As the days grow longer and the rain eases up, I am enjoying my cycle commute in daylight and am anticipating the cherry blossoms. In my first year here, I have been delighted with the many things that Vancouver and our distributed program sites have to offer, including music and theatre, the outdoors and (too many) fabulous restaurants!
The past few months have been full steam ahead with work on the renewed curriculum and our pilot Academic Learning Community (ALC) for VFMP students at Royal Columbian Hospital. Dr. Jill McEwen is a great asset in her new role as Assistant Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education, Fraser. She and Dr. Dan Beegan (Academic Lead, Clinical Education, Fraser) have been working diligently with new clinician advisors, family doctors and staff at RCH, to launch and manage this initiative.
The ALC Pilot has been successful and we have interest from students in continuing the pilot, and in recruiting their friends to join them. This edition’s feature story gives more information about the benefits to both students and the community. We are eager to move to the next phase in the project, which will see more of these ”Academic Learning Community” groups of students and mentors established across the Vancouver-Fraser region. I am very grateful for the amazing team we have and their unwavering commitment to providing a rich experience for the students who will hopefully stay to become part of the future physician workforce in Fraser and beyond.
As the UBC MD program strives to respond to the healthcare needs of the British Columbians, we hope to have you join us in any way you can. Meanwhile, watch for me cycling to sample more of the outdoors while trying to role model personal-professional balance.
Warmest regards,
Dawn E. DeWitt, BA, MSc, MD, FACP, FRACP
Regional Associate Dean, Vancouver Fraser
Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
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