CanMEDS and the combat against antibiotic resistance

R I finished an Internal Medicine elective at The Ottawa Hospital. There, I was privileged to care for some of the city’s sickest patients. As the elective progressed, I began to notice a pattern. Every time medical staff entered a patient’s room, they would frantically put on gowns, facemasks, and gloves covering every part of their bodies. Curious, I wondered why? Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a sea of signs labeled “MRSA Protocols.” That evening, I reflected on how the problem of “superbugs” had gotten so out of hand. In lectures, we had learned the genetic reasons behind the development of antibiotic resistance but I realized there must be reasons beyond the realm of biology. In fact, there is an interplay of economic, psychosocial, and political factors that also contribute to society’s mishandling of such an invaluable resource. As medical students, we are introduced to the CanMEDS framework at an early point in our training. CanMEDS was created by The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in the 1990s to promote competencies in seven key pillars for physicians in training to improve patient care (Figure 1). I pondered deeply at how the seven roles behind this prominent medical education dogma could play a part in combating the economic, psychosocial, and political factors of antibiotic resistance.