Doctors are in high demand, making medical students a hot commodity in Ontario.
"The very fact that there is a doctor shortage, there's definitely something that sort of drives you to want to become a physician," said medical student Yajur Shukla.
To help combat the shortage, the Ontario government has increased the number of medical school spots by 23 per cent in the last four years.
A Liberal MPP for Ottawa Centre says the money has been well-spent in the Captial.
"In University of Ottawa alone we've seen 20 new spaces and I believe four new more spots are being created in 2008," said Yasir Naqvi.
But even with new spaces, it's still at least a six year process before students are able to become doctors.
The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada is proposing to shorten that process so medical students can start practicing medicine sooner.
Currently, 15 of Canada's 17 medical schools follow a four-year undergraduate medical education curriculum, said Dr. Nick Busing who is a member of the association. The other two Canadian medical schools require students to go through a three year program.
Busing says educators are now debating how many years of school are appropriate for doctors in training.
But while pushing medical students through school at a faster pace may be one solution, others say there's another way.
The Ontario Medical Association predicts Ontario is about 2,000 doctors short of meeting the demand for physicians. That's not including 4,000 doctors who are expected to retire within the next two years.
A spokesperson from the International Medical Graduates Program says the province should make it easier for foreign-trained doctors to get certified in Ontario.
"According to our stats, there are around 4,000 international medical doctors in Ontario and that number is increasing daily," said Arber Zaplluzha of the International Medical Graduates Program.
Dr. Wafa Djerboua Yahiaoui, an international medical school graduate, agrees.
"We are ready to practice, we are ready to help. Even if you send us in those small towns or small villages, we want to do it," said Yahiaoui.
While the Ontario government has more than doubled the number of residency positions available to foreign doctors, there are only 200 openings for the thousands of international medical graduates living in Ontario.
"They have to go through a series of licensing exams and also they have to go through retraining and that's where the problem actually arises because there are not enough residency positions in Ontario," said Zaplluzhu.
"If we do the math, you can see that for everybody to go through the licensing process it will take 20 years, basically," he said.
With a report from CTV's Aliya Jiwan
