Medical students from Shanghai visit uOttawa to begin their medical studies

Thirteen students from the Ottawa-Shanghai Joint School of Medicine (OSJSM) based in China recently arrived at uOttawa Faculty of Medicine for the 2017 OSJSM summer school that marks the beginning of their medical education. Upon completing the summer school, these students will enroll in the two-week Introduction Unit of the uOttawa UGME program along with first-year MD students at the Faculty of Medicine.

The OSJSM is a central pillar of the partnership between uOttawa Faculty of Medicine and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (SJTUSM), which also includes a Joint Clinical Research Program and the first-ever Joint Department of Family Medicine between a Canadian and Chinese university.

The Introduction Unit provides uOttawa MD students with an opportunity to gain valuable inter-cultural experience. By meeting in-person with OSJSM students and experiencing the beginning of their medical education together, uOttawa students gain an invaluable experience for building a worldly perspective in an increasingly connected global health system.

To assist with cross-cultural connections, Dr. Melissa Forgie, Vice-Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME) at the University of Ottawa, launched the Peer Support Program last year through which a first-year OSJSM medical student will be paired with first-year uOttawa MD student based on common interests.

“The goal is for the students to support each other, share their experiences and hopefully create lifelong relationships,” says Dr. Forgie. “By learning together, working together and growing together at the beginning of their medical career, they have the opportunity to become global citizens and work collaboratively to improve health outcomes world-wide.”

“We, as a university, need to provide our students with a platform to engage and participate on the world scene and gain international exposure that prepares them for success globally,” says Dr. Yuwei Wang, Assistant Dean of Internationalization at uOttawa Faculty of Medicine.

“If we are truly to be an international university, we need to increasingly develop an education system that supports students on the world stage where they can navigate different countries, cultures and organizations,” says Dr. Jacques Bradwejn, former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa and Founding Dean of the OSJSM. “Our partnership with SJTUSM is unique in the world for developing and sustaining such an education system.”