Coastal
Site Information
Number of Residents: 5 CMG, 4 IMG
Location: North Shore, Vancouver, various Coastal Communities
Community: 250,000
Hospitals: Lion’s Gate Hospital, Pemberton Health Centre, Squamish General Hospital, St. Mary’s Hospital, Powell River General Hospital
Curriculum Type: Partially Integrated
Elective Time: 10 weeks with 2 weeks of electives (Cardiology/Infectious Diseases/Gastroenterology) in R2, 2 weeks in R1
Site Director Message
The Coastal Family Practice Residency site evolved in a unique manner, with high aspirations. Family physicians from the North Shore, Pemberton, Whistler, Squamish, Sunshine Coast, Powell River, Bella Bella, and Bella Coola planned this site, to develop exceptional clinical skills – for rural, remote and urban environments.
We see our residents as an important part of our health communities, and key members of the team.
We also see the program as an opportunity to consider ‘big picture’ issues in health: to foster an awareness of the social determinants of health, through the diversity of our participating communities, and through opportunities in public health, First Nations, electives, high needs populations, and more.
First year, on the North Shore, encompasses a wide range of urban Family Practice settings, along with acute care experience at Lions Gate Hospital. The new HOpe Center, beside LGH, provides teaching rooms, library, call rooms, a simulation center, and a great deal more, to support resident learning needs.
In second year, Residents spend four months in a rural community, making our program “rurally strong”, and creating an excellent opportunity to work, learn and live in a rural environment. Each community offers a broad range of clinical experience with committed practitioners. We feel these communities offer some of the best primary care learning opportunities around.
The Coastal Family Practice site offers something for everyone. Vancouver is a multicultural city with all of the urban perks, including an incredible range of recreational opportunities including sailing, kayaking, golf, great cycling, and lovely green spaces such as the renowned Stanley Park. Our Coastal Communities offer a variety of outstanding clinical and recreational opportunities. The communities range from a 45 minute to 2.5 hours’ drive from Vancouver, while some are a short ferry or flight away.
The North Shore has rental accommodations, including apartments, houses, suites in houses, etc. During the second year, 4-month rural rotation, funding support is provided for accommodation.
We’re confident that our wide range of clinical and academic environments, and exciting lifestyle opportunities, will attract strong Residents who want to work hard, benefit from the recreational and cultural activities in our communities, and gain skill and insight in all aspects of Family Practice and health care.
Dr. Dean Brown
About
Contact: dvbrown@shaw.ca
CaRMS Page
Click here to view the site presentation.
Learn more about the City of North Vancouver here. Further details on recreation activities are here.
Lead Resident Message
Welcome to Coastal! As a rurally-enhanced site, located in beautiful North Vancouver, our site aims to train full-service Family Physicians who will be prepared to work in any setting upon graduation. Our home-base is Lions Gate Hospital, along with a number of outpatient clinics located throughout the North Shore region (including North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Deep Cove, and Horseshoe Bay). Lions Gate Hospital is a community hospital with incredible collegiality amongst the team of physicians, including a strong family medicine presence in various departments such as hospitalist, obstetrics, emergency, and surgery. We are the only core group of residents based out of Lions Gate Hospital, and as such work directly with staff from all disciplines and have ample opportunity for hands-on experiences. Knowing that we are Family Medicine residents, the specialists are all keen to teach us about their fields from a Family Medicine perspective. This applicability has been key in our training.
At Coastal, the first year of residency consists of working with a primary Family Medicine preceptor which is matched based on residents’ interests, along with various core rotations at Lions Gate Hospital. In second year, we complete a combination of core rotations, self-arranged electives, and a 4-month rural rotation in communities extending from the Sea-to-Sky Corridor, Sunshine Coast, and all the way up to Bella Bella.
Our Coastal cohort consists of 9 residents per year, 5 CMG residents and 4 IMG residents. We are a small close-knit group who work and train together as a unified cohort. We get to know each other well and support one another throughout residency and beyond. We frequently plan additional education sessions for the cohort, as well as regular simulation days in our advanced SIM center. Our Site Director, Dr. Dean Brown, and our enthusiastic team of faculty leads go above and beyond for the program and its residents. We are also incredibly supported by our amazing administration team of Tamar and Zoe, who ensure that the administrative aspects of residency are always taken care of. We are excited to welcome our next cohort to the Coastal family!
Good luck with CaRMS, and we look forward to meeting you!
Dr. Nora Tong & Dr. Mackenzie Howell
Coastal Site Lead Residents
