[Sunnyways]

Wait times by province tend to fluctuate. BC was slow in this survey:

http://www.systemperformance.ca/disease ... wait-time/

I am not sure if it has improved since. Anyway, I doubt the differences between provinces affect outcome very much.

There's a world of health care beyond North America with lots of models to discuss. None is perfect. At any one time, you can only have two of the following: low cost; rapid access; high quality. One thing is clear - despite the many excellent medical centres in that country, the US model is not widely admired. Its overall cost is appalling. Here is one American who admires Australia's system:

http://globalnews.ca/news/3428492/trump ... ealthcare/

[herbie]

The Felcher Clinic now performs colonoscopies using tiny cameras attached to hamsters....

[Sunnyways]

Most rights infringe on other people in some way but let's leave that for another day.

Why did this young person require colonoscopy so urgently? In such situations, in either Canada or the USA, they would normally get that procedure very quickly.

On med schools, we have roughly the right number in proportion to our population but there are lots of ways they could be made cheaper. Most of the non-patient preclinical learning could be done online at a fraction of the cost. For example, here is an excellent YouTube course of pathology that covers everything a med student needs to know on that subject:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2EF59E51C51B8124

I am sceptical of the league tables that universities put out. They sound like advertising for an overpriced product. The basics of medicine are the same everywhere and what you learn largely depends on yourself. These days education is going to last an entire career, long after you've left the ivory tower.

Regarding training standards, it's actually harder to become a GP in Britain, probably too hard. The specialist exams are more difficult too.

[ShepherdsDog]

Had one last week, not a fun experience. Not the purgative you take the day before nor having a garden hose hose stuck up your ass and getting your colon pumped full of air. All to be told, see you in five more years.
It took two weeks from the time my doctor ordered it until I underwent the entire sordid experience. What did it cost? Only my dignity, but the fentanyl(for'concious sedation') made up for that.

[Thanos]

Did the doctor confirm or deny the rumours that the liquified contents of the pre-colonoscopy purge procedure are now being delivered directly to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC, USA?

[Sunnyways]

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

Had one last week, not a fun experience. Not the purgative you take the day before nor having a garden hose hose stuck up your ass and getting your colon pumped full of air. All to be told, see you in five more years.
It took two weeks from the time my doctor ordered it until I underwent the entire sordid experience. What did it cost? Only my dignity, but the fentanyl(for'concious sedation') made up for that.

I thought I was well behaved during the procedure but the report described an unseemly struggle between man and beast.

[ShepherdsDog]

I thought it was funny, expecting you to hold the air in.....don't think so sparky. Then lumberjack farts for the next few hours.

[bootlegga]

peck420 peck420:

BC is not Canada, Bart.

Wait times vary by location and by severity.

My father waited 3 days for his because he wanted a time that suited his schedule, and he was facing nothing immediate or critical.

My mother-in-law waited less than an hour, but hers was deemed critical by her doctor.

Sadly, this is the game US conservatives use when trying to portray Canada's health system as terrible - they cherry pick one study or lousy statistic and then act like it's a nationwide epidemic, instead of acknowledging that health care is administered by the provinces (and coverage/services varies across the country), not the federal government.