UAlberta medical students tops on test

According to a story in The Edmonton Journal, for the first time ever, a class of medical graduates from the University of Alberta has scored the top marks on a national qualifying exam.

The two-part test, administered by the Medical Council of Canada, is a requirement for all wannabe Canadian MDs. And the high ranking comes just two years after the university’s med school was nearly placed on probation by a U. S. accreditation agency.

The test comes in two parts. The first part, a written exam of multiple-choice and short-answer questions, is delivered at the end of students’ fourth year of school. Eighteen months later, graduates must take a hands-on practical clinical test during their’ residency periods.

In the past, UAlberta’s students scored well on the written portion of the exam, but 2007’s class was the first to earn top marks on both sections.