DME Models
Regarding the different “looks” of DME, there exist at least three models in Canada.
- The Small Community Model
In this model, smaller communities, usually lacking full services (e.g., no case room, no pediatric ward), offer some rotations to students and residents, often in an inconsistent manner (e.g., Family Medicine, some specialty rotations).
- The “Hubs” Model
In this model, “hubs” develop as the size of the community increases. Varied rotations maybe offered, including a full clerkship program. Local physicians thus take on greater roles and more formal teaching occurs on site.
- The Campus or Satellite Model
In this model, students spend all four years of their medical school in a small community, at a free standing campus with a full academic staff.
DME at the University of Ottawa
All the above models are DME, all are valid educational models, and all are here to stay. The geography and demographics of Southeastern Ontario has led the University of Ottawa DME Office to pursue a small community model with an interest in developing hubs with larger neighboring communities.
The University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Medicine is unique in Canada in offering medical education in both English and French. The Francophone Stream in the Faculty of Medicine currently enrolls over 40 students per academic year. This program has been distributed since its conception, involving local and rural community practices, and Francophone community hospitals, both in Ontario and in the rest of the country. Le Bureau des affaires francophones (BAF) has been a lead agent in this program, including recruiting preceptors and developing community rotations. Thus, the Faculty, together with the DME Office, is meeting the challenge of offering a French program in a fully distributed model.
The position of director of DME was created in 2005; since then the expansion and development of the DME infrastructure has been a constant process (e.g., DME specific appointments, accreditation guidelines, webcasting of lectures, rural Faculty Development). This is an exciting time in Distributed Education; as it increases in the community, the creation of new and innovative models of medical education now seem possible.