Paul Winwood, Regional Associate Dean, Northern B.C., demonstrates the “robotic patient” in the clinical simulation room of the Learning and Development Centre with Robert Tower and Heather Siemens, who will be starting their residencies in Prince George this summer. Photo credit: 6ixSigma Productions and PG Air
The University Hospital of Northern B.C. (UHNBC) today opened a Learning and Development Centre that expands and enhances the education and training of UBC medical students and medical residents in Prince George.
The 1,365-square-metre (14,692 square-feet) centre includes a library, seminar rooms with a combined capacity of up to 140 people, a clinical simulation centre, video-conferencing rooms, and group-study areas. Health care-related classes will be held at the Learning and Development Centre during the current summer semester, with expanded use in the fall.
The $10.5-million dollar Learning and Development Centre was a joint project of Northern Health, the UBC Faculty of Medicine and the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), funded by the Province of British Columbia. The project was completed by Western Industrial Contractors, based out of Prince George.
“The new Learning and Development Centre is another critical piece of infrastructure that will support the training of health care professionals in Northern B.C.,” said Shirley Bond, MLA for Prince George-Valemount, who attended today’s event on behalf of Health Minister Terry Lake. “The expanded space and state of the art equipment will ensure that students trained here at UHNBC have everything they need to be successful in their programs and be well prepared to work here in the North.”
The clinical simulation portion of the new centre features robotic patients that mimic health concerns of patients, and allows students to develop hands-on but pain-free skills in cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological and pharmacological areas of study. The simulation centre, along with the hospital’s library, was moved from the main hospital.
The medical library in the new Learning and Development Centre. Photo credit: 6ixSigma Productions and PG Air
“The Learning and Development Centre will provide much-needed space to expand the delivery of our medical and health professional educational programs in the north, and reinforces University Hospital’s important place in the Faculty’s network of clinical academic campuses,” said Gavin Stuart, Dean of the UBC Faculty of Medicine and UBC’s Vice Provost, Health. “The resources of this new facility will help our learners develop critical thinking skills and health knowledge within a high-tech learning environment.”
The new centre is a key health education partnership between Northern Health, the University of British Columbia (UBC), and the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC). Students in the Northern Medical Program, delivered through UBC’s Faculty of Medicine, spend the majority of their time at both the hospital and UNBC in Prince George. In addition, medical residents, as well as visiting residents, are based at the hospital year-round. Students in the Northern and Rural Cohort of UBC’s Master of Physical Therapy Program also receive clinical training at the hospital.
“We want to ensure health care professionals in Northern Health have access to the latest information, and that they have the materials they need to help them in their health care practice,” said Cathy Ulrich, Northern Health chief executive officer and president. “Northern Health Library Services helps with information and knowledge management services with various health care disciplines, and we’re very excited to have this included in the new Learning and Development Centre.”
“We’re proud of the health care education programs that are delivered by UNBC and in partnership with the UBC Faculty of Medicine,” said Daniel Weeks, UNBC president. “The Learning and Development Centre will help enhance the experience of these future health care professionals and be another benefit for northern learners.”