The end of this school year coincides with my second and final term as Regional Associate Dean, Vancouver Island for the UBC Faculty of Medicine and as Head, Division of Medical Sciences for the University of Victoria. Coincidentally, it is also the tenth anniversary of the creation of the Island Medical Program (IMP) and the founding of the Division of Medical Sciences (Division).
Ten years ago, UBC launched Canada’s first fully distributed undergraduate medical education program, an innovative and unique model that has since been replicated across Canada. The vision of the IMP and the Division was to build a first-class medical education program on Vancouver Island, committed to excellence in education, innovation, discovery and service to the community. I believe we have gone a long way to fulfilling that vision.
The IMP is flourishing, with medical students being trained in newly developed teaching facilities across Vancouver Island by more than 900 faculty members, including clinicians and basic scientists. Postgraduate medical education has also expanded, with seven new residency programs introduced since the establishment of the IMP and more than 100 residents currently based on Vancouver Island for all or most of their training. Since the formation of the Division at UVic, we have seen a huge growth in medical research: recruitment of new faculty and graduate students, construction of state-of-the-art laboratories and external research funding of more than $14 million since 2006.
Our programs are also giving back. New learning facilities provide physicians across Vancouver Island with the ability to participate in professional development activities and offer physicians coming to the island the opportunity to be part of a medical school, teach, conduct research and remain connected with their colleagues throughout the province. The medical school curriculum encourages our students to engage with social agencies and community organizations and develop initiatives that provide ongoing benefits for members of the community. Each year an increasing number of IMP alumni are beginning medical practice on Vancouver Island, and with the expansion of postgraduate training programs, more of our new graduates are choosing to remain on the Island to complete their residency training. In addition, Division researchers are making important contributions to health research in neuroscience, Aboriginal health, maternal health and information technology in primary care.
As I leave this post I am delighted to see that together we have built a strong foundation on which medical education and research can continue to grow. None of our successes would have been achieved without the unwavering support of the provincial government, the UBC Faculty of Medicine, the University of Victoria, Island Health and physicians from across Vancouver Island. The dedicated team of faculty, administrative staff – many of whom have been with the program since the beginning – and talented students have made the program work. Community members, including our volunteer patients, standardized patients and clinical teaching associates, have played an important role in our success. And thanks to the generosity of our donors, students who wouldn’t otherwise have access to medical education are being trained to be the next generation of physicians.
As of July 1, 2014, a new leader, Dr. Bruce Wright, will take over as Regional Associate Dean, Vancouver Island and Head of the Division of Medical Sciences. Dr. Wright comes from the University of Calgary, where he is a professor in the Department of Family Medicine with a specialty in geriatric medicine, and has served as Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education since 2006. Dr. Wright will build and expand upon the accomplishments of the IMP and the Division going forward and I exhort all who have contributed to our success so far to continue supporting the new leader in his endeavours.
My wife and I will keep our home base in Victoria. We love the Island and will continuing enjoying its beauty and its people.
My warmest thanks to each and every one of you!
Dr. Oscar Casiro
Dr. Oscar Casiro obtained his MD from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina 40 years ago. After 34 years of practice in Canada, Dr. Casiro was appointed to the UBC Faculty of Medicine as Associate Dean, Island Medical Program in 2004. He has also served as the Head of the Division of Medical Sciences at the University of Victoria.
The Island Medical Program is one of the distributed sites of the Faculty of Medicine at UBC. In his role as Associate Dean, Dr. Casiro was responsible for leading the establishment of the Island Medical Program, a complex role that has required strategic and collaborative leadership both within the university partnerships and the partnerships with Island Health. In 2009, Dr. Casiro was appointed as Regional Associate Dean, Vancouver Island with additional responsibilities as a leader in postgraduate medical education on the island. Working with others, he has been instrumental in bringing new Royal College specialty residency programs to Vancouver Island, including psychiatry in 2010, internal medicine and emergency medicine in 2013. In addition, he has supported the expansion of family practice residency programs to Nanaimo and Comox/Campbell River (Strathcona).
As Head of the Division of Medical Science, Dr. Casiro led the development of a vibrant research program at the University of Victoria through the recruitment of a group of researchers with compatible interests in the area of neurosciences and through establishing strategic relationships with research groups both internally at the University of Victoria and with external stakeholders.