Class of '96 has age on its side

The youngest 1996 graduate was 21, while the oldest was 51; the average age at graduation was 27.1 years. More than half the new graduates were 1 to 2 years older than would have been expected if students completed an undergraduate degree and then entered medical school, and more than 15% were at least 30 when they graduated; 69 graduates were older than 35.

Eva Ryten, the ACMC's director of research and information services, said age at graduation affects both the choice of specialty, since older graduates tend to choose shorter training programs, and career length. "Assuming a professional career extended to the age of 65, the youngest graduate has 44 years in medicine to look forward to, including at least 2 years of post-MD clinical training. The oldest graduates have a career in medicine of only 14 years' duration ahead of them, at least 2 of which will have to be spent in post-MD training.

"It costs no more to educate a young physician than it does an older one, so the return on investment in medical education of 44 years in one case and 14 years in another is quite striking."

Among other characteristics of the class of '96:

• With 1688 degrees awarded during the calendar year, it is the smallest class (except for 1994) in two decades.

• Half the graduates are women, a record high.

• A record low number of men earned medical degrees.

• The number of foreign medical students (FMS) in the class was 41, the highest in at least a decade. FMS numbers will increase further in coming years as quotas for Canadian citizens and permanent residents/landed immigrants decline. Because foreign students are expected to leave Canada after graduation, the potential physician supply for Canada from the Class of '96 was only 1647 doctors.