Montréal, July 8, 2004 - Université de Montréal has received the green light from the Québec government to start operating medical training programs in the St. Maurice Valley in the fall of 2004. This innovative project will help remedy the serious shortages of physicians faced by many of the remote regions of Québec, including the St. Maurice Valley, which ranks fourteenth out of sixteen regions in numbers of general practitioners per thousand residents.

"By training future physicians directly in the regions, Université de Montréal has become the first university in Québec to offer training programs in outlying regions. This initiative could serve as a model for similar projects in other regions of Québec," noted Dr. Jean Rouleau, Dean of the Université de Montréal Faculty of Medicine. Training physicians in the St. Maurice Valley will encourage graduates to set up practice and remain in the region by exposing them to the conditions of practice in the region during their training. This is a sustainable solution to the problem of medical resource shortages in the regions," Dr. Rouleau emphasizes.

In designing this project, Université de Montréal joined forces with a number of partners in the St. Maurice Valley region. The preparatory year for the medicine program will be given by Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), while hospital training will be provided mainly at the Centre hospitalier régional de Trois-Rivières (CHRTR), but will also involve resources from other health care institutions in the region: hospitals, health care centres, CLSCs, and long-term care facilities. Some of the training and residency rotations will also take place in hospitals in the UdeM teaching system.

Université de Montréal will take full responsibility for the medical training programs, and its strict supervision will ensure that the quality of training is identical to training currently provided in Montréal. The programs in medicine at Université de Montréal are among the best in Canada, as witnessed by the fact that its students have posted first-place scores on the Medical Council of Canada examinations in the past four years.

Beginning in September 2004, UQTR will admit an initial cohort of 24 students in the preparatory year. This cohort may be increased to a maximum of 48 students, depending on teaching capacity at St. Maurice Valley hospitals and changing needs. In terms of post-doctoral training, in July 2005 the University plans to launch a residency program in family medicine at the CHRTR, with an initial cohort of six residents. It will also gradually offer residents enrolled in basic specialty programs at Université de Montréal the option of completing 10% to 15% of their training in the St. Maurice Valley.

Main partners

Université de Montréal, together with its affiliated schools, HEC Montréal and École Polytechnique, is the premier institution of higher learning and research in Québec, second largest in Canada and among the largest in North America. It employs 2,300 professors and researchers, has enrolment of close to 55,000 students, offers more than 550 programs at all levels, and awards some 3,000 master's and doctoral degrees each year. Its Faculty of Medicine has the highest enrolment in Canada, and ranks second in terms of research activities. It trains nearly half of the medical manpower in Québec. In September 2003, it admitted 227 new students in its undergraduate doctor of medicine program.

Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières has all the necessary staff resources in the subjects that make up the preparatory program for the doctor of medicine degree. It also has the teaching laboratories and documentary resources required to train physicians. UQTR offers many programs for future health care professionals, and closely monitors advances in their different areas of expertise.

Centre hospitalier régional de Trois-Rivières (CHRTR) is the regional hospital that resulted from the merger of two major hospitals in the St. Maurice Valley region. It has more than 225 active physicians, including 160 specialists, and leading edge technology infrastructure to adequately meet the regional population's needs, while it also satisfies the requirements for training a new generation of doctors specifically in and for a regional context. An affiliation with Université de Montréal is currently under development.

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Source :   
Dr Raymond Lalande  
Vice-doyen aux études de 1er cycle
Faculté de médecine
Université de Montréal

For more information :  
Julie Gazaille
Direction des communications et du recrutement
Université de Montréal
(514) 343-6796