This posting is supposed to be for IUHS, but the conversation was just getting too good. I stumbled upon it myself and would like to add taht Canada's health care is in need of a serious overhaul, from MDs to private practices to technicians, nurses, and equipment. Here is a detailed study done on about thirty countries by the Frasier Institute (a private, Canadian research group), How Good is Canadian Health Care?. You will see that Canada is not by any means the best. I am not taking a jab at Canadian standards or education, only trying to illuminate that things are not all okay here and that much needs to be done. The study does not illuminate all of the problems, especially from a smaller perspective.

It's like this: If you want to get into medical college here, you need a back-up plan because your chances are slim. The US by comparison admits about 50% of its applicants in total (SDN Med School Guide, 2008). Despite the difficulty in getting in, there are some problems that could be in large part assuaged by increasing the number of professionals. A local hospital employs IMGs in the Emergency room. How can Canada be such a big spender on health care per capita (third in the OECD) and have so many issues such as a shortage of physicians and equipment?

My GPA was low when I decided to take on medicine, and I did not even bother applying to Canadian schools. That may seem defeatist, but pessimism was not the only reason. Be that as it may, I am currently applying for schools in the Caribbean and Europe.

I grew up in the US and have lived in Canada for the last 9 years. I have heard all of the horror stories about IMGs driving cabs. I think not enough money is spent, or not spent the right way, as reagards Canadian health care. So many learned men and women already here that cannot practice, and so many more that leave because the price ain't right. It is not because the standards are so high. There is more politics and beauracracy involved than meets the eye. Where is all this money going? and why not privatize, at least in part, to draw back and keep the MDs? The current administration has vowed to privatize some of the system, but with a minority government it seems that things are grindign to a standstill in Parliament.

Any thoughts?

We should move this conversation elsewhere. People opening this thread hoping to find info on IUHS are going to be disappointed...