A carbon footprint study of the Canadian medical residency interview tour

Abstract

Background

Each spring, thousands of Canadian medical students travel across the country to interview for residency positions, a process known as the CaRMS tour. Despite the large scale of travel, the CaRMS tour has received little environmental scrutiny.

Purpose

To estimate the national carbon footprint of flights associated with the CaRMS tour, as well as reductions in emissions achievable by transitioning to alternative models.

Methods

We developed a three-question online commuter survey to collect the unique travel itineraries of applicants in the 2020 CaRMS tour. We calculated the emissions associated with all flights and modelled expected emissions for two alternative in-person interview models, and two virtual interview models.

Results

We collected 960 responses out of 2943 applicants across all 17 Canadian medical schools. We calculated the carbon footprint of flights for the 2020 CaRMS as 4239 tCO₂e (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents), averaging 1.44 tCO₂e per applicant. The average applicant’s tour emissions represent 35.1% of the average Canadian’s annual household carbon footprint, and the emissions of 26.7% of respondents exceeded their entire annual ‘2050 carbon budget.’ Centralized in-person interviews could reduce emissions by 13.7% to 74.7%, and virtual interviews by at least 98.4% to 99.9%.

Conclusions

Mandatory in-person residency interviews in Canada contribute significant emissions and reflect a culture of emissions-intensive practices. Considerable decarbonization of the CaRMS tour is possible, and transitioning to virtual interviews could eliminate the footprint almost entirely.

Keywords:

• Residency interviews
• CaRMS
• carbon footprint
• carbon emissions
• planetary health

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge Claudia Langemeyer for assisting in the translation of the survey to French. We acknowledge Annie Lalande for feedback and improvements to the paper.

We acknowledge Nikolas Krstic, Shuxian Fan, and Andrew Noel Livingstone Buskard for their statistical input. This work was not supported by any funding sources.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Data sharing statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, KL.

Glossary

Carbon footprint: The amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds emitted due to the consumption of fossil fuels by a particular person, group, etc.

Greenhouse gas: A gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation, e.g. carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons.

2050 Carbon Budget: The amount of individual carbon emissions permitted to limit global temperature rise to 2oC above pre-industrial levels.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kevin E. Liang

Kevin E. Liang, MD, BSc, is a Family Medicine Resident at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

Jessica Q. Dawson

Jessica Q. Dawson, MD, MSc, BA, is a Family Medicine Resident at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.

Matei D. Stoian

Matei D. Stoian, MD, BSc, BA, is a Family Medicine Resident at the University of British Columbia in North Vancouver, Canada.

Dylan G. Clark

Dylan G. Clark, MSc, is a Senior Research Associate at the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices in Vancouver, Canada.

Seth Wynes

Seth Wynes, PhD, MSc, BEd, BASc, is a Postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.

Simon D. Donner

Simon D. Donner, PhD, MEM, BArtsSc, is a Professor in the Department of Geography and Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.