Pioneering spirit of UBC’s first medical graduates carries over to today’s physicians
The following essay, by Gavin Stuart, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and UBC’s Vice Provost Health, was published March 19 in the opinion section of the Vancouver Sun:
Gavin Stuart
These are exciting times for new doctors in B.C. Medical school graduates from UBC, other North American and world universities will be matched in March and April, to residency positions across the province. They will receive in-depth training within a medical specialty in a hospital or doctor’s office.
Residents work directly with patients, under the close supervision of practising physicians, putting their textbook and practical education to use in a real care setting. As the next generation of physicians, they bring plenty to the health care system: new ideas, current knowledge, energy and enthusiasm. Residents, filling a record 328 positions this year, will be deployed to care for patients in all parts of the province and that footprint is constantly expanding.
One of Canada’s largest emergency medicine residency programs will receive new residents in a few months to serve patients throughout the B.C. Interior. This new site based at the Kelowna General Hospital emergency department builds on programs created last year at two Victoria and one Fraser Valley hospital.
Nearly half the residencies — a record number — are designated this year for family medicine, where the need is greatest. Altogether, the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s 1,400 postgraduate trainees are at work serving British Columbians in 67 distinct postgraduate training programs.
I am one of many who argue B.C. needs more doctors because our population is growing and aging. But how do we encourage more physicians to practise here, without compromising patient care and crippling the budget? This is way tougher than it looks.
The number of MD training positions in B.C., as in all provinces, is based on current and projected patient demand, health-care human-resource needs and provincial budget realities. UBC collaborates with the Ministry of Health, the health authorities, the BCMA and other health-sector organizations to set that number. We do our part by training more doctors here, and helping a growing number of foreign-trained doctors — International Medical Graduates — to meet B.C. standards.
UBC medical school annual enrolment in the last decade has more than doubled, from 116 students to 288. UBC also created Canada’s first distributed medical education program, which encourages graduates to practise where they trained.
This program is delivered today on four university campuses and at more than 100 clinical teaching sites across the province.
IMGs — whether Canadian citizens or other nationals — are also part of the solution. With the provincial government’s support, we will be allocating 20 per cent of new residency positions to IMGs by 2017.
Why doesn’t B.C. allow anyone to practise medicine if they have a medical degree from outside Canada and the U.S.?
We can’t, because IMGs come with different training and skill levels. Some of them have very limited patient care experience. In B.C., residents treat patients, so we need to ensure IMGs can provide safe and appropriate treatment. This is why, throughout Canada, IMGs must complete a series of standard assessments before they can become residents and start their postgraduate medical training.
Family medicine residencies entail two years of clinical practice, learning and hard work. Specialty and sub-specialty program training means an investment of between four and seven years on the part of the dedicated and mostly young people who want to serve patients and their families.
The very first group of UBC MD trainees completed its undergraduate medical education studies 60 years ago this fall. I have no doubt the compassion, resiliency, curiosity and work ethic this pioneering group showed then will also be found among this year’s MDs as they embark on medical residencies in hospitals and clinics across the province.