The Northern Medical Program (NMP) is a distributed site of UBC’s Faculty of Medicine MD Undergraduate Program, delivered in partnership with UNBC. Each year, 32 students are welcomed into the NMP. Each new class begins their first semester in Vancouver at UBC in August, and then arrives at UNBC in January for the remainder of their medical education.
The NMPT helps to fund a variety of learning experiences for the NMP's students, including:
Weekend Shadowing visits
Open to first and second year students as a voluntary rural weekend shadowing opportunity, this program exposes students to medical practice in rural communities prior to their selection of 3rd and 4th year clinical experiences.
The experience can include family medicine, in-patient care, emergency medicine and obstetrics. Communities include Mackenzie, Smithers, Valemount, Vanderhoof and Williams Lake.
Integrated Community Clerkships
Students entering their third year of medical education have the option to complete their entire academic year in an Integrated Community Clerkship program (ICC) in a rural community in B.C. The NMPT provides support for students who choose to pursue an ICC placement in Terrace (three students) and Fort St. John (three to four students). The funding provided helps to offset living and travel expenses.
Rural Elective Placements (Northern BC)
In their fourth year, students undertake various clinical placements of their choosing in the first half of their school year.
Those students who select clinical elective placements in rural communities in Northern BC (outside of Prince George) have to the opportunity to apply for NMPT support.
These placements vary in length from two to four weeks.