Medical school enrolment in British Columbia will rise by almost 75% by 2005, with the number of first-year students increasing from 128 to 224. The increase marks a major shift in policy. Although its population has grown by 50% in the last 20 years, BC's output of new physicians has not changed with it.
By 2005, 176 first-year medical students will enter the University of British Columbia (UBC), with the remaining 48 spread equally between new campuses at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) and University of Victoria. UBC and its satellites will likely form Canada's largest school when the changes are complete. The University of Toronto currently accepts 198 first-year students.
The announcement addresses concerns about a physician supply crisis in northern BC. UNBC, in Prince George, is building a 3900-sq-m (42 000-sq-ft), $110-million teaching facility and hiring up to 24 new faculty. President Charles Jago hopes the school becomes a national leader in rural and Aboriginal health training. “We will be looking for students who come from Northern or rural regions who are oriented to practising in those communities.”
Essentially, the 3 campuses will be merged into a single training program, and all students will graduate with a degree from UBC. The University of Washington and some Scandinavian countries have used similar outreach programs to train and retain doctors in rural and northern communities. Dr. John Cairns, UBC's dean of medicine, anticipates “all kinds of challenges” because of the tri-campus plan, particularly in attracting faculty members. The initiative does include $12.5 million for a new Life Sciences Centre at UBC.
Dr. Heidi Oetter, president of the British Columbia Medical Association, welcomes the enhanced rural training for undergraduates but says rural specialist training needs support so that a “rural stream” can be created in that area too. — Heather Kent, Vancouver