UBC Faculty of Medicine

UBC Faculty of Medicine
Established 1950
Type Public
Dean Dr. Gavin Stuart, MD, FRCS
Academic staff
 5100+
Undergraduates 1300+ (Includes undergraduate students in BSc Biochemistry, BMLSc, BSc Pharmacology, Hon. BSc CAPS-Physiology programs)
Postgraduates 1169 (Postgraduate Medical Residents)
Location Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Research Funding $295,000,000 annually
Website www.med.ubc.ca

The UBC Faculty of Medicine is the medical school of the University of British Columbia, and is one of 17 medical schools in Canada and the only one in the province of British Columbia. It is Canada's second-largest medical school and seventh-largest in North America.[1][2][3]

The school had 677 full-time faculty members, 6,059 clinical faculty members, 1,146 MD undergraduate students, and 1,606 graduate students in 2013-14.[4]

History

The University of British Columbia founded a medical school in 1950. The school is based in Vancouver. Two new undergraduate medical campuses were established at the University of Victoria in Victoria and the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George that opened in 2004. A fourth medical campus was established at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in Kelowna in 2012. Students at all of these campuses receive clinical training at hospitals and other health facilities throughout the province.

MD Admissions

After Université de Montréal, UBC admits the second most 1st year medical students in Canada – at an annual rate of 288. Preference is given to residents of British Columbia; however, up to 10% of the 288 spots (maximum 29 seats) are reserved each year for out-of-province applicants. Like other medical schools in Canada, UBC does not have a preference over a candidate's area of studies. The Faculty of Medicine accepts students of all backgrounds, from BA to MBA students. A minimum of 90 university credits is required. A minimum average of 75% (in UBC percentage) is required for BC residents, while a minimum average of 80% (in UBC percentage) is required for out-of-province applicants. The MD Undergraduate Admissions Office will drop the lowest academic year (maximum 30 credits of a year from September-August) if more than 3 years of studies (greater than 90 credits) has been completed. This is known as the adjusted GPA. All candidates must complete 6 credits of English, 6 credits of Biology, 6 credits of General Chemistry, 6 credits of Organic Chemistry, and 6 credits of Biochemistry by the year of entry into the MD program. Courses recommended but are not prerequisites include Physics, Statistics, Psychology, and Sociology.

In the 2012-2013 cycle (Medicine Class of 2017), there were 1920 applications received for 288 spots in the first year undergraduate medical program. The average overall GPA (or adjusted GPA, if applicable) was 87.72% for the entering class. The average MCAT score for the entering class was 32Q. [5]

In the 2013-2014 cycle (Medicine Class of 2018), there were 2124 applications received for 288 spots in the first year undergraduate medical program. [6] The average overall GPA (or adjusted GPA, if applicable) was 87.48% for the entering class. The average MCAT score for the entering class was 32P. The overall admissions rate for the 2013-2014 cycle was 13.5%, however, the rate was 20.8% for BC residents.[7]

In the current 2014-2015 cycle (Medicine Class of 2019), there were 2322 applications received for 288 spots in the first year undergraduate medical program. [8] This cycle marks the last time for the GPA to be cut-off at 80% (in UBC percentage) for out-of-province applicants. Because out-of-province applicants have been generally unsuccessful with attaining an interview if their GPA was below 85% (in UBC percentage), the Faculty has announced that the minimum GPA for out-of-province applicants will be raised to 85% in the next cycle, 2015-2016. This cycle also marks the last time in which all applicants apply with a regular MCAT score before the implementation of the 2015 MCAT. Applicants are not required (but may) write the 2015 MCAT for the next two cycles: 2015-2016 and 2016-2017; however, all applicants will be required to write the 2015 MCAT for the 2017-2018 cycle. Applicants that choose to write the 2015 MCAT will only have the 2015 MCAT score used, even if their "old" MCAT met minimum cut-offs. [9]

The MD Undergraduate Admissions Committee currently applies a 50:50 ratio for the academic qualities score (AQ) and non-academic qualities score (NAQ), to produce a total score (TFR). The TFR determines if a candidate will be invited for an interview. The AQ and NAQ point allocation may be subject to change each year based on the competitiveness of the applicant pool. For example, if a re-applicant has made no changes to their GPA and non-academic statements, their AQ and NAQ score may still change, even if he/she had not made any changes – the evaluations are standardized against the applicant pool. Thus, the minimum TFR to be invited for an interview may also be subject to change each year. Based on past statistics, approximately 30% of all applicants (BC and out-of-province) are invited to the interview. The interview follows the Multiple Mini Interviews format (MMI), which allows the candidate to interact with approximately 10 different stations. The interview takes approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes to complete. After the interview, candidates will get a chance to rank their distributed medical site preferences from 1-4, or no-interest. The post-interview score consists of the interview score, MCAT score, and TFR, in which candidates will be ranked. Reference letters are also taken into consideration post-interview. All aspects will determine if a candidate will be finally admitted into the MD program, with decisions made by Committee consensus. [10]

All distributed medical sites are evaluated equally, as such, a candidate should not select a medical site in hopes of a better admission. This is a result of admissions and site placement being a two-step process. [11] Candidates who are not successful with their application are allowed and encouraged to re-apply the following year. The candidate may apply as many times as they wish, however, the Faculty of Medicine recommends candidates to explore other career options if their applications have been unsuccessful after several cycles.

It is not uncommon to apply more than once; the general consensus is that the average medical student accepted in Canada applied approximately 2 or 3 times.

Degrees offered

Doctor of Medicine (MD)

The school's medical program consists of four years of studies. The medical school is distributed across four sites across British Columbia:

All degree programs offered in the Faculty of Medicine

References

  1. ↑ http://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/
  2. ↑ http://www.afmc.ca/pdf/Cmes2013_Enrolment-Attrition.pdf
  3. ↑ https://www.aamc.org/download/321540/data/2012factstable31.pdf
  4. ↑ http://med.ubc.ca/about/facts-figures/
  5. ↑ http://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/files/2013/11/FINAL-Complete-Statistics-Sept-2013-MED-2017-Website.pdf
  6. ↑ http://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/files/2013/12/Interim-Statistics-2013-14-MED-2018-FINAL.pdf
  7. ↑ http://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/files/2014/10/MED-2018-Admissions-Statistics.pdf
  8. ↑ http://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/files/2014/12/Interim-Statistics-2014-15-MED-2019.pdf
  9. ↑ http://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/admissions/notes-for-applicants/
  10. ↑ http://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/admissions/evaluation-criteria/
  11. ↑ http://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/2011/12/23/clarification-of-site-selection/

External links