdf
  21. (PDF). McMaster University http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/mdprog/documents/Classof2017.pdf. Retrieved 2 September 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. "McMaster University Undergraduate Medical Program Class of 2017" (PDF).
  23. "Match Report 2016" (PDF). CaRMS. CaRMS. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  24. Frketich, Joanna. "McMaster searching for new dean of health sciences". The Hamilton Spectator. The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  25. "Top 40 Hospitals in Canada" (PDF). Research Infosource. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  26. "Blood created from human skin". CBC. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  27. Kelton, John G. "Dean's Annual Report" (PDF). McMaster University. McMaster University. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  28. Kelton, John G. "Dean's Annual Report" (PDF). McMaster University. McMaster University. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  29. Gauvreau, Gail (May 29, 2014). "Effects of an Anti-TSLP Antibody on Allergen-Induced Asthmatic Responses". NEJM. 370: 2102–2110. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1402895. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  30. "Blood turned into nerve cells by Canadian researchers". CBC. CBC. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  31. "$50 million gift will mean even greater heights for Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine". Daily News McMaster. Daily News McMaster. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  32. Philip W. Anderson Archived November 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  33. Philip W. Anderson Archived November 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  34. "Ross E. G. Upshur". University of Toronto. University of Toronto. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  35. "RICHARD HEINZL '87". McMaster University. McMaster University. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  36. "June's Ontario Medical Student Of The Month: Chris Charles". OMSA. OMSA. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  37. "McMaster medical students starred in TV show". McMaster University. McMaster University. Retrieved 13 August 2015.

Coordinates: 43°15′40″N 79°55′00″W / 43.261054°N 79.91678°W / 43.261054; -79.91678

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