More uAlberta med students want to be family physicians

A record 41% of the University of Alberta's 181 medical school graduates have chosen to become family physicians, more than double the percentage from a decade ago. The chairman of uAlberta's department of family medicine says federal and provincial governments have generally "walked the talk" by investing in initiatives to boost the profile and quality of family medicine, although the province's latest budget is bound to affect the size of medical school classes and residency positions. Over the past several years, uAlberta has been building its undergraduate family medicine curriculum with students doing more rotations in the community with front-line doctors. More family doctors have received clinical faculty appointments through programs like the Academic Alternative Relationship Plan, which guarantees a payment to doctors so they can combine teaching with their patient load. uAlberta News | Edmonton Journal