Prince George is a city of about 80,000 situated in the geographic centre of British Columbia at the confluence of the Nechako and Fraser Rivers. We are the economic and service hub for northern BC. The community enjoys many cultural amenities including professional theatre, a semi-professional symphony orchestra, a brand new civic art gallery and the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League. Prince George is also home to an innovative community college and the main campus of the University of Northern British Columbia , Canada 's newest university and a satellite of the UBC medical school.

The Prince George Regional Hospital provides referral services to much of northern BC. In the spring of 2004 a 50 million-dollar expansion of the hospital was completed and includes a new emergency department, ICU, ambulatory care facilities and in-patient tower. Services in all of the major specialties except cardiothoracic surgery, neurosurgery and (temporarily) ENT and plastics are covered. Family physicians are intimately involved in the care of most hospitalized patients. We do all the primary care obstetrics and staff the emergency department on a 24-hour basis. Many of our family physician emergency doctors currently hold the CCFP(EM).

Family Practice Teaching

Our teaching practices are located in a purpose-built clinic on the grounds of the regional hospital. The thirteen doctors in the clinic are all full service general practitioners. Most of them have extensive experience in rural and remote communities while the rest are recent local graduates. They are very familiar with the rewards of small town general practice and with the particular challenges. Adaptability, well-seasoned problem solving skills, and the ability to inspire and direct a team, often under less than ideal circumstances are crucial.

A small town GP requires the stamina to provide on-call services over long stretches tempered by the good sense to get the rest needed for health and a balanced life. Balance also requires the discipline to set aside time for leisure activities and vacations while still finding strategies that allow for a timely response to often unpredictable patient crises. Our goal is to afford residents the opportunity to hone these personal qualities and skills in a work environment that is challenging but also collegial, supportive and fun.

We are in the midst of a growing physician supply crisis in this country. All of our clinical teachers are also busy practitioners. Our residents have the opportunity to work with them and benefit from their knowledge and experience. To a considerable extent, residents gain from our program in proportion to what they are prepared to put into it. That is the reality of regional and rural training. We don't apologize for that. In fact we have found it good preparation for the peculiar challenge of developing effective working relationships with family physicians and specialist colleagues even after having earned a license to practice.

Our Program

The first year of training in Prince George includes block time in family practice as well as most of the core specialty disciplines. There are opportunities to pursue areas of special interest on a part-time basis but elective block time is all in the second year. This arrangement is deliberate. It ensures that residents are equipped with the acute clinical skills they require to benefit from their rural rotation in Hazelton BC as well as the Prince George emergency and ICU and other electives they might choose to do.

For more information, please go to the UBC Department of Family Practice Site (http://www.familymed.ubc.ca/princegeorge.htm) or the UBC CaRMS site (http://www.familymed.ubc.ca/carms/sites/prince_george.htm ).

Milltown Artist Vivian Antoniw - "Prince George from Connaught Hill"

Last Updated November 8, 2010

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