TY - JOUR T1 - Characteristics and outcomes of Canadian MD/PhD program graduates: a cross-sectional survey JF - CMAJ Open SP - E308 LP - E314 DO - 10.9778/cmajo.20160152 VL - 5 IS - 2 AU - Michael A. Skinnider AU - Jordan W. Squair AU - David D.W. Twa AU - Jennifer X. Ji AU - Alexandra Kuzyk AU - Xin Wang AU - Patrick E. Steadman AU - Kirill Zaslavsky AU - Ayan K. Dey AU - Mark J. Eisenberg AU - Ève-Reine Gagné AU - Kent T. HayGlass AU - James F. Lewis AU - Peter J. Margetts AU - D. Alan Underhill AU - Norman D. Rosenblum AU - Lynn A. Raymond Y1 - 2017/04/01 UR - http://www.cmajopen.ca/content/5/2/E308.abstract N2 - 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. ER -