McMaster University Medical School

Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University
Established	1966
Dean	Dr. John G. Kelton
Students	203 per year
Location	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. McMaster University's medical school is the third largest in Canada, and is one of two medical programs (along with the University of Calgary) in Canada that operates on an accelerated 3-year MD program, instead of the traditional 4-year MD Program.

McMaster University's medical school ranks 1st in Canada and 14th worldwide for medicine, according to the 2012 Times Higher Education Rankings.^[1]

The school has an acceptance rate of 4.1%.^[2] The average GPA of entering undergraduates in the Class of 2017 was 3.83 and the average MCAT Verbal score was 11, a score in the 95th percentile.^[3] 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.^[4]

The school was founded in 1966, and began its first classes in 1969.^[5] The school is acknowledged to be a world leader in innovative learning and testing systems. Since its formation, the school invented the small-group, case-based learning curriculum. This educational model, colloquially known as the McMaster Model, is now known as problem-based learning. McMaster also developed the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) system for medical school admissions which has been adopted in many places. McMaster also developed and coined the term "evidence based medicine" in the 1980s as a way to approach clinical problem solving.^[6]

Facilities and teaching sites

The school is located at McMaster University's main campus in Hamilton, Ontario, housed within the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery, 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.^[7]

The Health Sciences Centre/McMaster Children's Hospital is a multi-use research facility and pediatric teaching hospital. The hospital is home to the second-largest neonatal intensive care unit in Canada, and the third largest child and youth mental health unit in the country.^[8]

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.

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

• Hamilton General Hospital
• McMaster Children's Hospital
• McMaster University Medical Centre
• Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre
• St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton (Charlton, West 5th, King Campuses)
• St. Peter's Hospital
• Joseph Brant Hospital
• Brantford General Hospital
• Cambridge Memorial Hospital
• West Lincoln Memorial Hospital
• St. Mary's General Hospital
• Grand River Hospital
• Niagara Health System (Greater Niagara, Niagara-on-the Lake, Port Colborne Campuses)
• Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital
• Grey Bruce Health Services
• Norfolk General Hospital

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.^[9] 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.^[10]

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.^[11]

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.^[12] 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.^[13] 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.^[14]

Rankings

McMaster University currently ranks 1st in Canada in clinical, pre-clinical, and health universities, and 14th worldwide, according to the 2012 Times Higher Education Rankings.^[15] In the field of clinical medicine and pharmacy, the ARWU in 2012 ranked the program 46th in the world and third in Canada.^[16] In the 2015 QS World University Subject Ranking for medicine, McMaster University ranked 33rd worldwide and 4th in Canada.

Admissions

Admissions into Canadian medical schools is highly competitive, typically 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 4.1% 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.

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

Research

McMaster oversees $133 million a year in research, ranking it 2nd in Canada for 5 years in a row.^[23]

Notable alumni

• Roberta Bondar, NASA's space medicine researcher, first Canadian female astronaut
• Gordon Guyatt, Coined the term "Evidence Based Medicine"
• Richard Heinzl, Founder of Canadian Chapter of Médecins Sans Frontières
• James Orbinski President of Médecins Sans Frontières, accepted Nobel Peace Prize on their behalf
• Ross Upshur, Physician and researcher.
• Elinor Wilson, President of Assisted Human Reproduction Canada
• Nancy Fern Olivieri, Haematologist, researcher

Notable faculty

• James Fraser Mustard, OC, Chair of Pathology (1966-1972), Dean of Medicine (1972-1982), discovered the effect of aspirin in reducing myocardial infarction rates, founder and president of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
• John Evans, CC, Dean of Medicine (1966-1972), President of the University of Toronto, Chairman of the Rockefeller Foundation and Director of the Population, Health and Nutrition department of the World Bank
• David Sackett, Chair of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (1967-1994), founded the first department of Clinical Epidemiology in Canada, wrote Evidence-Based Medicine: How to Practice and Teach EBM now in its 4th edition and Clinical Epidemiology: How to Do Clinical Practice Research now in its 3rd edition
• Howard Barrows, Assistant Dean for Residency Education (1971-1980), pioneered problem based learning at McMaster which has now spread all over the world
• Moran Campbell, Chair of Medicine (1968-1975), inventor of the Venturi mask
• Jack Hirsh, Professor Emeritus of Medicine (1973–Present), winner of the Canada Gairdner International Award in 2000 for discovering the effectiveness of heparin in deep vein thrombosis and the discovery of low molecular weight heparin
• Salim Yusuf, Professor of Medicine (1992–Present), world's second most cited researcher, prolific clinical trials physician in cardiovascular diseases

Notes and references

External links

• Tour of the Faculty of Health Sciences
• Evidence Based Medicine - British Medical Journal

McMaster University Faculties DeGroote School of Business Engineering Health Sciences Humanities Science Social Sciences Schools School of the Arts School of Computational Engineering and Science School of Geography and Earth Sciences School of Nursing School of Rehabilitation Science School of Social Work Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine Special Programs McMaster Arts and Science McMaster Integrated Science McMaster Divinity College McMaster Institute of Environment and Health Athletics McMaster Marauders Ron Joyce Stadium David Braley Athletic Centre Students CFMU Silhouette Unions Students Union Graduate Students Association CUPE Local 3906

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