The Vancouver Sun and the Prince George Citizen recently published an essay by Dermot Kelleher, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and UBC’s Vice President, Health, about the way that the distributed medical education program has transformed the Faculty of Medicine, heightening its commitment to society.
After describing the process that led to the creation of a system in which more than a third of the MD program’s students attend most of their classes and clinics in northern B.C., the Interior, and Vancouver Island, Dr. Kelleher then goes on to explain that it shifted the Faculty of Medicine’s view of itself.
“Standing apart is no longer an option,” Dr. Kelleher wrote. “Social accountability is now a fundamental tenet of our strategic plan, as demonstrated by our recruitment and support of Indigenous students, more than 80 of whom have graduated since we launched our distributed model. And there is hardly a health question or health challenge that our researchers are not tackling.
“Schools and universities are often reluctant to take it upon themselves to undertake such dramatic transformations. But we must be open and willing to embrace the needs of society, even if that means venturing out of our comfort zones.”
The piece, which can be read in its entirety here, appeared in the Vancouver Sun June 17, and in the Prince George Citizen June 20.