Medical Education

Distributed Medical Education (DME)

Faculties of medicine across Canada are engaged in distributed educational activities beyond the walls of their institutions. Distributed Medical Education (DME) encompasses a broad definition of activities. In undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing medical education, educational events and activities involve learners and teachers who are at multiple locations outside of the usual classroom or clinical site. For example, medical students may be assigned to different hospitals for clinical experiences and to family physicians' offices distant from the university site. They may complete their education at various campuses. Residents may undertake all or part of their specialty education at hospitals or in communities outside the university teaching centre, and practicing physicians may participate with their colleagues in their own and other communities in continuing medical education activities conducted by the medical school.

In May 2006, at the request of the AFMC Council of Deans, the AFMC hosted a workshop on DME for the faculties of medicine so as to provide an opportunity for those interested in and involved in DME to come together to share experiences and address common challenges in developing, implementing and evaluating DME. In preparation for the workshop, the organizing committee conducted a survey with the faculties of medicine so as to determine the variety and extent of those educational activities outside the "home" Academic Health Sciences Centres. Click here to view 2006 Results of a Survey of Distributed Medical Education Activities at Canadian Faculties of Medicine.

Another full-day DME workshop was held in May 2007 whose focus was on fully distributed medical education programs in regional campuses. It hosted small group sessions on governance, faculty development, student affairs, and training for rural medicine and evaluation of these DME programs. The small groups reported in plenary session where the discussion turned to identifying areas of consensus or discordance, lessons learned and recommendations for future directions. To serve as a basis for discussion at the workshop the Planning Committee conducted an environmental scan to determine the current status of undergraduate DME in Canada, and the adaptations and challenges occurring for each. This is included in the extensive workshop report entitled Fully Distributed Medical education Programs in Regional Campuses.

In May 2008, a 2-hour DME session was hosted by AFMC, with all faculties invited, to provide an opportunity for an interactive discussion on the many aspects of distributed medical education - from learners and teachers in rural communities to developing regional campuses and what could AFMC do to support efforts in DME. View report here. The main outcome of this workshop was the formation of an AFMC-DME working group to strategize about potential next steps.

One outcome of their deliberations was the creation of an online discussion forum in February 2009 to foster dialogue on several topic areas amongst key representatives across the seventeen faculties. They also organized a three-hour networking session "Deepening the Dialogue" at the annual Canadian Conference on Medical Education which took place in May 2009. It hosted facilitated small group discussion on accreditation for regional/distributed campuses, student support, opportunities for interuniversity collaboration and community engagement. Details on this session will be posted soon.