In today's world, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine is a relevant topic and of growing interest to a wide range of people. Whether it is everyday life, politics, technology or any other field, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine plays a crucial role in the way we live and how our environment evolves. As society advances and circumstances change, it is essential to stay informed and reflect on University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, both in its current context and its historical relevance. In this article, we will delve into the fascinating world of University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine and explore its various aspects and implications for our daily lives.
Medical school of the University of Toronto
Temerty Faculty of Medicine
The FitzGerald Building (foreground) and the Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research
The Temerty Faculty of Medicine (previously Faculty of Medicine) is the medical school of the University of Toronto. Founded in 1843, the faculty is based in Downtown Toronto and is one of Canada's oldest institutions of medical studies, being known for the discovery of insulin, stem cells and the site of the first single and double lung transplants in the world.
History
The university originally opened its medical school in 1843, providing instruction in medicine and medical sciences. In 1853, it suspended the school's teaching program and transferred teaching duties to the city's three proprietary schools: Trinity Medical College, the Toronto School of Medicine and Woman's Medical College. Because proprietary schools could not grant degrees, the university's medical school retained the responsibility of holding examinations and conferring medical degrees. As the university kept raising its standards, the medical examinations became increasingly rigorous and scientific.[1] This led to fewer medical students from proprietary schools deciding to obtain university degrees, which were not required for medical practice at the time.[1]
In 1887, the university resumed medical teaching in its Faculty of Medicine. The faculty promptly absorbed the Toronto School of Medicine, which could no longer compete with the university as it faced heavy costs of scientific work and higher examination standards set by the faculty.[1] The 1910 Flexner Report on the state of medical education in the United States and Canada, which led to the closures of many medical schools across the continent, nonetheless singled out a select few medical schools for praise, among them Toronto's Faculty of Medicine. Flexner praised the "high quality of instruction" offered at Toronto and noted that its equipment "among the best on the continent".[2]
The Faculty, in partnership with the University of Toronto Mississauga and Trillium Health Partners[3] opened the Mississauga Academy of Medicine in August 2011 with 54 first-year students. As of 2014, the academy has a total of 216 students enrolled in the four-year program. The new facility is located across two floors inside the new Terrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex and provides brand new classrooms, seminar rooms, computer facilities, learning spaces and laboratories.[4] Students are provided with fully equipped student lounge and outdoor terrace to relax and socialize. Students are able to share lectures and learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom through advanced technologies.[4]
In 2022, the Ontario government announced that University of Toronto Scarborough would provide medical training as well. The campus will offer 30 undergraduate seats and 45 postgraduate positions.[5]
Curriculum
In 2016, the Faculty of Medicine implemented the new Foundations Curriculum, moving away from the traditional lecture based style of teaching based on anatomy, physiology, pathology and pharmacology and into a case-based learning approach with early clinical exposure.[6]
The Doctor of Medicine program at the University of Toronto is a 4-year MD program with a total enrollment of about 850 students. The first two years are known as the preclerkship curriculum, during which M.D. candidates acquire the basic biomedical and human anatomy knowledge. The principles of medical ethics, professionalism and medical jurisprudence are also taught in preclerkship. The final two years form the clerkship curriculum that takes place in hospitals and ambulatory clinics. The core clerkship rotations cover the essential medical specialties: surgery and internal medicine, psychiatry, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine, ambulatory experience, neurology, emergency medicine, anesthesia, ophthalmology, otolaryngology and dermatology. Additional rotations are devoted to elective clerkships that provide training in subdisciplines within the major specialities.
In 2018, the average accepted undergraduate weighted GPA was 3.96 (on the University of Toronto Weighted GPA (wGPA) Formula) and the median score in the numerically graded sections of the MCAT was 11.[7][8] The University of Toronto is one of only a few programs in Canada to accept international students through its admission process. The faculty also offers the MD/PhD degree jointly with University of Toronto doctoral programs, in addition to other degrees of Master of Science, master of public health, master of health science, doctor of philosophy, and post-doctoral fellowships.
Departments, hospitals and research
The Faculty of Medicine is subdivided into 26 separate departments: Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Biochemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Institute of Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, Family and Community Medicine, Immunology, Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Medical Biophysics, Medical Imaging, the Institute of Medical Science, Medicine, Molecular Genetics, Nutritional Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Paediatrics, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Physical Therapy, Physiology, Psychiatry, Radiation Oncology, Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, Speech-Language Pathology and Surgery.
The Faculty of Medicine is also the only medical school in the Greater Toronto Area and operates a health network that comprises twelve teaching hospitals with significant emphasis on tertiary care, including medical treatment, research and advisory services to patients and clients from Canada and abroad.[9] The Faculty houses Biosafety level 3 facilities.[10]
The faculty is associated with two level 1 adult trauma centres, a multi-organ transplant hospital, a pediatric hospital, a psychiatric hospital, a geriatric hospital, four rehabilitation institutes and several general hospitals.
MaRS Discovery District is an affiliated corporation that was established to help commercialize the faculty's life science and medical research through partnerships with private enterprises.
In 2023 the school was ranked 4th in the world for clinical medicine and surgery by U.S. News & World Report.[15] It was also ranked 5th in the world for pre-clinical, clinical and health by The Times Higher Education in its 2022 listings.[16] It was ranked 13th in the world for medicine by the QS World Ranking.[17] In 2020 the school was ranked 15th in the world Academic Ranking of World Universities for clinical medicine.[18]
While not exclusively regarding the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, in 2023, NATURE ranked the University of Toronto 3rd in the world for Health sciences [19]
Daniel J. Drucker OC, FRS, class of 1980: University Professor of medicine, research endocrinologist; his discoveries regarding the GLP family of hormones revolutionized treatment of diabetes
William Boyd, professor of pathology, 1937–1951, Author of important pathology textbooks
John C. Boileau Grant, professor of anatomy, 1930–56, Author of notable anatomy textbooks
Dafna D. Gladman, professor of medicine and Senior Scientist, Krembil Research Institute, noted for research on psoriatic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis
Vivek Rao, cardiac surgeon and medical researcher, Munk Chair in Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, Toronto General Hospital, and Senior Scientist in the Division of Experimental Therapeutics at the Toronto General Research Institute
^"Frequently Asked Questions". University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. University of Toronto. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
^"Hospital Partners". Experience Research. Office of the Vice-President, Research, University of Toronto. 2008. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2009.
Archival papers of Bernhard Cinader, who established of the Department of Immunology at the Faculty of Medicine, are held at University of Toronto Archives and Record Management Services
Archival papers of James Arnold Dauphinee, Head of the Department of Pathological Chemistry in 1947, are held at University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services