Response

Dr DiTommaso is correct in identifying the inclusion of the Francophone Quebec faculties in the Canadian Resident Matching Service in 2006 as one of the factors leading to the increased percentage of first-year residents choosing family medicine as their first choice. Between 2000 and 2002, just below 30% of students chose family medicine first. This reached an all-time low in 2003 at 25%. Since then we have seen a gradual increase (with a slight dip in 2007). Even within medical schools, there has been substantial variability from year to year. Our challenge is to proactively develop strategies aimed at increasing the appeal of family medicine, and those strategies need to be implemented through all phases of the learning continuum.

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