Bc Government Commits Funding To Northern Medical Program Planning And Construction Of A Medical Teaching Facility At UNBC
March 15, 2002 For Immediate Release
The British Columbia Government is joining with the Universities of British Columbia, Northern British Columbia, and Victoria to respond to the critical need for physicians in the province. Integral to the proposal to double the number of physicians trained in BC is the Northern Medical Program, developed by UBC and UNBC.
The British Columbia Government is joining with the Universities of British Columbia, Northern British Columbia, and Victoria to respond to the critical need for physicians in the province. Integral to the proposal to double the number of physicians trained in BC is the Northern Medical Program, developed by UBC and UNBC.
At its open cabinet meeting today, the Government has earmarked $12.5
million to build a state-of-the-art, 42 000 square foot medical teaching
facility at the University of Northern British Columbia's Prince George
campus. Further information, including a graphic showing the location
of the new building on campus, is available on the web at www.unbc.ca/nmp.
The University is now seeking design proposals from architects.
The Northern Medical Program is part of an initiative to double the
number of physicians trained in BC. The expanded program will include
an increase in medical students at UBC, as well as the development of
the new Island Medical Program
involving the University of Victoria. In addition to the new facility
announced for UNBC, the expanded medical education program is requiring
campus expansion at UVic and the construction of a major life sciences
building at UBC. All of the new facilities will be connected by a telecommunications
network for videoconferencing, etc.
"Key to our distributed medical education plan is a recognition
of the regional differences throughout BC," says UNBC President
Charles Jago. "For the first time, undergraduate medical students
in BC will have the opportunity to complete most of their education
outside of the Lower Mainland. Even though our core medical teaching
building will be located on the Prince George campus, Northern Medical
Program students will have an exposure to many different communities
in the North through practical placements working with local doctors."
Further development of the distributed medical education program is
being funded by a $5 million planning and implementation fund created
by the BC Government.
"This is exactly the kind of program I'm interested in,"
says Christina Neufeld, a UNBC student from Fort Nelson who is interested
in enrolling in the new NMP. "I grew up in northern BC and I'm
very interested in practicing in the North - this new program will give
me the skills and education I want."
me the skills and education I want."
It is expected that the Northern Medical Program will accept its first
24 students in 2004. Students will spend their first semester at UBC
before having the opportunity to complete the remainder of the program
in northern BC.
While unique in Canada, the new medical education plan and its northern
component have been based on medical education programs in Scandinavia
and the United States; programs that prove the impact and success of
northern/rural physician training. In each model, the educational program
has greatly increased the number of doctors practicing in northern regions.
The impetus for the Northern Medical Program came from a grassroots
movement to improve health care in northern BC. The idea of training
doctors in the North was first presented by residents of northern BC
at a huge health care rally in Prince George in June, 2000. Similar
events were held throughout the North. In January 2001, a proposal for
expanding medical education through a distributed model was unveiled
at the National Health Summit in Prince George.