Great Moments: UVic welcomes its first medical students

In January 2005, UVic welcomed its first cohort of medical students, thanks to the Island Medical Program (IMP), part of a unique provincial program designed to increase the number of new physicians in BC and provide access to medical education across the province. Learning in state-of-the-art lecture theatres, laboratories, and problem-based learning rooms at UVic’s Medical Sciences Building, the distributed learning element of this innovative program ensures that tomorrow’s doctors are taught by the best medical educators across the province, whether they’re in Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna or Prince George. In their third and fourth year of study, IMP students are integrated into Vancouver Island Health Authority hospitals and clinics to finish their course of study, and help ground them to in the communities they may someday serve. By the end of UVic’s 50th anniversary, over 160 new doctors will have graduated from IMP. Many of these new doctors complete their residencies on Vancouver Island, and others are already practicing in Island communities. Through this unique collaboration with the province and UBC, UVic and IMP are fulfilling a vision—to educate a new generation of young physicians, address physician shortages and improve healthcare on Vancouver Island.