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B.C. DOUBLES NUMBER OF MEDICAL SCHOOL STUDENTS
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VICTORIA – Satellite medical schools will be established in Victoria and Prince George, and the University of British Columbia's medical school facilities will expand under a $134-million program announced today by Advanced Education Minister Shirley Bond.
"We made a New Era commitment to train more doctors in this province in the next five years, and by expanding medical facilities to include the universities of Victoria and Northern B.C., we're developing a collaborative model that will be unique in Canada," said Bond. "At the same time, we're providing more access for students to health-care careers at facilities that are close to home, with a quality of education that is second to none in this country."
For more than two decades - between 1980 and 2001 - British Columbia did not add to its 120 medical school spaces, although the provincial population grew by 50 per cent.
A study by the Association of Canadian Medical Colleges shows that B.C. has only 3.2 medical school spaces per 100,000 people, the lowest of any province. By comparison, Alberta and Quebec each have 6.7 spaces, Saskatchewan has 5.8, and Ontario has five.
Currently, B.C.'s intake is 128 doctors annually. This new program will almost double the number of available medical school spaces by 2005. Beginning in September 2004, 24 students will enter the northern medical program at UNBC, 24 will enter the Island medical program at UVic and 24 more students will enter the Vancouver-based program at UBC. A further 24 spaces will be added at UBC in the fall of 2005, for a total of 224 potential graduates per year by 2009.
Students will take the first semester at UBC, then complete the program at UBC, UNBC or UVic. All graduates will receive a medical degree from UBC.
The new program will provide a community-based focus that will address rural, geriatric and aboriginal issues.
"We want to see more students graduate from B.C. medical programs that will serve not only the Lower Mainland, but the North and the Island as well," said Bond. "This new program will help students study where they live, and alleviate regional shortages by providing a new pool of student doctors who will complete their residency programs in hospitals outside the Lower Mainland. It will also increase chances for those doctors to stay to practise in that region."
"We want to thank the government for this innovative solution to help us address the physician shortage in B.C.," said UBC president Martha Piper. "This program will go a long way toward protecting the future of health care in this province."
"Our distributed model of medical education recognizes the regional diversity of the province," said UNBC president Charles Jago. "I think it's a terrific move for the province: the program is courageous, imaginative and innovative, and one of the boldest educational developments in Canada today. We know that this type of medical education will work for northern B.C., and we're delighted that the government has chosen to support it."
"This pioneering program engages the strengths of all the partner universities in a way that benefits the entire province," said UVic president David Turpin. "Through the Island medical program, UVic is looking forward to contributing its research and teaching expertise to this innovative partnership that addresses so many of the medical concerns facing the province."
The expansion will include an estimated $110 million for a new 40,000-square-metre Life Sciences Centre at UBC, and about $24 million for new 4,000-square-metre satellite facilities at UNBC and UVic. Completion for all three projects is set for August 2004.
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Contact:
Trish Shields, Communications
Ministry of Advanced Education
250 356-7882
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Visit the province's Web site at http://www.gov.bc.ca/ for online information and services. |
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