The provincial government has launched a new pediatrics residency training site on the Island that will see prospective doctors train at Victoria General Hospital and other Capital Region health- care facilities.
The goal for the new training site, part of the University of British Columbia’s pediatrics residency training program, is to provide more Canadians with family doctors and other health-care professionals, said B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake.
“Families on Vancouver Island will have better access to pediatric residents,” he said in a release. “Bringing doctors in training to more communities in B.C. is part of our commitment to enhance medical education and make sure families have access to health-care services, when and where they are needed.”
Evidence has shown that a doctor who completes residency training in a community is more likely to remain in that area to practise. VGH is Vancouver Island’s pediatric specialty hospital and, according to the release, treats roughly 90 per cent of the Island’s children.
As of now, there are two pediatric residents on the Island. The site is expected to be operating with a full slate of eight by July 2018. Residencies last a minimum of four years, but individuals may do one to two years of sub-specialty training elsewhere.
katie@goldstreamgazette.com