Island Medical Program
Vancouver Island
At first glance, university buildings may appear to have little to do with important services in small towns and rural areas. But if you look a little closer, it soon becomes clear that the opposite is the case. That’s particularly true of the Medical Sciences Building at the University of Victoria, which opened in 2004 to train doctors to work in Vancouver Island communities.
The UVic building, which was built to the gold-level standard for leadership in environmental and energy design, can accommodate 128 students in the Island Medical program. It’s a partnership between UVic and the University of B.C., which has a similar arrangement with the University of Northern B.C., to train more doctors and do so closer to the B.C. communities that need them most.
The Medical Sciences Building has lecture theatres, laboratories, offices, research space and sophisticated audiovisual and e-learning technologies linking students with those at UBC and UNBC.
The result is more training for more doctors in more areas of the province – creating new opportunities for young people and improved health care for British Columbians.
