Undergraduate Medical Education

During the Undergraduate Medical Education training, students will acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to recognize, understand and apply effective, efficient strategies for the prevention and management of the most common and most severe health problems. This University of Ottawa program integrates the basic and clinical sciences throughout the 4 years of study. It also emphasizes health promotion and disease prevention; it is responsive to individual needs and abilities and to the changes occurring in society and the health care system. The training program fosters trust and compassion, communication skills, ethical professional conduct and patient advocacy.

Emphasis is placed on self-learning; principles and facts are learned in a multidisciplinary fashion, in the context of clinical problems. Whole-class lectures and seminars are used to discuss basic concepts, explore new developments and provide overviews of the biomedical sciences fundamental to the practice of medicine. Training occurs in ambulatory, primary, secondary and tertiary settings, and students will function as a member of the medical team in collaboration with other health professionals.

Admission Requirements

• Canadian citizen or a permanent resident.
• Successfully completed at least 3 years of full-time studies in any undergraduate program leading to a university bachelor’s degree.
• Successful completion of CASPer.

What You’ll Learn

• Pre-clerkship: includes 64 weeks of study of essential biomedical principles and consists of six multidisciplinary units.
• Clerkship: the second part, spans over two calendar years and includes core rotations in internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics & gynecology, psychiatry, family medicine and acute care as well as mandatory selective rotations. A period of 18 weeks is available for elective rotations in fourth year. Clerkship also includes a mandatory one-month rotation in a rural setting.