Expanding Medical Education in
British Columbia within a Socially
Responsible Framework
Oscar Casiro, MD, FRCPC
Head, Division of Medical Sciences, UVic
Associate Dean, Island Medical
Program, UBC
Challenges



Shortage of
physicians
Recruitment and
retention problems
Maldistribution of
physicians
British Columbia





BC provides only a fraction of the 300 400 new physicians it needs each year.
Only 26% of physicians practicing in the
province are UBC graduates.
BC has the lowest medical student spaces
per capita in Canada.
Shortages of physicians in rural/northern
communities
Growing, ageing population
B. McBride & J. Cairns, 2001
The MD Undergraduate Program Distributed
Model of Expansion
University of
Northern British
Columbia:
University of
British Columbia:
University of
Victoria:
Northern Medical
Program
(NMP)
Vancouver-Fraser
Medical Program
(VFMP)
Island Medical
Program
(IMP)
Changes in Student Enrolment in the
UBC Faculty of Medicine 2003 - 2010
NMP
IMP
VFMP
32
24
24
32
24
24
128
Current
152
2004
176
192
2005
2010
Proposed changes to undergraduate
enrolment by year 2003 - 2013
Year 4
Year 3
Year 2
Year 1
128
128
128
224
224
224
224
256
256
200
224
224
224
200
224
224
224
224
224
256
256
256
200
224
224
224
224
224
256
256
256
256
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
128
128
128
128
128
Current
256
224
128
120
200
224
224
University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
Undergrad Program – Degrees of Distribution
Degrees Of Distribution
Partner University Campuses
1st & 2nd Year
Clinical Academic Campuses
Phase 4, 3rd Year
Affiliated Regional Centres –
Types 1 & 2
Phases 5&6
Dispersed Sites - Rural & Remote
Phases 3, 5, 6
Rural & Remote
Affiliated Regional Centres
PHSA
BCCWH/
BCCA
IHA
KGH
VCHA/FHA
VGH/SPH/RCH
UBC
UVic UNBC
NHA
PGRH
VIHA
Vic Gen/RJH
Community Based
Sites
Uses of Technology

Planning:

• Meetings
• Team rooms

Administration:
• Curriculum meetings

Faculty development
• Tutor meetings

Instruction
• Lectures
• Labs
• PBL groups
Student support
• Student connection
• Student counseling

Evaluation
• Exams
• Faculty/course
evaluation
Medical Sciences Building:
Home of the Island Medical Program




Officially
opened
December 2004
“Green”
building
Students have
24-hour access
(coded security
cards)
Designed to
accommodate
students and
Medical Sciences Building:
Facilities







Two state-of-the-art
lecture theatres
Seven PBL rooms
Two research labs
Computer lab
Reading room
Gross anatomy lab
State-of-the-art
multipurpose lab
Medical Sciences Building
Island Medical Program
Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA)
Clinical Academic Campus

Royal Jubilee Hospital
• 656 bed acute care
• Clinical skills facility for
1st & 2nd year IMP students

Victoria General
Hospital
• 379 bed acute care

Educational Centres in
Central and North
Island
Class of 2008
The Island Medical
Program’s most
important asset!
“I had high expectations
when I decided to participate
in the Island Medical
Program, and those
expectations have been
exceeded! I love being able
to study with a small group
of students, and I love the
interaction with IMP staff –
they know all the students by
name!”
Continuum of Medical Education
• Pre-Med
• Undergraduate Medical Education
• Postgraduate Medical Education
• Continuing Professional Development
(CME)




Develop core clerkships in Victoria
Build infrastructure to support
medical education outside Victoria
Community-based integrated
clerkships in Central or North Island
Community-based rural electives
and selectives
MD Undergraduate Program
Years 3 and 4
•
•
•
•
Phase III- Community Practice (4-8 week
practicum in rural and underserved
communities)
Phase IV- (48 weeks) required clinical
clerkships
Phase V- selectives and electives (first 16
weeks of year 4)
Phase VI- Effective Learning Skills for
Medical Practice (16 weeks including a 2
week LMCC preparation course and 4
week senior elective)
Undergraduate Curriculum and Planning Model
Years 3 & 4
Location
Year
Phase
Course
III
Rural Practice: 4 to 8 week Practicuum in Rural Communities
IV
Core Clerkships (Internal Medicine, Surgery, Paediatrics, Obstetrics and
Gynaecology, Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine)
V
Advanced Clerkships (Electives and Selectives)
VI
Effective Learning Skills for Medical Practice (weekly themes:
Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Health Care & Epidemiology, Health Care
Policy, Ethics, Law, Advanced Communication Skills, Palliative Care)
3
Throughout
British
Columbia
4
VFMP IMP
NMP