Province To Upgrade Dawson Creek Hospital For Med Students

By 250 News

DAWSON CREEK – Renovations totalling more than $500,000 got the green light at the Dawson Creek and District Hospital to create more teaching
space for medical education. 

The renovations will convert approximately 160 square metres of space  on the basement and main floors of the Dawson Creek and District 
Hospital for academic teaching. 

Medical students must undergo two years of clinical-based training in health-care facilities after they finish two years of university-based
instruction. Upon graduation, the doctors entering family practice must then complete two years of residency training or up to seven years if
they enter specialties. 

"Northern Health has worked closely with educational institutions to provide clinical learning opportunities for new health professionals,"
said Cathy Ulrich, chief executive officer for Northern Health. "We are working closely with our communities and stakeholders to offer local
training opportunities while we continue to recruit experienced candidates to provide the health services that our residents need."

This year, 104 students will be studying to become doctors in the Northern Medical Program. The Province's aggressive medical education
expansion has resulted in double the number of first-year spaces available to the students who will become B.C.'s doctors of tomorrow.

"One of my goals of this program in the long term is that it will encourage more northern and rural and youngsters, particularly
Aboriginal youngsters, to choose medicine as a career," said David Snadden, associate dean for the Northern Medical Program at UBC and
associate provost - medicine at UNBC. 

The Dawson Creek and District Hospital renovations are expected to be completed and ready for the first intake of residency students by May
2008. The second phase in the creation of an Affiliated Regional Centre Northeast will include renovations at the Fort St. John Hospital.

Email | Print | Facebook | Twitter | Digg | Del.icio.us