APSA Newsletter - Phi Psi » 2009 Fall, Volume 4, No. 1 » A View from the North: Clinician Scientist Trainees in Canada

A View from the North: Clinician Scientist Trainees in Canada

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Suze Berkhout, President, Clinician Investigator Trainee Association of Canada/Association des Cliniciens-Chercheurs en Formation du Canada

“So, you mean you can do an MD and a PhD at the same time? [pause] Why would anyone want to do that?”
Regardless of whether you live in Minneapolis or Montreal, it can sometimes seem as though we are perpetually being asked to explain ourselves, and the purpose of our work as clinician scientists and scholars in training.  In Canada, there are approximately 150 MD/PhD trainees in various stages of dual programs; while the relatively small numbers often mean less general awareness of opportunities for academic medicine (and more explaining on the part of trainees), the quality and impact of the research being conducted is world-class.  Across Canada, this work spans the breadth of basic and biomedical sciences, health systems research, population and public health, and the medical humanities. The wideness in the scope of research is activities is matched by that of the geographical distance between trainees—making for challenges in coordinating mentorship, career development and advocacy efforts.