Program Contacts

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Important Information

Prospective residents should refer to the Family Medicine Residency Selection website for ongoing updates, deadlines and detailed information.

FMProC: Important timelines

For the 2025 residency selection cycle ALL FM residency programs in Canada require applicants to sit FMProC for those applying in both rounds of CaRMS. 

 

FMProC test window for CaRMS first Iteration is from October 28 (8AM ET) to November 11, 2024 (10AM ET). 

Registration opens from September 11 (12 noon ET) and closes on November 07, 2024 (10AM ET). 

 

To register and find out more about the test please go to www.fmproc.com. All test related updates will be posted on the website. 

Requests to register or to sit the test outside of the posted deadlines will not be considered. 

 

Upon completion of FMProC, you must upload your FMProC result letter to CaRMS for your application to be considered complete.

 

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General Instructions

Program application language: English

Resident selection for the UBC Family Medicine program is a collaborative process between all of our sites. Logistics and administration of resident selection is managed by our central program office in Vancouver, located at the UBC Point Grey Campus.

As the UBC Family Medicine Program is distributed into 23 unique sites and locations, candidates should apply to each site they are interested in. 
Applicants must submit same application package to all sites to which they apply.  

Regardless of the number of sites applicants apply to and rank, only one interview will be conducted. 

A variety of virtual information sessions will be held to provide prospective residents with the opportunity to learn more about the programs and discuss the training experience with faculty and current residents. Please visit Program Events for upcoming events. 

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Supporting Documentation / Information

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Review Process

Applications submitted after file review has opened on November 29, 2024

Supporting documents (excluding letters of reference) that arrive after file review has opened  on  November 29, 2024

Letters of reference that arrive after the unmasking date on November 29, 2024

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Interviews

Dates:

• January 18, 2025
• January 19, 2025
• January 20, 2025
• January 21, 2025
• January 22, 2025
• January 23, 2025
• January 24, 2025
• January 25, 2025
• January 26, 2025
• January 27, 2025
• January 28, 2025

Selection Criteria

Applicants must submit an application to each site they are interested in and should assign the same set of documents to each site. Selection is based on file review and one set of MMI interviews. Each file is reviewed and given a score. This file review score determines whether a candidate is offered an interview. The file review score is then combined with the interview score and FMPROC score to create a total score for each applicant. The file review score will contribute to 20%, interview score will contribute to 75%, and FMProC will contribute to 5% of the overall global score. A recommended rank list based on the total score is submitted to each site for consideration. The sites retain discretion to adjust the recommended rank list based on local site selection committee input.

Program goals

1. To graduate residents who have developed the competencies needed to begin independent family practice in diverse community settings
2. To deliver an effective academic, clinical and scholarly educational program
3. To graduate residents who are inspired, resilient, and balanced
4. To graduate residents who demonstrate evidence-based and reflective practice
5. To provide working and learning environments that ensure residents, faculty and staff feel respected and supported

Selection process goals

1. Identify individuals with an aptitude for family medicine who are most likely to thrive in our diverse residency sites and in the unique context of British Columbia communities
2. Identify individuals with a demonstrated solid foundation of clinical skills and clinical approach which equips them for Postgraduate Education training.
3. Identify individuals who have consistent professional behavior; who interact appropriately with patients, colleagues and staff.
4. Identify mature, motivated individuals with a broad range of life experience which they can draw upon to adapt to the demands of residency training.

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
Other : Candidates are encouraged to contact the site director. There is no preferred method, some opportunities may be during the program related event, email, or a site visit. It is important that the remoteness of the site and size of program is understood.

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   
Other : • File does not support interest in family medicine
• Interview suggests lack of non-cognitive family medicine skills

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Program Highlights

Uniquely B.C:  UBC Family Medicine

Family Medicine training in BC presents you with many unique opportunities. We are a fully accredited distributed program with 23 training sites and multiple training communities. In an effort to meet the evolving needs of our society, each site provides a solid foundation in the knowledge and clinical skills of Family Medicine so that our graduates are prepared to practice in a variety of settings. While our program offers diversity of training, it is based on common goals, learning objectives, and assessment standards.

All residents are required to do a mandatory 2-month rural rotation in Family Medicine in their second year. Residents in the Coastal, or rural programs in the Okanagan or the North complete longer rural placements. Residents can also apply to participate in Enhanced Rural training for a total of 4-6 months in rural communities.

There is extensive academic and administrative support for the entire residency program. Our central program administrative team is based in Vancouver on UBC campus. At the site level, leadership teams are made up of a Site Director, Site Faculty, Lead Residents and administrators. Lead Program Faculty provide provincial education support in the areas of curriculum, assessment, faculty development, scholarship and behavioral medicine.

The Family Practice Postgraduate Education Committee has representation from all sites to ensure a connected, distributed program that fully meets accreditation standards. Residents are represented at all levels of governance.

A wide range of amazing recreational and cultural opportunities are at your doorstep, as well as a collegial community of residents and physicians with whom you can learn, grow, and play. We want your experience to be in BC to be a positive and enjoyable one.

Training Sites: Overview

Visit the UBC Family Medicine Postgraduate website for a detailed overview of each of the 23 sites and their surrounding communities.  Each site provides opportunities to experience Family Medicine in their unique context, offering special opportunities to gain experience and skills unique to the area where you are training.

The following is a list of our sites and their base community/hospital. Each site serves the surrounding community (see training sites for full details):

 

Greater Vancouver / Lower Mainland

• Abbotsford-Mission
• Coastal (North Vancouver, Lion’s Gate Hospital)
• Chilliwack
• Indigenous (Greater Vancouver and rural Indigenous communities)
• St. Paul's (Downtown Vancouver, Inner City)
• Surrey South Fraser (Surrey Memorial Hospital)
• Vancouver Fraser (New Westminster, Royal Columbian)

 

Interior Region

• Kootenay Boundary (Trail, Nelson, Rossland, Castlegar)
• Kelowna Rural (Kelowna R1 year; rural communities across BC in R2 year)
• Kelowna Regional
• North Okanagan (Vernon)
• Okanagan South (Penticton)
• Kamloops

 

Vancouver Island

• Indigenous (Victoria, Ladysmith and rural Indigenous communities including Pacheedaht, Penelakut, ‘Namgis)
• Quw'utsun (Duncan)
• Nanaimo 
• Strathcona (Comox, Campbell River and Courtenay)
• Victoria

 

Northern

• Fort St. John (Northeast)
• Northern Rural (Prince George R1 year; rural communities across BC in R2 year)
• Prince George
• Rural Immersion (Hazelton, Smithers, Vanderhoof, Mackenzie, Valemount/McBride, Chetwynd/Tumbler Ridge)
• Terrace (Rural Northwest)

 

IMG positions are offered at the following sites:

• Abbotsford-Mission
• Chilliwack
• Coastal
• Fort St. John
• Kamloops
• Kootenay Boundary
• Nanaimo
• North Okanagan
• Okanagan South
• Kelowna Rural
• Kelowna Regional
• Prince George
• Strathcona
• St. Paul’s
• Surrey South Fraser
• Vancouver Fraser
• Victoria

Resident Support

Resident resilience and wellness is our top priority. Important resources have been developed by our program to support our residents throughout the course of the training.

All UBC programs are allocated a fixed amount of funding per resident for Resident Activities.  This funding is used to provide educational support to residents during their 2 years of training. This includes funding for residents to attend program-wide courses and events. Additionally, residents may identify conferences and educational materials that would supplement their training experience. A discretionary, per resident funding will also be allocated to the sites for a similar purpose at the site level.

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Program Curriculum

This residency program is for 2 years.

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

Introduction

The Rural North West/Terrace UBC residency site is a community-based, longitudinal, integrated program which prepares residents interested in Rural Family Practice to be confident and competent. Most of our graduates are working in rural locations.  We have built a program that emphasizes continuity, learning in the context of the rural environment, and stability. 

 

Purpose / Objectives

Cutting edge medical education is now focusing on longitudinal integrated programs in distributed sites. The vision of the Northwest Family Practice Residency (NWFPR) is to offer high quality medical education in rural communities providing a broad spectrum of general and specialist medical care in an integrated program.  This program will contribute to science, research and application of the four principles of Family Practice for the learners, faculty, and communities utilizing a “Triple C” Curriculum.

Our Mission is to provide a community-based postgraduate family practice residency program and undergraduate family medicine education in a regional centre affiliated with UBC, the Northern Medical Program, and the Northern Health Authority. This site will assist learners, enhance the professional environment for the faculty and staff, and improve the health care of North West BC citizens.

 

Program Objectives

• The NWFPR will provide a northern BC residency program that is based on the four principles of Family Medicine in a triple C environment, with an integrated 24-month curriculum.
• The graduating residents will apply their knowledge, attitudes and skills in broad-spectrum family medicine practice in the northwest of BC.
• The learning environment will be focused on family practice problem solving skill and based on principles of effective adult education.
• The residents will be part of a community network of health care providers and will become skilled at collaborating as team members and team leaders.
• The graduating residents will have expert knowledge of the wide range of common problems of patients in these communities and of the less common but life-threatening and treatable emergencies in patients of all stages of the life cycle.
• The excellent training will be a cooperative venture between the academic centers and this community-based training site.
• Family Medicine will be taught by family physicians whose philosophy and practice are consistent with the aims and aspirations of family medicine, as defined by the four principles in a Triple C curriculum.

 

PGY1 and PGY2 Overview

This two-year program is designed to train physicians interested in practicing in rural Canada. However, the program also suits physicians interested in acquiring a broad skill set useful in any community. The curriculum has been created to maximize the integration of the hospital, the office and the community work of the doctor. Both the first and second years will be longitudinally integrated to maximize clinical exposure and experiences as well as provide for some blocks of elective time. The curriculum will provide, in longitudinally integrated format, the approximate equivalent of:

Rotation	Duration	Location / Notes
Family Medicine	32 weeks	including 4-8 weeks in an alternate community (Haida Gwaii, the Nass Valley or Hazelton)
Emergency	4 weeks
Obstetrics/Gynaecology	8 weeks
Pediatrics	12 weeks
Psychiatry	4 weeks
Internal Medicine	8 weeks
Surgery	8 weeks
MSK	4 weeks
Electives/Selectives	16 weeks

Within the 32 weeks assigned to Family Practice, 4-8 weeks will be made available to work in a community other than the community of Terrace. In the R2 year, 4-8 weeks will be spent on either Haida Gwaii, the Nass Valley or Hazelton. For this reason, our site does not participate in the Rural Match.

To complement the required rotations, visiting specialty services and local expertise are available in ENT, Ophthalmology, Urology, Radiology, Neurology, Endocrinology, Rheumatology, Cardiology, Geriatrics, Medical Oncology, Palliative Care and Psychiatry.

 

Academic Days and Research

To complement the clinical experience, residents attend mandatory academic curriculum that includes Family Practice and specialty seminars, case presentations and workshops. These will be provided both locally and by electronic link to other UBC sites. Residents are also expected to attend and participate in medical staff educational rounds and the teaching of medical students, given 3 Year 3 ICC NMP students/yr based in Terrace. 

Residents attend mandatory academic activities; we host two academic weeks per year supplemented by some academic half days. This includes academic teaching which is a mix of clinical case discussions and core topics. Residents are also expected to do presentations. Throughout the program we stress "Evidence-Based Medicine" in both academic and clinical areas.

Once a year in the Spring, residents from our site will come together for a R2 Scholarship Day.

In the first year, residents will be expected to complete a practice improvement project. Throughout the two years, residents must complete a scholar project and present their work at Scholarship Day. These events are "required attendance" days.

 

International Electives

Residents can do one month of interprovincial or international electives during the second year of their training.

 

Further Training

Third year training positions are available in the area of Emergency Medicine, Care of The Elderly, Anesthesia, Palliative Medicine, Sports and Exercise Medicine, Clinician Scholars program and a wide range of other category 2 Enhanced Skills programs.

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Training Sites

Terrace

Located on the Skeena River, Terrace is known for its great recreational opportunities in areas such as sport fishing, hiking, mountain and road biking, skiing, kayaking, and boating.  It is also artistically diverse supporting an art gallery, community concert series as well as the Pacific NW music festival.  The region supports a diversified economy, with tourism being a major contributor.  It is also culturally diverse with many Indigenous communities throughout the area.

Resources

The North West Health Services Delivery Area (NWHSDA), a region which extends from Smithers to Haida Gwaii and north to the Yukon border, provides health care to a population of approx. 80,000 in the northwest of British Columbia.  The majority of the specialist care is centered around the three largest communities of Terrace, Prince Rupert and Kitimat with generalist medical services provided in the smaller communities of Smithers, Haida Gwaii, Hazelton and in affiliation with the Nisga’a, Haida and Gitxsan First Nations communities.

Terrace, Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Smithers, Queen Charlotte City, Massett and Hazelton have community hospitals while Stewart, Dease Lake, and the Nass Valley, have diagnostic and treatment centres. The Terrace site offers the flexibility of individualized program development for each Resident as well as the laddered approach to teaching, with the presence of ICC students at our site.

Terrace alone has about 20 family physicians working in outpatient clinics and 30 specialists providing services in General Surgery, Oncology, Pediatrics, Ob/Gyn, ENT, Ophthalmology, Psychiatry, Urology, Radiology, Internal Medicine and Anesthesiology, with Orthopedics provided in Kitimat and Prince Rupert.  Visiting specialist services are provided in the areas of Psychiatry, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Pediatric sub-specialties.

Mills Memorial Hospital, in Terrace, has approximately 32 acute care beds, 5 ICU beds and 10 regional Psych beds and provides, per annum, 28,000 ER visits, 300 deliveries, 17,000 inpatient days (including Psychiatry) and about 4,000 surgeries. In the community of Terrace there are about 500 GP visits per day. The new, state-of-the-art hospital is scheduled to open its doors in November 2024. It is located next door to the old hospital site.

The Residency program will be primarily located in Terrace with opportunities to practice in other centers. While the family practice residents will be based in Terrace for the majority of their time, they will need to travel to the other communities for some rotations so a vehicle equipped for winter including snow tires is required.