Graduating more doctors and health professionals for B.C. 

Title: Curriculum Manager, Years 1 & 2
Program: Island Medical Program (IMP)
Location: Victoria

What does it mean to you to help train and graduate more doctors for patients and communities across B.C.?

For over 10 years, I’ve had the privilege of being involved in the MD Undergraduate Program, supporting important work that will impact the lives of my friends, family and future generations. It’s incredibly inspiring to work alongside colleagues at the IMP and the distributed sites who devote themselves to delivering a high-quality educational experience. My colleagues and I love to see IMP graduates return to mentor new students, lead within the program and work in the clinics and hospitals serving our community. Every day, I witness the program’s commitment to building confident, well-rounded healthcare professionals through safe and inclusive learning and I know this will translate to exceptional future care for patients here and across the province.

Lil’wat Nation
Title: Associate Director, Indigenous Initiatives
Program: Office of the Vice Dean, Education
Location: Vancouver

What does it mean to you to help train and graduate more doctors and health professionals for patients and communities across B.C.?

I am honoured to help transform health for everyone, especially for Indigenous communities, by helping to inspire the next generation of Indigenous physicians and health professionals.

Title: Co-Director
Program: Master of Science in Genetic Counselling
Location: Vancouver

What does it mean to you to help train and graduate more health professionals for patients and communities across B.C.?

The reality is that British Columbia needs more genetic counsellors and services. We are excited to be launching our first distributed cohort of students in Victoria, and see this as an important step toward increasing equitable access to genetics and genomics care in the communities that we serve.

Title: Senior Director, Education Programs and Services
Program: Office of the Vice Dean, Education, UBC Faculty of Medicine
Location: Vancouver

What does it mean to you to help train and graduate more doctors and health professionals for patients and communities across B.C.?

For me, it’s about making a meaningful difference, by fostering a collaborative, inclusive and driven environment where individuals are encouraged, empowered and supported to achieve excellence. I have been a part of the Faculty of Medicine for over 25 years and there is a strong sense of ownership among team members. Everyone strives to be the best they can be in supporting our learners. It’s truly inspiring to see such cohesion and such a strong commitment to cultivating a positive and inclusive culture that positions programs and service delivery teams well for continued success — whether curriculum renewal or the implementation and expansion of our medical and health professions programs. I am proud to be a part of these incredible teams that are helping to train and graduate more doctors and health professionals in the province of B.C. Together, we are truly transforming health for everyone.

Title: Assistant Dean
Program: Southern Medical Program (SMP)
Location: Kelowna

What does it mean to you to help train and graduate more doctors or health professionals for patients and communities across B.C.?

It is a huge privilege to be presented with the opportunity to train and graduate doctors and other healthcare professionals, as we aim to meet the urgent need for healthcare workers across B.C. — particularly in rural, remote and underserved areas. Our program at the SMP seeks to train physicians who are not only competent, but are themselves attuned to their own wellbeing, so they are better able to care for patients as whole individuals with families, dreams and aspirations. We are already seeing some of our graduates return to practice medicine and teach the future doctors of the Interior region of B.C. It is a virtuous cycle that we hope to reinforce, sustain and promote for the foreseeable future.

Title: Associate Professor of Teaching and Clinical Site Lead
Program: Master of Physical Therapy – North
Location: Prince George

What does it mean to you to help train and graduate more health professionals for patients and communities across B.C.?

As an educator, it is an honour to train learners who will serve as healthcare providers for patients across British Columbia. By giving learners the tools to provide culturally safe care for Indigenous peoples, and to knock down systemic racism in health care, we have an opportunity to strive for health equity and transform health for everyone.

Title: Senior Administrative Business Manager
Program: Midwifery
Location: Vancouver

What does it mean to you to help train and graduate more health professionals for patients and communities across B.C.?

I have been with the Midwifery program since 2010 and have had the privilege of supporting our students all the way through — from the application stage straight through to graduation. As a staff member, I quickly became a huge advocate for this important and necessary profession and have been heartened by the growth in opportunity for new families to access midwifery care in more communities throughout the province and the world. The dedication of our faculty, preceptors, staff and clinical faculty to providing the best possible education for our students has never failed to impress and push me to do my very best to support our students through their journey to become midwives. This commitment to both educate and increase midwifery-assisted births is reflected in the substantial growth and demand for more midwives in the province. When I started with the program, only around 10 per cent of all births in the province were assisted by midwives. Today, that number has increased to 28 per cent. This for me is the definition of transforming health in B.C.

Title: Speech-Language Pathology Coordinator
Program: Speech-Language Pathology (SLP)
Location: Victoria

What does it mean to you to help train and graduate more health professionals for patients and communities across B.C.?

The distribution of UBC’s SLP program in Victoria will provide students with valuable opportunities for training and building relationships on a local level. These connections will help grow and sustain our workforce and improve access to SLP care across the Island.

Title: Director, Integrated Community Clerkship Program, and Emergency Department Physician
Program: Integrated Community Clerkship Program
Location: Terrace

What does it mean to you to help train and graduate more doctors for patients and communities across B.C.?

I am excited to help grow the number of medical students training in rural, remote and Indigenous communities. My hope is that this will lead to more UBC medical school graduates choosing to live and work rurally — which in turn will help to increase health equity in B.C.

Title: Administrative Manager
Program: Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME)
Location: Kelowna

What does it mean to you to help train and graduate more doctors for patients and communities across B.C.?

I am incredibly proud to work with the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s training programs in the Interior. Working at a distributed site, I have had the opportunity to see Southern Medical Program graduates, as well as residents who have completed training programs in the Interior, return to practice — and teach — in the communities where they trained. These kinds of full-circle stories are particularly inspiring. With more training seats in the MD Undergraduate Program and the Postgraduate Medical Education Program, we will continue to have a positive impact on the lives of British Columbians and the health of communities across the province. It’s very exciting.

Title: Assistant Professor of Teaching
Program: Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy
Location: Surrey

What does it mean to you to help train and graduate more health professionals for patients and communities across B.C.?

It is an honour to learn alongside health professional trainees who will serve people across British Columbia. I am proud to be a mentor to new occupational therapists and privileged to learn from the incredible interprofessional students, staff, faculty and community members with whom I work.

Transforming health for everyone requires that our health professions include people with diverse perspectives – and that transformation will only happen when our staff and faculty comprise people with perspectives based on varied life experiences. The distributed health professional programs expand opportunities for people from equity-denied groups, particularly those who live and work beyond the Lower Mainland. I am proud to be part of a program that prioritizes access to healthcare training and careers for staff, faculty and learners from equity-denied groups.

As someone who has many interactions with the healthcare system, I know that transforming health involves training more health professionals with experiential expertise. This is why I am passionate about co-creating spaces where all staff, faculty and learners can choose to build a sense of belonging and bring our breadth of expertise to the places where we teach, learn and work.

Title: Co-Site Director and Rural Family Physician
Program: Northern Rural – Prince George Family Practice Residency Program and Rural Immersion Family Practice sites
Location: Valemount

What does it mean to you to help train and graduate more doctors for patients and communities across B.C.?

It’s about improving access and health outcomes for rural patients — it’s about equity.

Title: Professor and Research Lead
Program: Northern Medical Program
Location: Prince George

What does it mean to you to help train and graduate more doctors and health professionals for patients and communities across B.C.?

In my community, training the next generation of health professionals is part of a critical and ongoing effort to achieve health equity for communities in northern B.C. It’s urgent work, because these health disparities are significant — and due in large part to inequitable access to health services and professionals.

Title: Administrative Manager, Fraser
Program: Vancouver Fraser Medical Program and Postgraduate Medical Education
Location: Surrey

What does it mean to you to help train and graduate more doctors for patients and communities across B.C.?

Supporting the Faculty of Medicine as it trains and graduates more doctors is an incredible privilege. On a daily basis, I work with dedicated physicians, faculty and staff to ensure our medical learners get rich learning experiences. My particular focus is in the Fraser Region — which has a large population that is experiencing rapid growth. So, our work will serve generations to come — transforming health for everyone, now and in the future. 

Title: Communications Manager 
Program: Master of Physical Therapy Program
Location: Vancouver

What does it mean to you to help train and graduate more health professionals for patients and communities across B.C.?

In my role, I am privileged to dedicate myself to promoting and expanding healthcare education for aspiring physical therapists. I get to connect with passionate students and physiotherapists across the province, including in rural and remote areas, and promote physical therapy as a career path. I find it incredibly fulfilling to see the impact of our efforts as we graduate diverse and skilled professionals who will contribute to better patient care and community wellness, and address the dynamic healthcare needs in British Columbia.