Brain Refill from down under What's in a Name?

Is medical school only for the rich? T imes are getting tough in Canada for those who aspire to a post-secondary education but are not from wealthy families. Surveys done at the University of Western Ontario reveal that medical students are a privileged crew, coming from homes with family incomes in the top few percentiles. This phenomenon has intensified dramatically in the last few years, coinciding with huge increases in tuition fees. It struck me as unfair when I read in CMAJ that some of those unable to gain admission to a Canadian medical school can buy their way into an Irish one. 1 It's sad to see us regressing as a society and abandoning the legacy of the 19th century social activists who fought for equal educational opportunities for rich and poor. Reference 1. Sullivan P. Shut out at home, Canadians flocking to Ireland's medical schools — and to an uncertain future. Y our article highlighting Canadians studying medicine in Ireland put a new spin on how Canada might fill an emerging need for physicians. 1 As one of more than a dozen Cana-dian students at the University of Syd-ney, I also face an uncertain future. I am in a 4-year, graduate-entry medical program, so I am paying 2 years' less tuition than the students in Ireland. In Australia we also have a more favourable exchange rate. However, it is the daunting task of returning to Canada, with its associated expenditures , waiting and frustrating bureaucracy , that puts me in the same predicament as the " Irish-Canadians. " Currently, the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) does not consider Canadian citizens trained overseas as distinct from non-Canadians attempting to immigrate to Canada to practise medicine. In its attempt to enforce its own immigration policy, the MCC has effectively shut the door to a group of Canadian citizens who want to return to their country. We are, in effect, the brain refill — and we have cost our governments nothing in terms of training costs. What we need is a chance to be treated fairly and to be recognized as doctors-to-be who simply want to practise where they grew up. If the MCC and the provincial governments are looking to relieve the pressure to train more physicians but are balking at the thought of bigger bills, they should look off both the east and west coasts to find an ideal …