A backlash against EDIA is gripping Canadian medicine. This is no surprise for a historically conservative institution, but as a family physician who has dedicated more than 20 years to ensuring we address social inequities in front-line care, I worry our efforts to prioritize the health of those most socially marginalized could face a setback.
Within hours of its release, the report was attacked by physicians on X . Many illustrated their critiques with sarcasm and personal vitriol. A deluge of comments poured into the CanMEDS website. The pushback has continued, including a recent opinion piece in the Toronto Star. The report’s authors clarified, in two commentaries in peer-reviewed journals and in a debate on a Canadian Medical Association Journal podcast, that they did not intend to devalue medical expertise, but rather to embed a deeper focus on equity in the core of medical education and practice.
The institution of medicine has been built on the same foundations of power inequality, racism, colonialism and oppression as the rest of our society. Equity-oriented change A body like CanMEDS, deeply embedded in and reflective of the institutions of medicine, does not set out to lead change. It seeks to reflect the current and evolving state of medical practice. The developers of this framework must keep up with contemporary, evidence-based understandings of how medicine can best position itself to provide services in a world increasingly aware of differences in power and privilege.