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| Backgrounder(s) & FactSheet(s): | Backgrounder |
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| Backgrounder(s) & FactSheet(s): | Backgrounder |
PRINCE GEORGE – The new northern medical program facility is now open, and for the first time medical students will be trained in the North to serve northern and rural communities, Premier Gordon Campbell said as he officially opened the Northern Health Sciences Centre at the University of Northern British Columbia.
“For the first time ever, we are training medical students in the North, to practise in the North and meet the needs of patients in the North,” Campbell said. “It means doctors-in-training will be able to take some of their education not just in Prince George, but communities like Terrace and Fort St. John. Thanks to the hard work of UNBC, Mayor Kinsley and community leaders across the North, B.C. is leading the way in Canada in expanding our supply of rural health professionals.”
The new northern medical program is a cornerstone of the government’s 10-part Rural and Northern Health initiative, to renew and improve health care for patients. The Northern Health Sciences Centre will house the program, which will train a total of 96 medical students per year by 2007/08, and is part of the University of British Columbia’s expanded medical education program. The northern medical program, along with the Island medical program at the University of Victoria, is part of a government commitment to expand medical training and nearly double the number of doctors trained in B.C.
“We’re creating new opportunities for students to train and build meaningful medical careers in the North,” said Advanced Education Minister Shirley Bond. “Along with this, we are increasing training opportunities in other health professions, ensuring healthy and sustainable communities throughout the North and across the province.”
The first 24 medical students will begin their medical training at UNBC in January 2005, after spending their first semester at UBC’s Vancouver campus. All students will receive medical degrees from UBC.
The northern medical program and Northern Health Sciences Centre will support expanded health-related research activity at UNBC, and provide an opportunity for the North to emerge as a national centre for rural health care teaching and research. In addition to providing overall medical education, the northern medical program will address special issues for northern communities, including aboriginal health.
“The medical school will not only draw students, it will draw top faculty and researchers. When you expand the capacity for education and research, the community benefits from the boost to both the social and economic sectors,” said Pat Bell, MLA for Prince George North.
“The northern medical program is the result of the prescription issued by the people of the north at their health care rally in June 2000,” said Dr. Bert Kelly, executive director of the Northern Medical Society. “The provincial government and UNBC should be commended for delivering this critical program to the North in the astonishingly short time of four years. It will bring benefits for generations to come.”
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