PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Skinnider, Michael A.
AU  - Squair, Jordan W.
AU  - Twa, David D.W.
AU  - Ji, Jennifer X.
AU  - Kuzyk, Alexandra
AU  - Wang, Xin
AU  - Steadman, Patrick E.
AU  - Zaslavsky, Kirill
AU  - Dey, Ayan K.
AU  - Eisenberg, Mark J.
AU  - Gagné, Ève-Reine
AU  - HayGlass, Kent T.
AU  - Lewis, James F.
AU  - Margetts, Peter J.
AU  - Underhill, D. Alan
AU  - Rosenblum, Norman D.
AU  - Raymond, Lynn A.
TI  - Characteristics and outcomes of Canadian MD/PhD program graduates: a cross-sectional survey
AID  - 10.9778/cmajo.20160152
DP  - 2017 Apr 01
TA  - CMAJ Open
PG  - E308--E314
VI  - 5
IP  - 2
4099  - http://www.cmajopen.ca/content/5/2/E308.short
4100  - http://www.cmajopen.ca/content/5/2/E308.full
AB  - Background: Combined MD/PhD programs provide a structured path for physician-scientist training, but assessment of their success within Canada is limited by a lack of quantitative data. We collected outcomes data for graduates of Canadian MD/PhD programs.Methods: We developed and implemented a Web-based survey consisting of 41 questions designed to collect outcomes data for Canadian MD/PhD program alumni from 8 Canadian universities who had graduated before September 2015. Respondents were categorized into 2 groups according to whether they had or had not completed all training.Results: Of the 186 eligible alumni of MD/PhD programs, 139 (74.7%) completed the survey. A total of 136/138 respondents (98.6%) had completed or were currently completing residency training, and 66/80 (82%) had completed at least 1 postgraduate fellowship. Most (58 [83%]) of the 70 respondents who had completed all training were appointed as faculty at academic institutions, and 37 (53%) had been principal investigators on at least 1 recent funded project. Among the 58 respondents appointed at academic institutions, 44/57 (77%) dedicated at least 20% of their time to research, and 25/57 (44%) dedicated at least 50% to research. During their combined degree, 102/136 respondents (75.0%) published 3 or more first-author papers, and 133/136 (97.8%) matched with their first choice of specialty. The median length of physician-scientist training was 13.5 years. Most respondents graduated with debt despite having been supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research MD/PhD studentships.Interpretation: Most Canadian MD/PhD program alumni pursued careers consistent with their physician-scientist training, which indicates that these programs are meeting their primary objective. Nevertheless, our findings highlight that a minority of these positions are research intensive; this finding warrants further study. Our data provide a baseline for future monitoring of the output of Canadian MD/PhD programs.