Demand for more money and seats for medical schools in Alberta to keep pace with population growth

 

 

Friends of Medicare is calling for more money and seats for medical schools in Alberta. While Alberta’s population has grown in recent years, the group warns that the province’s medical seats have not increased significantly.

From 2015 to 2022, the medical schools at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta admitted a total of 312 students each year. The University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine also admitted 150 students. Meanwhile, the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine admitted 162. While the population has grown over the past decade, other facilities have not grown significantly. In 2012, Alberta’s population was 3.87 million. It is estimated that by this year, it will increase to five million. This year, the University of Calgary will admit 180 students and the University of Alberta will admit 192 students for medical education. The Calgary Medical School has three-year medical courses and the University of Alberta has four-year medical courses. Therefore, if the number of medical seats is doubled, it will take them several more years to prepare themselves for practice. Therefore, the demand for increasing the number of medical seats is increasing.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Medical Association has demanded the implementation of a national license for doctors. Through this, doctors can practice in any province. They also stated that this will further strengthen the health sector