At the UBC Faculty of Medicine, we’re a diverse community of people from around the world and we want our future students and medical doctors to be as diverse as the communities they will end up serving. The path to a medical degree and career as a health professional can begin with you.
What Is the Ambassador Program?
The Ambassador Program is an outreach program led by UBC’s Faculty of Medicine MD Admissions office. It enables current medical students to share their perspective on what it means to have a career in medicine. The program is targeted to students in grades 8–10, but can be delivered to students in grades 11 and 12.
We believe that high school students and current medical students can have a lively and engaged discussion that will provide valuable information, real-life experiences, and practical advice on pursuing the path to becoming a medical doctor.
The Unexpected Path
Explore stories of students whose path to studying medicine was anything but typical. Along the way, they overcame obstacles and stayed committed to achieving their dreams of becoming a doctor.
Ellie Parton
Discover Ellie’s journey into medicine and how she became a role model to future Indigenous medical students across B.C.
Adrienne Stedford
Explore Adrienne’s unconventional path to medicine — proof that life is about the journey, not the destination.
Why Participate?
For Counsellors
Help us recruit a diverse next generation of doctors
Connecting students, who may not have imagined themselves as doctors, with our program can help them take the first step towards becoming a health professional. Health professions can be difficult to get into, and it takes time and preparation over several years for someone to realize this goal.
- The sooner high school students learn about what the career entails, how current medical students have achieved this goal, and what they need to start doing to get there, the better prepared they will be for the competition ahead.
- Admission to medical school at UBC has changed over the years and our Ambassadors will provide the most current information on how students can best prepare themselves for this step.
- Opportunities to study medicine for underrepresented youth and students who self-identify as Indigenous may not be known to your students; our program will connect them to people and resources to get informed on scholarships, bursaries, and unique pathways to a degree in medicine.
More Information
Please contact the Outreach Coordinator at outreach.md@ubc.ca. For more information, please review the Outreach Ambassador Program brochure for counsellors.
Outreach Ambassador Program brochure (counsellors)
Request An Information Session
We hope you’ll consider hosting a UBC Ambassador at your school to provide an information session for your students who are contemplating their future professional paths.
For High School Students
Explore for the fun of it
Believe it or not, it’s not too early to start exploring the path to becoming a medical doctor. Because there’s no ‘right’ way to taking your first steps. You don’t have to be a certain kind of person or age to consider a career in medicine. You do need to be curious and open to exploring what it takes to be a health professional.
Don’t see yourself in typical representations of doctors in media or elsewhere? We want to change that. In a world where equity and fairness are more important than ever, we welcome and encourage students of all races and backgrounds to pursue their dreams. If your dream is to become a medical doctor, we’ll do our best to help you realize it.
Take the first step and be open to where it might take you. Reach out to us with any questions you have—we want to hear from young people like you who aspire to become medical doctors. Our province, country, and world need your unique skills, determination, and contribution to the healthcare profession.
More Information
For more information, please contact us or please review the brochure below.
Outreach Ambassador Program brochure (students)
Request A Presentation at Your School
Find out what it’s like to pursue an education in medicine directly from one of our current students. We think this is the best way to get an idea of what this journey involves so ask your high school counsellor about arranging a session for your school.
Youth Outreach Mentorship Program
The Youth Outreach Mentorship Program is a new initiative and collaboration between UBC’s MD Admissions Department, the Medicine Cousins Program, Rural eMentoring, and the student-led Pathways to Medicine Club. This program aims to provide high school students who come from equity deserving and underrepresented populations and who have an interest in medicine, an opportunity to connect with UBC medical students and learn from their unique experiences.
If you are a high school student who is interested in the program, please review the following brochure for further information:
Youth Outreach Mentorship Program Brochure
We are currently matching students on an ongoing basis, pending mentor availability. If you would like to apply to be matched with a medical student mentor, click the link below:
Explore More Student Stories
Victoria Bass
From classical music to chasing the dream of being accepted into the MD Undergraduate program — explore Victoria’s inspiring story.
Graeme Lindsay
Meet Graeme and find out why he never gave up on his dream of being accepted into the UBC MD Undergraduate Program.
Join Our Community
As one of the world’s leading medical schools, UBC’s Faculty of Medicine has a bold vision: to transform health for everyone. When we say “for everyone” we mean it – regardless of age, ethnicity, gender or socioeconomic status. This is our contract with society in action: placing patients, their families and communities at the centre of everything we do.