Distributed MD education
More Doctors for BC
In 2004, the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine launched an innovative, distributed medical education program in collaboration with the Government of British Columbia, the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), the University of Victoria (UVic) and provincial regional health authorities. The first of its kind in Canada, the program created new opportunities for medical education across BC, doubling undergraduate class sizes over a period of 10 years at sites in the North, on Vancouver Island, in the Fraser Valley, in the BC interior, and in Vancouver.
One Curriculum - Three Sites
Students enroll in one of three programs -- the Island Medical Program (IMP), the Northern Medical Program (NMP), and the Vancouver Fraser Medical Program (VFMP). New academic facilities with state-of-the-art technology were constructed at all three academic campuses to accommodate the influx of students. Starting in the fall of 2010, a fourth program in BC's Interior, the Southern Medical Program, will open at UBC's Okanagan campus and at surrounding clincial sites.Students spend the first four months in Vancouver and the remainder of the first two years in the IMP, NMP or VFMP. During the clinical third and fourth years of the program, students spend time in all regions of the province. With expansion, students gain new opportunities to spend a significant amount of time in hospital- and community-based clinical settings in the Northern Health Authority, the Vancouver Island Health Authority, the Fraser Health Authority, and Interior Health as well as Vancouver Coastal Health and Provincial Health Services Authority.
All students must meet the academic and other standards set by the Faculty of Medicine. All students graduate with a UBC medical degree.
