The Northern Medical Program recently held a local celebration for its ninth graduating class, the Class of 2016.
Dr. Christina Boucher, former Editor of Coast Mountain News and resident of the Bella Coola Valley, was among them. Boucher received the Dr. Tony Eckersley Memorial Award, recognizing a student who exemplifies the qualities of practicing medicine in northern/rural communities. She is now undertaking a family medicine residency in Prince George.
At the celebration, the 33 graduation students received their shingle cut out of beetle pine wood and their long coat to mark their transition from students to doctors. These graduates now move into two to seven years of medical residency and fellowship training, depending on specialty.
The Class of 2016 includes 14 graduates from Northern BC, including three from Prince George, and Twenty of the graduates will be entering family medicine residency programs, with seven of those training in Prince George. In addition, one graduate will be entering a psychiatry residency in Prince George.
The Northern Medical Program graduation celebration precedes the formal graduation for the students, taking place at UBC on May 25th, at which they will received their official medical degrees.
The Northern Medical Program is a distributed program site of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC), delivered in partnership with UNBC.