News and Analysis: Medical school enrolment to increase at UBC [CMAJ

Medical school enrolment to increase at UBC

CMAJ 2000;163(6):753 See: eLetters

Enrolment at the University of British Columbia's medical school could increase modestly by as soon as next year and eventually expand by as much as half of the current total, the province reports. The existing intake of 120 students has remained unchanged since 1980; it is the smallest intake per capita among provinces that have medical schools. Dr. John Cairns, UBC's dean of medicine, hopes that a significant increase in enrolment will be achieved within the next 5 years.

The increase was announced by provincial health minister Mike Farnworth. A formula for increased funding for residents is also planned for 2001. Cairns said the long-discussed need to expand the medical school has been recognized "at last." He said the school's limited enrolment meant the province was "choosing to educate only 25% of the physicians it requires. ... There have been severe problems in a number of communities around the province, and we all recognize that they are going to get much worse. The province can't rely on other provinces as it has and it can't rely on other countries as it has."

The medical school is working out the financial details of the expansion, which it plans to present to the provincial government in early fall. The federal government has not made a commitment to contribute to the expansion. Cairns says Ottawa "must step up to the plate. The federal government has not taken a leadership role in medical education since the 1960s."

The new funding will include capital spending on the medical school's deteriorating and overcrowded physical facilities. — Heather Kent, Vancouver