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

We do not consider any information gathered outside of the CaRMS application and local interview processes.

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 Nanaimo Site offers a learner centered curriculum with strong educational focus. A wide spectrum of family physician and specialist colleagues offer preceptor based experiential learning in an environment of mutual support and respect. Each resident is connected with a family practice clinic with multiple family physician preceptors. Residents achieve their own patient population and follow patients throughout their 2 year program. The academic curriculum is accomplished during full academic weeks interspersed throughout the year. Residents are not in rotations and are not on call for another discipline during academic weeks. There is elective opportunity in the R2 year. There is learner centred self- scheduling for holidays, call responsibility and daily schedules.

 

Purpose / Objectives

The Vision of the Nanaimo site is to train Family Physicians to have knowledge, attitudes and skills to improve health and wellbeing of patients, care providers and communities. This site will contribute to the research and application of all CANMed’s FM roles for the learners, faculty, and communities.

Our Mission is to provide a postgraduate family practice residency program as a community-based UBC, Affiliated Regional Medical Training Centre, in collaboration with the UBC Postgraduate Residency Training Program, Island Medical Program and the Island Health. This site will assist learners, enhance the professional environment for the faculty and staff, and will improve the health care of central Vancouver Island citizens.

 

Site Objectives

• The Nanaimo Site will provide a central Vancouver Island Family Medicine Residency Program that is based on CanMEDS-FM roles, with an integrated rotational approach.
• The graduating residents will provide their knowledge, attitudes and skills in comprehensive family medicine in rural, regional or urban settings.
• The learning environment will be focused on family practice problem-solving skills 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 collaborating 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 this community-based training site and the resident.
• Family Medicine will be taught by family physicians whose philosophy and practice are consistent with the aims and aspirations of College of Family Physicians of Canada.

 

PGY1 and PGY2 Overview

This two-year program is designed to train physicians interested in practicing in any Canadian community. The curriculum has been created to maximize the integration of the hospital, the office and the community work of the Family Physician. The focus in first year is on acute presentations and management. The focus in the second year is on longitudinal presentations and management. The curriculum is as follows:

Experiential Learning	Duration	Location / Notes
Family Practice	39 weeks	including one full day in FM during all non-FM experiences
Emergency	8 weeks	4 in R1 and 4 in R2
Obstetrics/Gynecology	10 weeks	6 in R1 and 4 in R2
Pediatrics	6 weeks	4 weeks in R2 year & 2 weeks in R1
Mental Health & Addiction	8 weeks	4 in R1 (2 in Addiction & 2 in Acute) and 4 in R2 (Long Term Management)
Internal Medicine	4 weeks	In R1
ICU	4 weeks	In R1
Surgery	4 weeks	In R1
Palliative Care	4 weeks	In R1
Musculoskeletal	3 weeks	In R1
Electives*	1-2 weeks	R2
Hospitalist*	4 weeks	R2 (optional)
Proceduralist Service*	2 weeks	R2 (optional)
Nephrology /other*	2 weeks	R2 (optional)

* Elective option examples

 

Academic Days and Research

Residents attend mandatory academic week activities. 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 Health Care" in both academic and clinical areas.

In May of each year, residents will come together for a mandatory Site specific Scholarship Day.

In the first year, residents will be expected to complete a quality improvement project. Throughout the two years, residents must complete a scholar project and present their work at Scholarship Day.

 

International Electives

Residents can do one month of interprovincial or international electives during 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

Located on central Vancouver Island, Nanaimo, known as the Harbour City, is Vancouver Island's second largest city with a population of 100,000. It is a regional service centre and supports a diversified economy, with tourism being a major contributor. There are excellent recreational opportunities in the central Vancouver Island region.

Residents should expect to live in the area as the majority of the clinical work will occur in that community.

 

Resources

The Nanaimo Site offers a good balance of responsibility and education in a community that strongly supports the UBC Postgraduate Family Practice Residency Program. A wide spectrum of family physician and specialist colleagues eagerly offer preceptor based experiential learning in an environment of mutual support and respect. Each resident is assigned a community family practice clinic with multiple family physician preceptors. Residents achieve their own patient population within their community family practice clinic and follow those patients throughout their 2 year residency program.