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Prince Edward Island's Medical School: Everything We Know (Admission Requirements, Timeline, MCAT, CASPer Score)

2024-07-26 – Charlottetown, PE

Prince Edward Island is one of the few Canadian provinces remaining without a medical school of its own. Fortunately, this is subject to change as the University of Prince Edward Island plans to open a new medical school in Charlottetown jointly with the Memorial University of Newfoundland. Through an extensive partnership between UPEI, MUN, and the PEI government, the medical school plans to welcome its first cohort of 20 students in September 2025.

Key Facts

• The school will hold 20 seats reserved for PEI applicants with at least one seat reserved for indigenous applicants. Additionally, the school will include 21 residency spots.
• The establishment of the school will give up PEI applicants’ reserved spots at MUN and Dalhousie.
• The first four years of operation will focus exclusively on PEI students, and then it will look to accept out-of-province (OOP) applicants.
• Graduates will be conferred a co-degree from UPEI and MUN.
• PEI is experiencing a shortage of at least 50 physicians, with over 36,000 people waiting to see a family doctor. The province will need 23 doctors in the next 18 months, and likely dozens more in the coming years. The school’s creation is an attempt to address this shortage.

Background

Prince Edward Island, being the smallest province both by area and population has historically lacked significant infrastructure for medical education. Because of this, medical school applicants from this province had to traditionally rely on the larger maritime provinces in hopes of receiving their medical education — PEI residents have been reserved four seats at MUN and six seats at Dalhousie.

The establishment of this new medical school was met with some controversy, as it would result in PEI residents giving up their current ten seats across the other maritime schools. Dr. Preston Smith, the inaugural dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Prince Edward Island, counters by stating that establishing this school would improve the chances of a PEI applicant receiving a medical education: “From my perspective, we're gaining 10 seats”.

Beyond that, PEI is attempting to use this as an opportunity to address its shortage of physicians. Currently there are about 50 vacancies on the island with 293 working doctors, and these numbers are expected to grow. The creation of the medical school not only attempts to address this shortage by allowing more physicians enter the workplace annually (that would want to practice in PEI), but also addresses the turnover rate while keeping retention high — “doctors choose to practice where they’re from and where they train…they choose to stay where they can teach, so the very presence of the medical school is in fact a recruitment and retention incentive.” states Dr. Preston Smith.

Due to the low population of the area, there is little opportunity for some of the residents to be able to practice niche procedures. As such, the school’s primary focus is training family doctors and general practitioners — currently two of the most demanded areas for the province.

Admissions

Applicants seeking admission into the new UPEI-Memorial program will need to complete the online application for MUN and indicate that they are a PEI applicant. Here is some key information:

• TMU will provide complete admissions requirements in October 2024, provided that they receive accreditation.
• Although the OMSAS application closes October 1st, for its first year, TMU will open its applications the same month. The school reassures us that their admissions process will align with those of other schools, beginning in January 2025.
• The MCAT will not be required for admissions.
• Given the commitment to EDI, we can expect a holistic admission process incorporating the principles of anti-racism, accessibility, reconciliation and decolonization. Given the ethical importance of these topics, we expect that TMU will require the completion of the CASPer situational judgment test and a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) with a heavy emphasis on these topics.
• Admissions will heavily consider academic, extracurricular and professional experiences.
• The school will prioritize applicants interested in primary care practice, particularly in medically underserved areas.

How to Stay Updated

To stay updated on the latest developments regarding TMU’s medical school, interested individuals can follow these resources:

• TMU’s Official Website: Regular updates and official announcements will be posted on TMU’s School of Medicine page.
• The Bright Doctor: Follow us on social media and make an account to stay updated on all news related to medical schools in Canada.

By staying connected through these channels, prospective students and community members can keep abreast of the latest developments and opportunities at TMU’s new medical school.

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