%0 Journal Article
%T Are Canadian General Internal Medicine training program graduates well prepared for their future careers?
%A Sharon E Card
%A Linda Snell
%A Brian O'Brien
%J BMC Medical Education
%D 2006
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1472-6920-6-56
%X Mailed survey designed to explore perceived importance of training for and preparation for various aspects of Canadian GIM practice. After extensive piloting of the survey, including a pilot survey of two universities to improve the questionnaire, all graduates of the 16 universities over the previous ten years were surveyed.Gaps (difference between importance and preparation) were demonstrated in many of the CanMEDS 2000/2005£¿ competencies. Medical problems of pregnancy, perioperative care, pain management, chronic care, ambulatory care and community GIM rotations were the medical expert areas with the largest gaps. Exposure to procedural skills was perceived to be lacking. Some procedural skills valued as important for current GIM trainees and performed frequently (example ambulatory ECG interpretation) had low preparation ratings by trainees. Other areas of perceived discrepancy between training and practice included: manager role (set up of an office), health advocate (counseling for prevention, for example smoking cessation), and professional (end of life issues, ethics).Graduates of Canadian GIM training programs over the last ten years have identified perceived gaps between training and important areas for practice. They have identified competencies that should be emphasized in Canadian GIM programs. Ongoing review of graduate's perceptions of training programs as it applies to their current practice is important to ensure ongoing appropriateness of training programs. This information will be used to strengthen GIM training programs in Canada.In Canada Internal Medicine training is four years in length. The first three years of training are considered "core" after which the resident enters either a subspecialty or a general internal medicine (GIM) training program. Canadian GIM (post core) training programs are a variety of lengths (one to two years) and formats. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada have not yet recognized GIM as a distinct
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6920/6/56