Left to right: Incoming UBC residents Tiffany Ngai (Pediatrics), Jake Zamora (Internal Medicine), and Moira de Valence (Family Medicine) are part of the largest cohort of entry-level postgraduate trainees in the history of B.C.
This summer, hundreds of newly-minted physicians will embark on the next stage of their medical career, serving as residents in teaching hospitals and clinics across the province.
“I am very excited to not only be welcoming back our returning residents, but celebrating the arrival of a record-number of entry-level trainees,” says Dr. Roger Wong, associate dean of Postgraduate Medical Education.
This July, UBC will welcome 338 new residents — the largest number of entry-level postgraduate trainees in the history of B.C.
“We’re committed to expanding opportunities for postgraduate medical trainees to ensure we’re meeting the needs of individuals living in urban, rural and remote regions of the province,” says Dr. Wong.
In the past ten years, UBC’s postgraduate training programs have grown considerably. Today, over 1,400 medical trainees are pursuing 70 different postgraduate programs at more than 100 sites across the province. This year, as in previous years, Family Medicine accounts for the largest number (nearly half) of entry-level residency positions.
Using a distributed approach, UBC has opened up opportunities for doctors to train and complete their journey to practice in communities across the province.
This July, UBC’s Family Medicine Residency Program — now the largest in Canada — opened a new rural training site in Kootenay-Boundary, based in Trail. After the launch of new sites in Kamloops and North Vancouver last year, Kootenay-Boundary becomes the 18th Family Medicine residency training site (and one of eight rural sites) that sees approximately 300 family physicians-in-training serving patients across B.C.
But Family Medicine is not the only program expanding training opportunities for residents. This summer, a new Pediatrics training site in Victoria received its first two residents, broadening pediatric medicine training outside of Vancouver. Meanwhile, UBC’s Internal Medicine residency site on Vancouver Island welcomed an additional trainee.
Visit the BCMD10 microsite to see how UBC residents are helping to meet the needs of B.C. communities.