Education in clinical biochemistry: The canadian scene

Abstract

The Canadian Health Care System is operated governmentally at the provincial level although the costs and benefits are similar in every province. Most physicians are remunerated on the ‘charge per service’ basis, but laboratory physicians (including medical biochemists) are among the few who are remunerated by salary. The training of medical biochemists is regulated by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada by means of a residency program of 4 years duration, following graduation from medical school and completion of the required internship. The training of clinical biochemists, whose functions overlap many of those attributable to medical biochemists, is regulated by the recently created Canadian Academy of Clinical Biochemistry through a certification process incorporating written and oral examinations approximately 1 year apart. Recognized and accredited training programs for clinical biochemists exist in several medical schools: these courses are of 2 (occasionally 3) years duration and entry to these programs requires a Ph.D. and, preferably, some postgraduate research experience. Details of both medical and clinical biochemistry training programs reveal a difference in emphasis and duration rather than in course content, with medical trainees required to spend at least 1 of their 4 training years in clinical disciplines relevant to the practise of biochemistry.