The Dalhousie University experience of training residents in many small communities

Abstract

Postgraduate medical education at Dalhousie is somewhat unusual in that all first-year trainees are required to spend time in a small community as part of their training; hence, students who choose programs at Dalhousie often do so because of their interest in experience in a variety of communities, including those outside metropolitan areas. Still, it was surprising that graduates of some non-primary-care specialty programs, in addition to the graduates of the primary care programs, tended to choose rural practice locations. The site of postgraduate training appears to be one of the important factors in the selection of practice locations.