Creating a new kind of med school

I am writing to the community to provide an update on our School of Medicine and to clarify some misunderstandings. Over the past few weeks, you have likely seen a series of media columns that have been critical of our approach to admissions. I would like to set the record straight.

We know that there is a tremendous need for family physicians in the region, especially those who can provide culturally respectful medical care.

According to 2021 census data from the City of Brampton,  (external link) where TMU’s School of Medicine will be located, over a third of respondents surveyed (220,000 people) spoke a language other than English most often at home, (external link)  with more than 171 different languages reported. In fall 2021, TMU conducted a series of town halls and an online survey for Brampton, Peel and surrounding communities, where we heard loud and clear that there is an urgent need for more family doctors, and in particular, doctors who understand the languages, cultures and faiths of local residents.

This is why our commitment to recruit people from the diverse backgrounds that make up the region of Peel and its surrounding communities is so important. A similar strategy was employed when the province decided to build a medical school in northern Ontario that prioritized people with lived experience in the North to address chronic under servicing, including those from rural communities and Indigenous backgrounds. The point is not to train doctors who will go elsewhere, but to recruit and educate doctors who will provide primary care to under-served communities in the GTA. This is our way of staying socially accountable and connected to our region and community.

As multiple studies have shown, patients have better health care experiences and outcomes (external link)  when they have access to and support from medical professionals who understand their community, culture, and language.

Admissions process

So how do we purpose build a school that will graduate outstanding physicians committed to serving the regions that are in most need of care? 

We began by studying the best practices of medical schools across the country to ensure that our admissions process will select outstanding applicants with the potential to be great doctors who will also continue to practice in the region. One of our goals is to remove systemic barriers for excellent students who have traditionally faced challenges in accessing medical education. 

We believe that providing equity pathways into medical education will make the TMU admissions process more rigorous – not less. And while we have established equity pathways, similar to other schools in the province, we have no quotas and there have never been quotas around who we will accept. We understand that aspirational language on the website was causing confusion on this point, and that language has been removed. While our approach to the pathways may evolve over time, our commitment to fostering a school that produces exceptional doctors as diverse as the communities they will serve, remains steadfast

Critics have said that, because of our commitment to providing equity pathways, we will be accepting inadequate and academically unprepared students and graduating unqualified doctors into practice. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Highly competitive without exception

The existence of equity pathways does not and will not lower our academic standards. Our GPA minimum requirements are not only in-line with the most prestigious medical schools in Canada, three of the six existing medical schools in Ontario have a minimum GPA requirement that is lower than TMU’s. Furthermore, achieving a minimum GPA does not guarantee admission; it is just the first step in a very rigorous, thorough, and competitive admissions process. 

Of the 18 accredited medical schools in Canada, TMU is one of seven that does not  require the MCAT as part of the admissions process. The MCAT has been widely recognized as a barrier to accessing medical education and not an accurate predictor of professional acumen and skill. Further, two other medical schools require only one portion of the MCAT (the Clinical Analysis & Reasoning score, CARS).

We have recently updated our admissions pages to clarify and better communicate these processes and manage expectations of prospective students.

We will be admitting 94 students to the inaugural class of 2025, and they will be selected from thousands and thousands of applicants across Ontario. We aspire for many of these students to be representative of diverse communities, with each and every applicant being evaluated fairly on their qualifications and potential to become an outstanding doctor.

The need for change

I want to reiterate our unwavering commitment to the principles that guide us, including our dedication to diversity and inclusion.

The health care challenges facing Ontario - and other jurisdictions around the world - are complex and often seem intractable. I do not believe we can begin to address these challenges without searching for positive change and looking for new solutions that may offer a better way forward. 

At TMU, we are aspiring to create a new kind of medical school, a school full of diverse learners who have demonstrated academic excellence. A school of learners and instructors who are representative of, and have a connection to, the communities we serve, and who are committed to serving there after graduation. A medical school that is as diverse as the communities it will serve.

Mohamed Lachemi
President and Vice-Chancellor