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Regional Advisory Group on Health Services
Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission

The Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine enjoys an enviable reputation as one of Canada's oldest and most prestigious centres for medical education. As the only medical school in the Maritime provinces, it provides a vital service to three provinces. However, for a number of years, the Faculty had that it was inadequately funded to perform its mission. After a number of internal studies, the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission (MPHEC) decided to retain consultants to analyze the financial and administrative arrangements of the Faculty and recommend an appropriate level and method of funding.

The study examined the operations from a number of points of view. We traced the flow of funds from the wide variety of sources that supported the Faculty. As well, we constructed a model of the operation of the Faculty using the Program Cost Analysis/Construction Method (PCACM) developed by the Center for Studies in Health Policies Inc. of Washington D.C. We adjusted the actual costs to incorporate changes to the accreditation reports. The analysis compared the cost of operating the Faculty after adjustments, with statistics drawn from leading Canadian and American faculties. Then we calculated a series of scenarios involving different undergraduate class sizes and numbers of graduate trainees.

Finally, we assessed the implications of changes to the Faculty taking into account the ability of the Faculty to respond to changes in student numbers and funding circumstances, possible funding sources, implications within the University, consequences for operation of the Faculty, and funding sources outside the University. Our study team presented its consensus view of the future directions for the Faculty.

The study findings indicated that the Faculty was under-funded. The general thrust of the recommendations was to either change the mission of the Faculty by reducing its graduate and/or undergraduate student body or to increase funding to a level indicated by the PCACM calculation, providing resources equivalent to other first-class faculties of medicine in North America. As a result of the study, the University and the three Maritime provincial governments and the MPHEC agreed to increase funding while the faculty reduced both the undergraduate class size and the number of graduate trainees.