Number of Residents: 4 CMG, 1 IMG
Location:  Trail, BC & Nelson, BC
Community: 80,000
Hospital: Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital & Kootenay Lake Hospital
Distance from Vancouver: 630 km
Curriculum Type: Block based with longitudinal elements
R2 Elective Time: 12 Weeks

The Kootenay Boundary region is located in southeastern BC, 650 km east of Vancouver and 650 km south west of Calgary. The population of about 80,000 has an unusual rural demographic, with many engineers, scientists, doctors and dot-com specialists.

The region’s health facilities consist of the regional hospital in Trail and three community hospitals in Nelson, Grand Forks, and Nakusp, along with three community health care centers with ER in Castlegar, New Denver, and Kaslo. Primary care is provided in GP offices, primary OB clinics, mental health and addictions clinics, chronic pain clinics and chronic disease management clinics. We have a very efficient turnaround of the lab and diagnostic services and access to specialist referrals.

The medical community is made up of 105 family physicians and 47 specialists. With a low number of learners, the environment is non-competitive. The local Divisions of Family Practice is leading the province in many initiatives and is the only one with nurse practitioner members.

Our Education Resources

We are an established medical training site with a robust undergraduate UBC Integrated Clinical Clerkship program that trains four medical students throughout their third year. We have also hosted Family Medicine Residency Rural rotations site for many years. Our resources include UBC clinical and administrative offices, state of the art video conferencing education rooms, a well-stocked and up to date medical library as well as access to all online UBC and Health Authority Library resources.

Our Playground

Kootenay Boundary is an outstanding outdoor recreational paradise with world-class skiing (Rossland and Nelson were voted best ski towns in North America), mountain biking and hiking. The region supports a thriving cultural and artistic community featuring many music venues, theatre performances, craft shows and galleries, as well as a surprising array of interesting restaurants, bookshops, coffee shops, boutique stores and adventure tourism companies. Many of the communities are located on lake shores or river banks, and all have an impressive array of parks, aquatic centers, golf courses, baseball stadiums, ice arenas, indoor field houses, curling rinks, tennis and squash courts and several soccer pitches. There is a wide range of schools, including French and Russian Immersion and the Waldorf School in Nelson.

Interview with Nick Leinweber, who is one of UBC’s rural family medicine residents doing a 4 month rotation here.

What in particular drew you to Kootenay Boundary?

Of all of the rotations and hospitals I have experienced throughout my medical training, the KB region has one of the most collegial healthcare teams I have worked with.  As a medical student and now resident I have felt embraced by the healthcare community, I am included in hospital and non-hospital community activities and feel I have become a part of something, and not merely a learner in the academic machine.

Furthermore, if you enjoy the many outdoor opportunities and laid back lifestyle that British Columbia has to offer, the Kootenay region is pretty much the holy grail of mountain culture.  After all, Rossland (just outside Trail) and Nelson were voted North America’s Best Ski Towns in 2012!

What learning opportunities are there that make KB unique?

The Kootenay Boundary is a regional centre that essentially offers all major medical and surgical services and has very few learners. As a result it is very flexible and easy to maximize and customize your schedule and learning experience.  If you want more time with airway skills, go spend time with the anesthetists, if you think your suturing needs some work, talk with the plastic surgeon. The staff is approachable and happy to teach if you want to learn.

What do you enjoy most about your residency?

Without a doubt it is how easy it is to achieve work-life balance.  I live in Rossland, (10km from the Trail Hospital). After – or sometimes before – work I can get in a lap ski touring in the local Rossland mountain range or catch last chair for a lap on Red Mountain; go for a bike or pick huckleberries in the summer; and pick up a growler of fresh beer from our local brewery before dinner.  As a result I enjoy life, avoid being burnt out, and continue to enjoy the marathon of medical training.

Is there a large service component?

No, not at all. It is focused on the resident’s learning and development into a competent rural family practitioner. This is a medical community that has had tremendous success with an integrated community clerkship with UBC medical students and has now created a residency program with a similar ideology. The focus is around the learners’ experience and not the workload of the hospital. Scut work is essentially non-existent.

How would you describe your relationship with your preceptor and the wider KB medical community?

I feel I have become a member of the KB medical community. Some preceptors are friends I ski and bike with while others are like parental figures who offer guidance with regards to all sorts of life aspects. My wife takes her kindergarten class on field trips through one of the clinics; the whole hospital puts on an annual talent/skit show for the entire community that is hilarious and regularly sold out; the ER/ICU Christmas party is outrageous. This is an amazing community to be a part of and I am very grateful to be a member.

Any drawbacks to being a resident in KB?

The volume of high acuity patients is less than tertiary centres. It can be very beneficial to experience the volume of larger centres and receive the teaching from subspecialty services. I think this is something that can be accomplished with the large amount of elective time in the residency program.

What sort of residents do you think would do well in KB?

Individuals who are comfortable with uncertainty, are motivated to get what they want out of their training and are willing to speak up if they think something needs to change. This is a new program and everyone wants it to succeed, they take learner input seriously and as a student or resident in KB you become a part of shaping the experience for future learners.

What’s life like in KB outside work?

The Kootenay region is filled with Canadians and expats who have sought a life of adventure, and alternative living. The communities are vibrant with a unique mountain culture that offers much more than world class skiing and mountain activities. There are funky music venues, arts and film festivals, yoga studios, micro-breweries and pretty much the best neighbors you could ask for.  Life here is terrific.