Prospective residents should refer to the UBC Family Practice Postgraduate Program website for ongoing updates, deadlines and detailed information.
FMProC: Important timelines
For the 2026 residency selection cycle, all family practice residency programs in Canada require applicants to sit the FMProC for both rounds of CaRMS. FMProC assessments are valid only one admission cycle. For those who have previously taken the FMProC, they need to retake it if they are applying to family practice residency this cycle.
For all applicants, registration for this cycle’s FMProC opens September 10, 2025 (12 noon ET) and closes October 30, 2025 (12 noon ET). Test window is from October 23 (12 noon ET) to November 06, 2025 (12 noon 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.
Program application language: English
Resident selection for the UBC Family Practice Postgraduate 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 Practice Postgraduate Program is distributed into 23 unique sites and locations, candidates should apply to each site they are interested in. Applicants must submit the 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.
Required documents for applicants submitting Citizenship documentation via CaRMS (and not participating in third party verification)
Canadian Citizenship
The province of British Columbia will accept one of the documents listed above which must be notarized/certified as proof of the citizenship/permanent residency, and this is a requirement for all applicants. Photocopies are accepted, however documentation other than what is listed above will not be accepted. Proof of citizenship/permanent residency must be submitted to CaRMS by the File Review deadline. No allowances for late submission. Please see the R1 match CaRMS resource here for more information.
CMG applicants
Applicants who graduated from an English-speaking medical school in Canada (including McGill), are exempt from providing proof of language proficiency.
Candidates who attended medical school in Quebec or the University of Ottawa (Francophone stream) where the language of instruction was not English, must fulfill the English Language Proficiency requirements of the College of Physicians of Surgeons of BC as identified below. This requirement is the same for IMGs and is required by the start of the CaRMS Ranking Period.
Applications received by the CPSBC who do not meet the above requirements will require one of the following examinations:
Applicants must submit the proof of English language proficiency to CaRMS by the start of Ranking Period. Photocopies are acceptable.
Please note that results from these three examinations cannot be mixed. Candidates must meet all of the criteria in either the IELTS, OET or CELPIP examination.
Applicants are advised to review the CPSBC English Language Proficiency Requirements here: https://www.cpsbc.ca/files/pdf/REG-ELP.pdf
Your FMProC assessment result is sent directly to CaRMS. The FMProC assessment is only valid for one admissions cycle. If you have taken the assessment in previous years, you are expected to re-take it.
To register for the FMProC assessment visit www.fmproc.com.
Three letters of reference are required.
Note: Traditional narrative letters will NOT be accepted.
Please note that if your reference submits a traditional letter, it will not be reviewed and your application may be deemed incomplete.
Consistent with the AFMC measures established in response to the Québec physicians’ strike, we will implement the following accommodations for applicants from Québec faculties of medicine and for applicants from other Canadian faculties who had planned visiting electives in Québec during this time.
Your medical school transcript can be submitted through one of the methods below:
For current year Canadian medical graduates (CMGs), there is no action required from you. Your medical school will automatically submit your MSPR to CaRMS on your behalf for you to assign.
If your MSPR is in a language other than the program language of English or French, you are required to have the document translated.
For applicants from Québec faculties of medicine, as well as those from other Canadian faculties who had scheduled visiting electives in Québec during this period, we will accept incomplete MSPRs for file review and ranking purposes.
An incomplete MSPR is one that may be missing final assessments from placements expected to be completed by the date of submission but delayed due to the strike. A complete MSPR will not be required as a criterion for file review or ranking for these applicants.
Personal LetterFor this component, please reflect on your training and life experiences to help our program better understand your journey and insight, and how these have specifically prepared and affirmed your commitment to have a career in Family Medicine.
Provide a biographical letter (max. 750 words) that includes answers to the following questions:
1. What skills or lived experience do you have that demonstrate your suitability for family medicine residency training?
2. Why would a career in Family Medicine be a good fit for you?
3. Why UBC? Why British Columbia? Please elaborate with specific examples of any connections you might have with the province of B.C., like community connections, education, work experience, etc.
Note: The personal letter is expected to be your own original work – an honest sample of your own writing skills and an authentic account of your own journey. The same letter must be submitted with each site application.
Rural Questionnaire:
Rural Questionnaire:
(Answer the following questions. Please write your responses under each question; 250 words max per question)
Note: You must upload your responses under 'Family Medicine Rural addendum/questionnaire'. Any responses submitted to 'Program questionnaire' or any other sections not relevant to Rural addendum/questionnaire will not be considered. As with the Personal Letter, your answers to the Rural Questionnaire are expected to be your own work.
Applications submitted after file review has opened on November 27, 2025
Supporting documents (excluding letters of reference) that arrive after file review has opened on November 27, 2025
Letters of reference that arrive after the unmasking date on November 27, 2025
Dates:
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 a comprehensive and structured review process that includes the following components (and weights):
The ranking process follows this general flow:
Our teams of file reviewers and interviewers consist of the following representatives from our program’s many diverse sites:
All assessors are required to
Review team composition : The review team is composed of faculty leadership from across our distributed program, the program director and senior administration.
Average number of applications received by our program in the last five years : 601 +
Average percentage of applicants offered interviews : 76 - 100 %
| File component | Criteria |
|---|---|
| CV | Not scored* |
| Electives | Not scored* |
| Examinations | Not scored* |
| Extra-curricular | Not scored* |
| Leadership skills | Not scored* |
| MSPRs | Not scored* |
| Personal letters | We score this file component. |
| Reference documents | We score this file component. |
| Research/Publications | Not scored* |
| Transcripts | Not scored* |
| Other file component(s) | * All file components are used when needed to assist in clarifying any professionalism and performance issues, and in corroborating content in the personal letter and references. |
Interview format :
We do not re-schedule interviews for applicants after we have completed the scheduling process.
| Interview components | Criteria |
|---|---|
| Collaboration skills | Yes: with patients and colleagues |
| Collegiality | Yes we evaluate this criteria |
| Communication skills | Yes we evaluate this criteria |
| Health advocacy | Yes we evaluate this criteria |
| Interest in the discipline | Yes we evaluate this criteria |
| Interest in the program | Yes: UBC in general, and in specific programs (rural, under-served populations, inner-city context etc.) |
| Leadership skills | Yes: assessment of leadership of self and others |
| Professionalism | Yes we evaluate this criteria |
| Scholarly activities | We do not evaluate this interview component |
| Other interview component(s) |
Ability to handle Ambiguity/Uncertainty Advocacy/Compassion Resilience Patient centeredness |
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.
Visit the UBC Family Practice Postgraduate Program 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
Interior Region
Vancouver Island
Northern
IMG positions are offered at the following sites:
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.
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 Okanagan South Family Practice Residency Program started in 2016. We are a medium-sized rural program with a focus on graduating physicians ready for independent practice in rural areas. We are looking for residents who are motivated, self-directed learners willing to excel in rural medicine. We serve the South Okanagan, with residents placed in Penticton, Summerland, Oliver/Osoyoos, and Princeton. We also serve the Okanagan indigenous nation, the Sy’ilx-speaking peoples, and acknowledge the unceded territory on which we live and work.
The South Okanagan is an engaged collegial medical community. The program is strongly anchored by family physicians — in their offices, in rural, remote, and regional hospital settings, and in community clinics and facilities. The specialty rotations are delivered by a supportive group of specialists who work directly with family physicians. The family physicians are well-organized with our Division of Family Practice, an active Medical Staff Association, and a community-run walk-in clinic. We are based out of Penticton Regional Hospital, a 242-bed hospital (including 102 long-term care beds). The hospital includes a newly built David Kampe Tower in 2018 which also includes a brand new simulation lab and residency space.
Our program is delivered in block rotations, with ongoing longitudinal attachment to a home family practice clinic. We focus on rural training, with 5 months total of rural rotations (1 month in 1st year, 4 months in 2nd year). PGY1 training is done mostly in a regional setting providing access to specialist teaching and resources, while PGY2 includes more rural placements and elective opportunities. There is a site emphasis on Emergency Medicine which has a block but is also scheduled longitudinally. Our site has enhanced acute care training including emphasis on emergency medicine, point of care ultrasound training and simulation learning.
PGY1 Rotation Overview
This year focuses on consolidating competencies/skills in a professional medical environment. R1s rotate through family practice and specialties while doing training in SIMs, POCUS, and certifications in ACLS, ATLS, ALARM, PALS, NRP, and OAT.
|
PGY1 Core Rotations
|
Rotation Length
|
|
Orientation |
2 weeks |
|
Family Medicine |
10 weeks |
|
Community Inpatient Service |
4 weeks |
|
Psychiatry |
2 weeks |
|
BC Children’s Emergency Medicine |
2 weeks |
|
General Internal Medicine & ICU |
5 weeks |
|
Internal Medicine Sub-Specialty |
4 weeks |
|
Emergency Medicine |
2 weeks |
|
Pediatrics |
4 weeks |
|
Care of Underserved |
2 weeks |
|
BC Women’s Hospital OBS |
2 weeks |
|
OBS GYN |
4 weeks |
|
Princeton Rural |
4 weeks |
|
General Surgery & Subspecialty |
5 weeks |
PGY2 Rotation Overview
R2 has four months of rural rotation, chosen by R2s through UBC’s rural match process, and three months of electives which allows R2s to direct their learning interests. R2s return to their home clinics for “half days back” to encourage longitudinal care with their patient panel. R2s do enhanced rural skills training and have the opportunity to attend rural medicine conferences.
|
PGY2 Core Rotations
|
Rotation Length
|
|
Emergency Medicine |
4 weeks |
|
OBS GYN |
2 weeks |
|
RACE Clinic (Rapid Access Cardiac Evaluation) |
2 weeks |
|
Internal Medicine Sub-Specialty |
2 weeks |
|
Procedural Skills |
2 weeks |
|
Family Medicine |
4 weeks |
|
Palliative Care |
2 weeks |
|
Local Elective |
4 weeks |
|
Away Elective |
8 weeks |
|
Care of Underserved |
2 weeks |
|
Selective (additional time on Care of Underserved or Procedural Skills) |
2 weeks |
|
Rural Rotation |
16 weeks |
|
Transition to Practice |
4 weeks |
Academic Curriculum
Academic Half Day is taught weekly in our newly renovated UBC space. AHD is delivered predominantly by local family physicians, specialists and allied health care members. AHD lecture topics include Indigenous cultural competency, behavioural medicine and Evidence Based Medicine. The curriculum focuses on hands-on teaching, including procedural skills, ultrasound training and simulation learning. Our half day curriculum also includes built in time for a special focus on resident wellness.
Research
Evidence-based medicine is taught in both academic and clinical areas with our Scholar Faculty. R1s complete a quality improvement project with their family practice preceptor. R2s complete a scholar project and present their work at UBC Regional Scholar Day. Residents learn presentation skills by teaching self-chosen topics to their peers at AHDs. Residents provide evaluations of academic sessions that will perform an instrumental role in shaping the educational experience for future residents at the site.
International Electives
Residents can choose to do one month of interprovincial or international electives during their training.
Further Training
There is no local training available for enhanced skills training in Penticton, however, many of our graduates pursue enhanced skills training elsewhere after completion of residency. This includes training in Emergency medicine, Care of the Elderly, Anesthesia, Palliative care, and Sports Medicine.
The Okanagan South Family Practice Residency Program is in the sought-after Okanagan Valley. Together with 14 suburban and rural communities, the centrally located urban area of Penticton has a population of approximately 90,000 people.
Where most people vacation is where we call home. Situated between 113-km long Lake Okanagan and Skaha Lake, and surrounded by highlands and mountains, Penticton is a draw for outdoor recreation, including swimming, boating, windsurfing, kiteboarding, golf, rock climbing, hiking, cycling most of the year, and downhill skiing and snowboarding, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. With over 2,100 hours of sunshine and only 15 inches of rain annually, the area has a comfortable climate year-round.
Agriculture and viticulture are important to the economy, and food and wine festivals abound. Penticton is at the centre of the Okanagan wine country, with over 110 wineries in the surrounding Okanagan Valley and Similkameen Valley communities of Summerland, Naramata, Okanagan Falls, Oliver, Osoyoos and Keremeos, many recognized among the world’s best in international competitions.
Penticton and the south-central region are easily accessible from major urban centres by highway and by air. We are approximately 4.5 hours driving time from Vancouver and 8 hours from Calgary, with the nearest larger urban centre located 1 hour away in Kelowna. Penticton is served by a local regional airport, while Kelowna is served by an international airport.
| SUMMARY ID | Section | Summary of changes | Updated on | NOTIFY APPLICANTS | SECTION NAME | Actions |
|---|