The British Columbia government is aiming to tackle the province’s health worker shortage long-term by giving more people the opportunity to become doctors.
The province is adding 128 seats at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine.
“This means we will see more doctors graduating from the program, and that is very good news for people in every corner of British Columbia,” Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training Anne Kang said.
Officials said 40 undergraduate seats and 40 family medicine residency positions will be added in fall 2023, and another 48 residency positions will be phased in by fall 2028.
“We know from our experience that where students train, they’re more likely to put down roots and stay and practice in the same B.C. communities,” said Dr. Dermot Kelleher, dean of the faculty.
The government is also providing $1.5 million to help Simon Fraser University’s efforts to launch a second medical school in the province – something Minister for Health Adrian Dix promised during the 2020 election campaign when he said the first graduating class would begin in 2023.
“We are taking the next step in increasing access to public health care for people in B.C.,” said Dix. “Since 2017, we’ve taken significant actions to improve and increase access to health services.
“From performing a record number of surgeries, to increasing our workforce by over 20% and adding more health-related education seats to post-secondary institutions, we have made important progress.
:But we know that people are facing real challenges right now and there is much more work to do, and this strategy will guide our next steps in building a strong, resilient public healthcare system now and in the future.”
