Site Director Message

Lead Resident Message

The Vancouver Fraser Site (VFS) offers the perfect balance between smaller community hospitals and high-volume, high-acuity, tertiary care academic centers. As a VFS resident, not only will you get to experience beautiful British Columbia and live in a world-class city, but you will also find yourself in a supportive, flexible program where your experience can be tailored to meet your personal learning objectives.

An advantage of our program is the access to multiple training sites. While our residents are based at the Royal Columbian Hospital, they have the opportunity to work in a variety of hospitals including Mount St. Joseph’s Hospital, Burnaby General Hospital, Richmond Hospital, BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver General Hospital, Peace Arch Hospital, and Eagle Ridge Hospital. This diverse selection of sites allows for a rich, well-rounded training experience.

At the smaller locations, residents work closely with community-based physicians and are involved in all areas of patient care, allowing for a smooth and rewarding transition into independent practice. At the tertiary care hospitals, including the Royal Columbian Hospital, Vancouver General Hospital, and B.C. Women’s and Children’s Hospital, residents have the opportunity to learn from world experts in their fields. Working alongside other postgraduate trainees, you are also afforded the opportunity to engage in medical student teaching.

Specific rotations that are unique for VFS Family Practice include two to four weeks in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at BC Children’s Hospital and CTU (Clinical Teaching Unit/Internal Medicine) at Royal Columbian Hospital. In addition, residents will be provided with the option of a Sports Medicine rotation in lieu of an Orthopedic rotation at the renowned Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Centre.

Family Practice today is increasingly office based, and our site excels in training residents to be confident outpatient clinicians. At our site, residents have the opportunity to either attend an academic clinic for the first year, or be engrained in community practice for all of residency. During this second year you will also spend two months working with a Family Physician in a rural BC community of your choice.

Another important aspect of our program is that it is not service-based, as might often be expected in residents training in urban tertiary teaching centers. Our residents are given appropriate clinic duties and independence, but are also given time to explore other areas of interest within Family Medicine. Residents attend a full academic day every other week, alternating with a full call-back day with their Family Practice preceptor. This allows for continuity of care at the office, closer follow-up with your patients and maximization of academic and clinical time by reducing travel between training sites.

In the first year of training, residents are able to spend up to three half-days per week in horizontal electives during their Family Medicine block. Horizontal electives include, but are not limited to, Dermatology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology, Healthy Heart Clinic, Maternity Care and Emergency Medicine. In second year, residents have fourteen weeks of elective time where they can pursue their own areas of interest or explore areas which they feel they need additional training. Learning is resident-driven; the program can be molded to fit each individual learner’s needs. All UBC residents are given four weeks of vacation with minimal restrictions for vacation times for the Vancouver Fraser site. As per the PAR-BC agreement, residents also get 5 consecutive days off at either Christmas or New Years.

Socially, we see each other every other week at our academic days. We are also fortunate to have well-funded resident retreats twice a year. Recently some of our retreats have been held in Whistler and Harrison Hot Springs. Outside of formal retreats, co-residents are often very close and get together frequently for anything from dinners to trivia nights to travel overseas!

The graduates of our program have gone on to successfully work as office-based clinicians, hospitalists, and as physicians with enhanced skills in both urban, sub-urban and rural settings. Some of the enhanced skills that residents have acquired include Maternity Care, Emergency Medicine, Addictions Medicine and Women’s Health.

Thank you for your interest in our site and we look forward to meeting you at our Virtual Events. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email us.

Your Vancouver Fraser Lead Residents,

Dr. Angela Choi & Dr. Adrian Dzugalo