Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My questions are for the President of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students.
During the previous hour, I spoke with a physician. I told him that when I did my schooling, the emphasis was placed on the clinical assessment of patients, and we were told that questions made up 70% of the assessment, the physical and visual examination made up 20%, and the remaining 10% was made up of additional tests such as blood tests and X-rays. Dr. Cline replied that he had noted among many young doctors a lack of skill or competence in physical examination. This comment was also echoed by other experienced physicians who said that they had often observed this shortcoming among young physicians.
On the other hand, it is difficult to fill positions in remote areas. Young physicians and nurses are asked to go and work in remote areas, where practitioners should have excellent skills in clinical and physical assessment and questioning patients, because there are fewer possibilities to get complementary tests done.
According to you, does medical training focus sufficiently on the fundamentals, that is to say skill in asking questions, relationship skills and the physical examination, so that that training is adapted to work in remote areas—for instance in aboriginal communities or areas under federal jurisdiction—where young physicians often have to practise when they finish their training?