About Us

The core function of the UGME program is to educate future physicians - to provide them with the scientific, professional, and social tools to question, learn, discover and lead consistent with the guiding statement of purpose for the Faculty of Health Sciences.

We inspire so future physicians can join the culture of innovation, exploration and collaboration. We lead the community by example. We provide structure and support to allow our community to learn what was, challenge what is and optimistically embrace  what could be.

Health defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) is the “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” The Canada Health Act 1985 builds on this “[we] can [improve] ... well-being through combining individual lifestyles that emphasize fitness, prevention of disease and health promotion with collective action against the social, environmental and occupational causes of disease, and [we] desire a system of health services that will promote physical and mental health and protection against disease”. It is this calling, to improve overall health and well-being, that we engage and answer as a UGME program.

We align with the World Health Organization’s Towards Unity for Health (Geneva, 2000) endorsing the “Health for All” goal, and the mission to reduce disparities in health and well-being across individuals and groups. This reflects a deep commitment to equity and inclusion, particularly around those who are marginalized and oppressed. 

Excellence in the healthcare environment answers the fundamental regional needs that drive engagement within the UME program. This represents a deep commitment to developing clinical skills and expertise in the service of patients and populations. 

Innovation is core to the Faculty of Health Sciences vision and values, and woven within the rich tradition of the UGME program itself. We recognize that innovation represents a deep engagement to defining needs, structures and processes, with the courage to challenge the status quo and the persistence to measure and iterate for productive change.

Advancing health and well-being requires a purposeful, systematic and rigorous approach to discovery, communication and knowledge building.  We recognize the central import of scholarly approaches in all core functions and processes of the UGME program.

Leadership is core to the educational and inspirational mission of the UGME program. We foster the development of leadership at all levels, as a key tool to advance our mission, and empower our students and marginalized groups to effect meaningful improvements in health and wellness.

We acknowledge the central role of social and structural determinants on health and wellness. We think deeply on the need to address these determinants to improve the health of the marginalized. We systematically apply an equity and anti-oppression lens to all we do to best address the healthcare concerns of those who are oppressed, under-represented, and marginalized.

As a part of McMaster’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine’s commitment to social accountability in medical school admissions, our program leaders, community partners, students, physicians, and scholars collaborate to address our priority groups.  

Both priority groups are historically underrepresented in our medical program.  Many barriers exist as part of the long journey in applying to medical school for applicants that serves to create an inequity in the admissions process. As a UGME program we remain committed to equitable access that aligns with our social accountability statement, and McMaster University’s statement on Building an Inclusive Community with a Shared Purpose: https://secretariat.mcmaster.ca/university-policies-procedures-guidelines/

Currently, a streaming process is in place (established since 2006 for Indigenous, First Nations and Metis, and planned for 2022 for Black students). Both streaming processes require applicants to meet the same minimum eligibility requirements as other applicants. Both use a second application to demonstrate affiliation with priority groups. 

In the Indigenous stream, applicants must demonstrate proof of Indigenous ancestry, and affiliation to the Indigenous community, reviewed by a separate Indigenous Admissions Subcommittee. Similarly in the Black stream, applicants must describe their interest in applying to the stream, adjudicated by a Black Admissions Subcommittee arbitrating applicant eligibility for the stream. No limits on admission in each stream are designated.

The UGME program takes a pro-active and longitudinal facilitated approach to supporting priority student populations within the program. This approach recognizes that students from priority groups have unique journeys including facing many barriers and inequities which can slow or impede success. The approach is collaborative involving student affairs, supports (eg. Indigenous Health Learning Lodge, McMaster Black Students Association) and dedicated resources (eg. Indigenous Bursary) focused on each priority group.

Curricular mapping processes are reviewed on a biennial basis by the Curriculum committee and presented at the UGME Executive Committee to identify how priority group health needs are addressed by the curriculum across each relevant component.

The type and location of experiences within the program reflect our social accountability statement, and are reviewed on a biennial basis by the Curriculum committee and presented at the UGME Executive Committee.