New medical program dedicated to producing family doctors amid shortage

Amid an ever-widening family doctor shortage, an Ontario university is hoping to start turning the tide with a dedicated training program – but some experts say to fix the problem in the long run, we should reimagine our health-care system completely by guaranteeing primary care access to every Canadian.

Amid an ever-widening family doctor shortage, an Ontario university is hoping to start turning the tide with a dedicated program – but some experts say that to fix the problem in the long run, we may need to reimagine our health-care system completely.

This month, first-year medical students are beginning their training to become family doctors – part of a brand new, innovative program taking aim at the critical shortage of general practitioners.

Though urgently needed, fewer and fewer med school graduates choose family practice.

This at a time when 6.5 million Canadians now have no access to primary care, and the country is expected to be short 30,000 family doctors by 2028.

“It means that for those people, really, the front door to the health-care system is closed,” Dr. Tara Kiran, a family doctor and researcher at St. Michael’s Hospital, told CTV National News. “And so they’re left without anywhere to turn if they get sick, but also even to keep them well, manage their chronic conditions. They don’t have the care that they need.”

Julie Kristoff’s son, now 18 years old, has been on Quebec’s online wait-list for nearly two years.

“Everyone is feeling overwhelmed with patients, their rosters are full,” she told CTV National News. “We are not really sure how to deal with even small issues for a healthy person.”