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.

In order to apply for a residency position in the CaRMS match, International Medical Graduates (IMG’s) must be selected through the UBC Clinical Assessment Program (CAP). The IMG BC website provides key information regarding this process.

IMG residents matched into a UBC program are required to attend a mandatory multi-day orientation prior to the start of their residency.

 

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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Return of Service

The IMG stream is subject to a Return of Service (ROS). Successfully matched applicants are required to sign a contract with the Ministry of Health as a condition of accepting a medical residency position. Templates of the ROS contract and allocation details can be reviewed on the MOH ROS website here: International Medical Graduates - BC

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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 50%, interview score will contribute to 45%, and FMProC score will contribute to 5% of the overall global score. This total score informs the creation of a rank list which is submitted to each site for consideration. Some sites will use this as the final rank list while some sites will apply their own adjustments to this 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 : All of the above, as well as decisions around entry into the Kelowna Regional site rely primarily on information gathered in the CaRMS and UBC interview processes. Additional information sources supporting a candidate’s intention to practice in the Central Okanagan (i.e. Kelowna, West Kelowna, Lake Country, Peachland) upon graduation may also be considered.

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 Kelowna Regional Site was established in July 2020.The Kelowna Regional site has five residency positions (4 CMG, 1 IMG).

The Kelowna Regional Site offers residents a chance to experience full-scope family medicine in a wide variety of settings.

Most of the residency experience is spent in Kelowna, a mid-sized city located in the beautiful Okanagan Valley. Kelowna is home to Kelowna General Hospital, a tertiary-care centre, as well as an integrated community of family physicians, specialists and allied health.

Residents at the Kelowna Regional site train alongside residents in the Kelowna Rural site, which was established in Kelowna over 30 years ago.

Residents in this program will receive broad-based training in Kelowna during their first year by rotating through a variety of foundational specialties (e.g., pediatrics, emergency) in both community- and hospital-based environments. All rotations incorporate the resident as a physician, and work as part of a team. Residents experience longitudinal family practice care with weekly half-days spent in community-based FP clinics in addition to a 12-week core family practice block. Additional R1 longitudinal experiences may be sought depending on a resident’s interests.

The R2 year includes family practice experiences in rural and urban settings as well as self-directed electives.

Kelowna Regional residents participate in an enhanced rural experience, spending 16 weeks in a rural community in BC/NWT chosen from a list that is updated year-by-year. This rural experience immerses residents in full-service family medicine, often with limited resources, and affords a level of autonomy and independence unlike the rest of residency. Residents also get to see first-hand how a family physician is a resource to their community.

Kelowna Regional residents spend another 4 months practicing family medicine in Kelowna or other nearby communities within the Central Okanagan. Residents are based in a family practice clinic with dedicated time to pursue elective experiences in the many areas of family medicine available in the medical community. One week of the regional rotation will be spent in addictions medicine.

Residents will have 4 months in their R2 year to pursue elective experiences in areas of focused interest or to meet self-identified learning goals.

The R2 year finishes in Kelowna with a 4-week ‘Transition to Practice’ block, spent back in the R1 family practice preceptors’ office, to further prepare trainees for entering practice.

Residents who will do well in the Kelowna Regional training experience are independent, self-directed, and adventurous. In the R2 year, responsibility is close to the level of a practicing family physician.

The Kelowna Regional site is an incredible opportunity to see family medicine in all of its aspects and settings.

 

Purpose / Objectives

As reflected in the Department's Mission Statement, we welcome applicants who are committed to meeting the needs of communities of all sizes—rural and urban—throughout British Columbia and Canada. We train residents to be prepared for full-service Family Practice, including Obstetrics. This site will prepare residents for family practice in any community size.

Guiding Principles:

• provide community-based training
• encourage experiential learning in an academically monitored environment
• foster self-confidence and skills necessary to allow graduates to function effectively in a family practice setting
• encourage residents to learn how to balance their personal needs with the demands of family practice
• commitment to ongoing evaluation of the outcome and effectiveness of our training program

 

The Kelowna Regional Training Site is ideal for residents that have:

• Motivation to practice family medicine in a variety of settings, including rural and urban communities within BC and internationally
• Understanding of and an interest in full-service family medicine.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills, and a strong ability to be self-directed.
• Reference letters that attest to abilities and interest in family medicine.
• An eagerness to travel to rural sites for training.
• The ability to adapt to learning in a non-traditional, non-academic centre during a portion of 2nd year.
• The ability to function psychologically and socially in remote settings in 2nd year.
• The ability to take rational risks ('Rational Risk Takers'), while maintaining a sense of professionalism.
• A strong sense of social justice and accountability.
• A keen interest in planetary health and climate change, and an ability to embrace a site that is very environmentally conscious.

 

PGY1 Overview

The PGY1 curriculum is block-based with residents streaming through foundational rotations during PGY1 year in both hospital- and community-based settings.

Rotation	Duration	Location / Notes
Family Practice	12 weeks (+ 0.5 day per week throughout year)	Okanagan Valley community clinics
Obstetrics/Gynecology	6 weeks	Kelowna General Hospital
Pediatrics	8 weeks	Kelowna General Hospital
Orthopedics / MSK	3 weeks	Kelowna General Hospital
Substance Use	1 week	Kelowna General Hospital
Emergency	4 weeks	Kelowna General Hospital
General Surgery	3 weeks	Kelowna General Hospital
Anesthesia	1 week	Kelowna General Hospital
General Internal Medicine (Clinic Teaching Unit) / Hospitalist	8 weeks	Kelowna General Hospital
Psychiatry	4 weeks	Kelowna General Hospital
Electives	2 weeks	Location of Resident’s Choosing

 

PGY-2 Overview

The PGY2 year is a mix of urban- and rural-based training in family practice with opportunities for resident-directed electives.

Rotation	Duration	Location / Notes
Regional rotation	16 weeks	Community-based clinics in the Central Okanagan region and at Kelowna General Hospital
Rural rotation	16 weeks	Rural community in British Columbia/NWT
Electives	12 weeks	Location of Resident’s Choosing. Limit of one month out of province.
Mandatory Emergency / Trauma / Acute Care Elective	4 weeks (During Electives Block)	Location of Resident’s Choosing. Limit of one month out of province.
Transition to Practice	4 weeks (June of PGY2)	Central Okanagan family practice clinics

 

Academic Days and Research

Residents attend mandatory academic activities – one half day per week. This includes academic teaching that is a mix of clinical case discussions, core topics, behavioral medicine, and hands-on practical sessions (SIM, suturing, POCUS). Residents are also expected to teach their peers during this time. There is also a portion of academic time dedicated to resident-led wellness initiatives. Second-year residents can join academic teaching available at their particular rural sites and through video-conferenced sessions from Kelowna, an ‘R2 Academic Week’ to help prepare them for licensing exams, and encouragement to join regular academic half-days during their 16-week Regional Okanagan rotation.

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Training Sites

PGY1 Year:

• Kelowna General Hospital
• Community-based, outpatient clinics throughout Central Okanagan, including family practice clinics, multidisciplinary clinics, etc.

PGY2 Year:

• Kelowna General Hospital and community-based clinics in Central Okanagan during blocks 9-12 and Transition to Practice month
• Various rural communities throughout BC and NWT

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Additional Information

• As some of the practices are in semi-isolated areas, residents should be in good health and socially self-reliant.
• All applicants must agree to go to any of the currently active training sites; no conditional applications will be accepted.
• The Kelowna Regional training experience is not fully based in a classical teaching hospital setting. Applicants must be able to self-direct their learning.
• Residents will experience graduated clinical independence over the course of their training, with more autonomy in PGY2 than in PGY1.
• Residents should be prepared to travel more than in some residency programs. First-year residents may be expected to travel for mandatory events/meetings/retreats; second-year residents travel between rural and regional rotations, mandatory academic events and for elective experiences.