Program Contacts

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General Instructions

Program application language: English

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Supporting Documentation / Information

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Review Process

Applications submitted after file review has opened on January 10, 2023

Supporting documents (excluding letters of reference) that arrive after file review has opened  on  January 10, 2023

Letters of reference that arrive after the unmasking date on January 10, 2023

All applications are reviewed electronically by two members of the selection committee. Based on a developed criteria & formula a shortlist is created and applicants are then invited to an interview. All applicants will receive notification via email indicating whether or not they are being invited to interview. Please note that due to time constraints residents will not receive notification of their interview status until January 27, 2023. This is standard across Canada for Internal Medicine.

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Interviews

Dates:

• February 6, 2023
• February 7, 2023
• February 8, 2023
• February 9, 2023
• February 10, 2023
• February 13, 2023
• February 14, 2023
• February 15, 2023
• February 16, 2023
• February 17, 2023

Selection Criteria

Initial screening involves review of each applicant file by two independent reviewers. Following the file review, applicant files are scored and ranked. Selected individuals are contacted via email on January 27, 2023 and invited to interview with one or two members of the Selection Committee. The final ranking score will be based on file review and interview. Applicants not invited to interview will also be advised via email on January 27, 2023. Criteria for shortlisting includes: Academic record, Personal letter, Reference letters.

Program goals

The primary mission of the UBC Internal Medicine Residency Program is to train residents to attain the knowledge, skills and attitudes to become excellent general internists who are committed to upholding the highest ethical and professional standards of medicine. Residents learn to provide compassionate, respectful, patient-centered and evidence-based care in a variety of academic and community settings. The primary instructional strategy is experiential learning, which occurs through the residents’ graduated patient care responsibilities.

Graduates are prepared to enter the practice of general internal medicine or to pursue fellowship training, either in general internal medicine or the subspecialties of internal medicine.

Selection process goals

Identify applicants with demonstrated ability to interact appropriately with patients and colleagues alike.

Identify applicants interested in internal medicine, and those who will develop into exceptional internal medicine physicians.

Identify applicants who have demonstrated attributes highlighted in the CanMEDS 2015 goals.

Identify applicants who have demonstrated ability and enthusiasm to learn and are able to adapt to the various demands of an internal medicine residency training program.

File review process

Evaluation criteria :

Elective criteria

Interview process

Interview evaluation criteria :

Information gathered outside of CaRMS application

Specifically, we may consider:
Social interaction during program related events
Communication with program administration
Social media
Unsolicited reference letters
Unsolicited email references
Unsolicited verbal information on a candidate's prior performance
Unsolicited feedback from colleagues and co-workers

Ranking process

The behavior(s) exhibited below during the interview process may prevent an applicant from being ranked by our program :
Unprofessional or inappropriate behavior   
Did not attend interview   
Interview performance was not competitive   

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Program Highlights

Distinctive Features

 

Strengths of the program include the large number of skilled and dedicated clinical teachers, the wide variety of clinical experience, protected AHD time, 2-week Boot Camp for incoming PGY1s. Our distributed sites throughout the province allow residents to see and participate in community medicine throughout rural areas in the Province, which has a very diverse population.

 

The program also has other numerous features:

 

1) One week of annual conference leave with additional funding provided

2) Associate Membership to the American College of Physicians

3) Subscription to NEJM+ Knowledge Plus

4) Annual Resident Research Day

5) International Elective

6) Annual Winter Conference

7) Annual Resident BBQ and other numerous social events

8) Additional funding for residents presenting at national/international conferences

9) OSCEs

10) Simulation/Ultrasound Curriculum

11) Resident wellness initiatives and events

 

 

 

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Program Curriculum

This residency program is for 4 years.

Program length of training does not exceed the Royal College or College of Family Physicians of Canada standard.

The residency program provides 3 years of comprehensive training in Internal Medicine. Residents enter the Medicine Subspecialty Match at the beginning of their third year of training.  We have a distributed provincial program and during the three core year training period, residents will spend 12 - 24 weeks in a distributed training site within the province. This is exclusive of community rotations.

PGY-1

Fundamental Critical Care Skills Course (FCCS)
This is a mandatory course offered in the first few months of training.

Procedures Training
This is a mandatory course offered during Boot Camp which will train residents in procedures and ultrasound use. 

 

Rotation	Duration	Location / Notes
Boot Camp	4 Weeks	Current site is Vancouver General Hospital for 2-week Boot Camp curriculum, and Vancouver General Hospital, St. Paul's Hospital, Royal Columbian Hospital & Surrey Memorial Hospital for 2 week ICU / CCU / CTU service.
ICU	4 weeks	Current sites are Vancouver General Hospital, St. Paul's Hospital, Royal Columbian Hospital & Surrey Memorial Hospital
CCU	4 weeks	Current sites are Vancouver General Hospital, St. Paul's Hospital, Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria
Clinical Teaching Unit	20 weeks	Current sites for PGY1s are Vancouver General Hospital, St. Paul's Hospital & Royal Columbian Hospital
Subspecialty Elective	20 weeks	Majority of electives are available through the Department with most of them available at the Lower Mainland.

 

PGY-2

Rotation	Duration	Location / Notes
Clinical Teaching Unit	16 weeks	You may be assigned to a Sr CTU rotation in Vancouver General or St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver, Royal Columbian in New Westminster, Prince George, Victoria, or Kelowna
Subspecialty Electives	24 weeks	Subspecialty Electives are available throughout the Lower Mainland. We are in the process of developing further subspecialty rotations throughout the Province.
CCU	8 weeks	Two months of CCU may be spent at Vancouver General, St. Paul's Hospital, or Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria
Community	4 weeks	Community rotations are offered in Richmond, North Vancouver, Maple Ridge, Penticton, Kamloops, or Salmon Arm

PGY-3

The curriculum adheres to the principle of graded responsibility. Subspecialty experience is offered in all major disciplines of internal medicine. The program has the flexibility to allow "free" elective experience to those wishing to pursue training in other disciplines or in other locations. Electives are available in a variety of community settings around the province.

Rotation	Duration	Location / Notes
ICU	8 weeks	Currently, we have 4 ICU rotation sites - Vancouver General, St. Paul's Hospital (within the city), Royal Columbian in New Westminster, and Surrey Memorial Hospital
Ambulatory Medicine	8 weeks	All senior residents are required to complete 2 months of Ambulatory GIM. Clinic sites are at Vancouver General Hospital, St. Paul's Hospital, Prince George Regional Hospital, Lionsgate Hospital, Victoria General Hospital and Kelowna General Hospital.
Clinical Teaching Unit	12 weeks	You may be assigned to a Sr CTU rotation within Vancouver at Vancouver General, St. Paul's Hospital, Royal Columbian in New Westminster, Prince George, Kelowna, or Victoria
Subspecialty Electives	24 weeks	Subspecialty electives are available throughout the Lower Mainland

For a detailed look at the Program’s 4-year curriculum, please refer to our website.

Research & Resident Research Day

Research / scholarly projects are a Royal College Requirement.  All residents should work towards presenting at least once at Annual Research Day by the end of the PGY-3 year.

The research program is organized such that residents receive education pertaining to areas such as critical appraisal, research design and data analysis. A mentor system is in place to facilitate interaction with faculty in the design of a project. An Annual Resident Research Day is held each Spring to showcase research being conducted by both residents and fellows. This is a nationally renowned event with prizes awarded in several categories. Residents with projects that have been accepted for presentation at major meetings will receive funding to travel to those conferences.

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Training Sites

Training Sites

The Internal Medicine Residency Training Program at the University of British Columbia is a fully integrated provincial program involving four primary hospitals in the Lower Mainland area - St. Paul 's Hospital,  Vancouver General Hospital, Royal Columbian Hospital, Surrey Memorial Hospital.  We have training sites outside of the Lower Mainland in Prince George (Northern BC), Victoria (Vancouver Island), and Kelowna (Interior BC).  In addition, a number of other facilities are utilized for residency training: The British Columbia Cancer Agency and the G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre. Community sites are available throughout the province and are a mandatory & integral part of the training program for a 1 month period during the PGY-2 year.

 

Residents can expect to spend a minimum of 3- 6 months at one of the expanded teaching sites during their three years of core training.

 

Electronic resources include: e-mail access, internet access, Web MD, Medline, Care Connect access. One45 and Entrada are our web-based evaluation and scheduling program.

 

 

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Additional Information

Rwanda Global Health Elective

We offer an opportunity for senior medical residents to travel, as part of a team, to the Republic of Rwanda for a one block elective rotation. The team will consist of two senior residents and one faculty.  We are planning on sending residents on this elective in five blocks this year.

 

About Vancouver

Vancouver is home to spectacular natural scenery and a bustling metropolitan core, and boasts one of the mildest climates in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of British Columbia and the third largest city in Canada. Nestled on the Pacific Coast, Vancouver, British Columbia was voted the " Best City in the Americas" by Condé Nast Traveler magazine at their annual Readers' Choice Awards ceremony held in New York. It is surrounded by water on three sides and is nestled alongside the Coast Mountain Range.

The City of Vancouver supports a wide range of destination sites-- from more than 190 parks to three different civic theatres -- that are interesting places to visit for tourists and residents alike. Vancouver is also home to many other sights and is networked by a comprehensive transportation system. The city offers first-class amenities, matched with a leisurely west-coast lifestyle, superb restaurants, outstanding cultural events and shopping from around the world and is a major tourist destination.

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FAQ

1. WHEN WILL I BE NOTIFIED OF AN INVITATION TO INTERVIEW?

All applicants, whether successful or not, will receive notification on January 27, 2023.

2. WILL I KNOW WHO MY INTERVIEWERS ARE PRIOR TO THE INTERVIEW?

You will not have information with respect to your interviewers prior to the day of your interview.

3. IS THERE A CHIEF RESIDENT OR ANOTHER RESIDENT I CAN CONTACT WITH RESPECT TO PROGRAM-RELATED QUESTIONS?

The program offers several live sessions where you will have the chance to ask questions. You can view the event details on the AFMC calendar and on our website: UBC IM R1 CaRMS 2023.  If you are unable to attend the sessions, we will have the recording uploaded to the website. If you are unable to find answers on this website, in the program description, or on our website, please forward your question to ros.wisenthal@ubc.ca. Your questions will be forwarded to one of the Chief residents.  

4. IF I AM NOT SHORTLISTED HOW CAN I APPEAL TO HAVE MY FILE REVIEWED AGAIN?

Files are not re-reviewed .  The Department of Medicine receives a large number of excellent candidates and it is extremely difficult to develop a shortlist. We do feel, however, that we have developed excellent criteria for development of a shortlist. We receive many requests from applicants asking us to review their files again and out of fairness to all applicants will decline to do this except for very extenuating circumstances.

5. MY REFEREE HAS NOT SENT MY REFERENCE LETTER TO CARMS BY THE DEADLINE DATE. CAN I SEND YOU A HARD OR ELECTRONIC COPY?

We do not take hard copies of any file materials. The selection process is completely electronic. No paper copies are printed and our faculty work directly from the electronic CaRMS site. No materials will be accepted - electronically or otherwise - after the deadline date.

7. I WILL BE IN VANCOUVER FOR AN ELECTIVE PRIOR TO THE INTERVIEW DATES. IS IT POSSIBLE TO SET UP AN INTERVIEW AT THAT TIME?

No interviews will be set up prior to the shortlisting process or the formal interview dates. Our process is intended to be equitable to all applicants.

8. IS THERE ANY SPECIFIC CRITERIA FOR THE PERSONAL LETTER?

We don't want to limit the personal letter to just medical content so along with telling us why UBC/Internal Medicine interests you please provide additional information about yourself that may be of interest

9. IF MY PERSONAL LETTER IS LONGER THAN THE REQUESTED ONE PAGE WILL IT NEGATIVELY IMPACT MY APPLICATION?

No - UBC, however, receives over 400 applications each year and we are attempting to keep the paperwork down to a minimum for the file reviewers.

10. WILL THE INTERVIEWERS HAVE ACCESS TO MY FILE ON THE INTERVIEW DAY?

No - the files will already have been reviewed and scored. The interview scoring is based solely on the interview.

11. I HAVE HEARD A RUMOUR THAT UBC RANKS THEIR OWN TRAINEES FIRST. IS THIS CORRECT?

No - UBC has never had a policy of ranking their students first. We believe in ranking the best applicants we can regardless of where they trained.

12. IS IT EASY TO FIND RESEARCH MENTORS AND OPPORTUNITIES?

Our research office assists residents in connecting with faculty with related research interests.

13. IF I HAVE FAMILY COMMITMENTS WILL I STILL BE REQUIRED TO DO ROTATIONS AWAY FROM THE LOWER MAINLAND AREA?

Yes - all residents are expected to do 3 - 6 blocks away their 3 core years at one of our distributed sites. This is exclusive of any rotations at Royal Columbian Hospital or any Community Rotation.

14. WHAT IS THE CURRENT ACCREDITATION STATUS OF YOUR PROGRAM.

The UBC Postgraduate Program is fully accredited.

15. HOW MUCH OUT OF PROVINCE ELECTIVE TIME IS ALLOWED?

Three months during the core three years of training.  This is negotiable for special requests.

16. HOW MUCH RESEARCH TIME IS ALLOWED?

Three months during the core three years of training.

17. HOW MANY RESIDENTS CURRENTLY IN THE PROGRAM?

We currently have 170 Core Medical Residents in the Program making us the second largest program in the country.

18. ARE FELLOWSHIP POSITIONS GUARANTEED?

Residents are guaranteed four years of funding. Fellowship positions are competitive and residents are not guaranteed of a position at UBC.