So you want to be a doctor? UBC Okanagan’s high-tech recruitment tool

WOULD-BE PHYSICIANS FIND OUT ABOUT MEDICAL SCHOOL REMOTELY

KELOWNA – They use video conferencing to train doctors, so why not recruit them to UBC Okanagan using the same tool?

That’s the thinking behind the Faculty of Medicine’s first-ever virtual information session using the same gear normally used to connect four academic campuses and over 100 clinical teaching sites across the province.

Secondary students from Penticton and Summerland with an eye on becoming a doctor took in the admissions information session from a lecture theatre at UBC Okanagan.

It focused on the realities of medical school, diversity of practice while seeking to dispel what UBC Okanagan says are myths about admissions requirements. The school receives over 2,000 applications a year.

The session was planned in collaboration with career counsellors in the Okanagan Skaha school district.

Dr. Bruce Fleming, associate dean of admissions for the Faculty of Medicine, says the hope is to expand the program to other academic institutions and school districts across the province.

Fleming says encouraging more medical school applications from rural students could help with physician shortages in some parts of the province as students are more likely to return to their home town to set up practice.

For more stories on UBC Okanagan, click here.

To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.