The Northern Medical Program
Training Physicians in the North, for the North
Northern and rural areas often face a critical shortage of physicians
and healthcare professionals and the Northern Medical Program (NMP) has
been created in response to that critical need. The NMP is part of
UBC's Faculty of Medicine - providing the UBC curriculum in a northern
and rural context.
NMP Curriculum
The Northern Medical Program delivers the University of British
Columbia's (UBC) medical curriculum over a four-year period at the
University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) and Prince George Regional Hospital. It incorporates the
best practices of rural and remote medical education from around the world,
providing outstanding classroom and early clinical exposure to rural
healthcare delivery.
Students
spend the first semester (August to December) at UBC in Vancouver and
then
move to the Northern Medical Program in Prince George for the remainder
of
their education. The first and second years are based
primarily at the Dr Donald Rix Northern Health Sciences Centre at UNBC
with experiences in family practice offices and in clinical skills
education at Prince George Regional Hospital (PGRH). Core
clinical training (known as clerkships) takes place during third year
with the support of physicians who combine patient care with
teaching. There are two models of clerkships, one which includes
rotating through ten major disciplines (ie OBGYN, Internal Medicine,
Psychiatry etc) and the other Integrated Clerkships, which allow
students to follow patients throughout their care and involves whatever
discipline(s) the patients require. Most third year clerkship rotations
take place at Prince George Regional Hospital and this past September (2008)
three NMP students are participating in a pilot for an integrated clerkship program in Terrace,
BC. Development for further integrated clerkships is currently underway in the northeast (Fort St
John & Dawson Creek). During fourth year, students have
elective opportunities throughout BC, Canada and beyond and
participate in the Canadian Resident's Matching Service (CaRMs) match.
To see the graphical curriculum model of the Northern Medical Program, click here.
The NMP utilizes state-of-the-art teleconferencing to broadcast
and receive lectures from medical professionals throughout BC. Faculty
and students have access to the newest equipment and laboratories
through UNBC's new $12 Million Northern Health Sciences Centre and the
new $50 Million expansion at the Prince George Regional Hospital.
The First Year & Second Years (Foundations of Medicine)
The first two years are about teaching students the basic sciences.
These years are an intensive academic study of biological and
behavioural sciences. An instructional method called "Problem Based
Learning" is used to engage students to think critically and
analytically.
Working with clinical material from the first day, students will work
in groups to seek solutions to real life medical problems through case
studies and simulations. The curriculum will encourage skill
development in clinical reasoning and will help students to interact
with patients and healthcare professionals. The curriculum also
includes clinical skills teaching and a course called "Doctor Patient
and Society", which examines the broader issues of medicine. Students
will also continue working in a family physician's medical
office, gaining professional skills in adaptability, problem solving
and clinical communication. Students will also have a number of
lectures and labs during this time. Courses during this time will cover:
- Principles of Human Biology
- Cardiovascular
- Pulmonary
- Renal Genitourinary
- Musculoskeletal
- Blood Lymphatics
- Gastrointestinal
- Endocrine Metabolism
- Integument
- Brain Behaviour
- Reproduction
- Growth Development
The Clinical Years (Third & Fourth)
The final two years, the Clerkship years are purely clinical.
They start with a four-week summer practicum working with a
physician in a rural or remote community throughout BC and the Yukon. Students gain experience in
the varied medical situations found in small communities and will learn
to care for patients, following them through any medical procedures
they may require. Students will then begin rotations in the ten
clerkship areas that spans across a 48 week timeframe:
- Internal Medicine
- Surgery
- Pediatrics
- Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Psychiatry
- Emergency Medicine
- Anesthesiology
- Orthopedics
- Opthamology
- Dermatology
In the clinical years, clinical education, as
in any of the Faculty of Medicine's distributed program, can take place
anywhere in the Province of British Columbia.
Integrated Clerkships
Some students will participate in integrated clerkships. In these
the same
disciplines will be covered as in rotating clerkships, but they will be
in a an
integrated way in a smaller community setting. This means students will
deal
with patients irrespective of the discipline and in a single day could
see, for
example, patients with surgical problems, some with internal medicine
complaints
as well as being involved with obstetrics. The integrated clerkship
pilot started in Terrace in September 2008, and further development is
underway in Ft St
John and Dawson Creek in the Peace Laird district in the NE. Students
spend the
whole of third year in an integrated clerkship site. Approximately one
quarter
of the NMP clerkship placements will be integrated clerkships. We are
also
developing Family Medicine Residency sites in both sites with Family
Medicine
training starting in the NE in 2008 and in the NW in 2009.
The Fourth Year
The final year before graduation is an advanced clerkship made up of a
series of electives courses where students choose to study in their
intended area of discipline. Students are expected to take on an
increased level of responsibility for patient care. The fourth year
provides further experiences required for medical practice covering
themes:
- Pharmacology & Therapeutics
- Healthcare & Epidemiology
- Healthcare Policy
- Medical Ethics & Law
- Advanced Communication Skills
- Palliative Care
CaRMS
After graduation, students proceed to Residency training following the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMs) match.
For further information visit www.carms.ca.
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