Welcome Message
Welcome to the Eastern Fraser Valley MD Undergraduate Program (MDUP) Integrated Community Clerkship (ICC) Site.
Thank you for considering the Eastern Fraser Valley Integrated Community Clerkship for your Year 3 Integrated Clerkship. I am a family physician in Chilliwack, a community where medical care is primarily delivered by family physicians, which means that I, and many of the family physicians in town, practice everything from obstetrics to palliative care. I have been the ICC Site Director since 2011 and it has been a rich and rewarding experience.
As Site Director, my role is to primarily coordinate your education while you are part of the community. I have the honour of welcoming each new group of students to town, where I deliver an overview of your evaluations, coordinate your teaching, touch base with you during weekly Site Director meetings and every 6 weeks one on one.
I look forward to meeting you and answering any questions you might have about the Eastern Fraser Valley Integrated Community Clerkship site.
Dr. Scott Bakker
ICC Site Director, Eastern Fraser Valley
Dr. Scott Baker is a family doctor who spends his time in medicine working in general practice clinic, providing acute hospital care, and caring for the elderly and the unhoused. He enjoys spending time with his wife and three boys, hiking and camping, running, and riding. Often, he can be found in his garage shop, building or restoring bicycles old and new.
General Program Overview
The Eastern Fraser Valley MD Undergraduate Program (MDUP) Integrated Community Clerkship (ICC) site has been in place since 2004, making it the longest running integrated clerkship in Canada. The clerkship has many enthusiastic teachers in participating hospitals and surrounding communities. While the Eastern Fraser Valley ICC originated in Chilliwack, clinical experiences also occur in Abbotsford and, to a smaller extent, in other surrounding communities. All are a short commute by car. Family physicians serve as the primary care-providers for several of the participating hospitals. Opportunities for learning are available from several facets of medicine including nursing staff, paramedics, occupational and physiotherapists and clinical counselors. This clerkship requires students to be highly motivated, flexible and self-directed. It is also necessary to be able to work as a functioning member of a very dynamic team.
Specific Experiences
Students are scheduled on a ‘mini-block’ rotation, meaning students spend two or three weeks at a time with specialty preceptors and return to a given rotation one to four times in the academic year. A typical rotation week consists of three days with a specialty preceptor, one half-day with a family preceptor, academic half-days and one flex day where students can pursue their own interests in medicine.
Rotation sites largely include hospitals and/or clinic offices in the cities of Chilliwack (home site) and Abbotsford. Depending on availability, some time may also be spent in Hope, Mission and other surrounding communities, all within a commute time by car.
-
Family Medicine
- Students in the Eastern Fraser Valley ICC are attached to a family medicine preceptor with whom they work with one half day per week, typically Thursday mornings.
- Many of the family preceptors have special interests such as geriatric medicine, addiction medicine and obstetrical care in a large, busy obstetrical care group.
- Students are encouraged to develop their own roster of patients for which they take responsibility and assume many aspects of care, under the supervision of their primary preceptor.
- Preceptors and medical staff have a long history of medical teaching, from nursing students to medical students and family medicine residents.
-
Flex Weeks
- The Eastern Fraser Valley ICC site offers several weeks of flex where students can choose areas of interests.
- Special interest rotations are available in a wide variety of specialties. Some of these include Urology in Chilliwack, and Oncology through the BC Cancer Agency at Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre.
-
Academic Half Days (AHD)
- Academic half-days are held Thursday afternoon and include:
- Meeting with the site director.
- Case presentations on medical topics, presented by other students in the clerkship.
- Local specialty preceptors and residents deliver seminars ranging from didactic to interactive on a variety of topics.
Family Medicine Residency Program
- This ICC location is also home to a Family Medicine residency program of eighteen residents per year and as part of training, medical students and residents learn together how to best use each other’s’ skills and how to learn from each other in a supportive and mutually beneficial environment.
- Students can work with residents in each department and on overnight call in the hospital which provide fantastic learning opportunities for Eastern Fraser Valley ICC.
- Overnight call is considered an invaluable time for one-on-one learning with residents.
Participating Hospital Sites (all accessible via commute by car)
Chilliwack General Hospital (CGH) – Chilliwack, BC
- CGH is considered the Eastern Fraser Valley ICC’s “home site” where students experience all core rotations and several specialty interests.
- CGH offers approx. 170 beds and full-service care to the population of Chilliwack and surrounding area.
- Services include 24/7 Emergency Medicine services, Internal Medicine, Orthopedics, Urology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ophthalmology, ENT, Pediatrics, Radiology, Psychiatry, Anesthesia, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care.
Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre (ARHCC) – Abbotsford, BC
- ARHCC is the secondary site where students experience several rotations and specialty interests.
- ARHCC offers approx. 300 beds and provides community hospital services to Abbotsford residents and regional services to residents in the Eastern Fraser Valley.
- Services include 24/7 Emergency Medicine, Surgery, Internal Medicine, Medical Imaging, including MRI, CT scanning, Cardiac Services, Maternity Care, including a neonatal intensive care unit, Pediatric Care, Dialysis, and a full range of cancer control services.
Mission Memorial Hospital (MMH) – Mission, BC
- MMH currently provides additional EMERG experience.
- MMH offers a 25-bed medical inpatient unit and 20-bed PATH unit (Patient Assessment and Transition Home), as well as a 10-bed Christine Morrison Hospice.
- Services include 24/7 Emergency stabilization and care, General Medicine and ambulatory care services, supported by an integrated network of community-based programs and services.
Fraser Canyon Hospital (FCH) – Hope, BC
- FCH is currently the most rural location, a 10-bed community hospital that provides additional EMERG rotation experience as well as field service to the Community of Boston Bar, Family Medicine Clinic as available.
- Services include 24/7 Emergency stabilization and care, general medicine, and ambulatory care services, supported by an integrated network of community-based programs and services, ranging from health promotion and prevention, to residential and hospice care.
Community Profile
Although only 90 minutes by car east of Vancouver, Chilliwack is considered a rural community, with a population of approx. 103,000 and growing. Nestled in the eastern portion of the Fraser Valley, Chilliwack boasts an amazing countryside with majestic mountain views, great hiking, camping, and fishing opportunities, including Cultus Lake, Harrison Hot Springs and Chilliwack Lake parks.
Chilliwack offers a variety of housing options and entertainment in the surrounding area close to the hospital. In their spare time, students cheer on the Chilliwack Chiefs hockey team at the Chilliwack Coliseum or enjoy a show at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre!
Check out these websites for more fun and interesting activities in Chilliwack:
- Tourism Chilliwack
- Stó:lō Nation
- Best hiking trails in Chilliwack
- Mt Waddington’s Outdoors
- Downtown – District 1881
“The name Chilliwack is derived from the Halqemeylem word ts’elxweyeqw which means going back upstream, as far as you can go in a canoe. We are a river valley with many streams, which is fitting for the diversity of ways to experience our landscape and inclusive attitudes. From biking, hiking, fishing, golfing and water activities, there’s so much to discover. Chilliwack has also a wide variety of creative and inspiring public art to discover. We place a high value on our creative class, and are continually adding new pieces to our City’s portfolio. It’s the perfect safe and family friendly activity!”
[From the Tourism Chilliwack website, 2024]
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Scott Bakker
ICC Site Director, Eastern Fraser Valley
scottbakker@gmail.com
Trudy Sargent
ICC Program Coordinator, Eastern Fraser Valley
trudy.sargent@fraserhealth.ca
We would like to acknowledge that the Eastern Fraser Valley Integrated Community Clerkship site operates on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Stó:lō (staw-low) people, particularly the Aitchelitz [a-che-leetz], Xwchíyò:m (Cheam) [chee-am], Kwaw-kwaw-a-pilt [kwa-kwa-plit], Shxwhá:y [shwhy], Skwah [skwah], Squiala [skwai-all-a], Soowahlie [soo-wall-e], Skowkale [skow-cale], Tzeachten [chee-ack-ten], and Yakweakwioose [ya-kweek-we-oos] First Nations.
Our Recent ICC Students’ Experience
“I want to give special thanks to the Eastern Fraser Valley Integrated Community Clerkship program director, Dr. Scott Bakker, and the program coordinator, Trudy Sargent, for supporting my path. I also want to thank the entire medical community at the Hope Medical Centre for mentoring and inspiring me to pursue a career in rural family medicine and to become a future rural clinical educator.”