A new internal medicine residency program is coming to Surrey Memorial Hospital in July 2024.
The program is a partnership between Fraser Health and the University of British Columbia (UBC) faculty of medicine with financial support from the Ministry of Health.
“UBC’s new training site is an important step towards meeting the unique health care needs of communities south of the Fraser, while also expanding access to medical training throughout the region,” Dr. Ravi Sidhu, associate dean, Postgraduate Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, UBC, stated in a Fraser Health post.
The program will launch this summer with its first intake of five residents and follow a “hub-and-spoke model,” stated Fraser Health.
Surrey Memorial Hospital will be the hub for the new medical teaching unit, “and sub-specialty rotations and community hospitals will be the spokes hosting community internal medicine rotations and some sub-specialty rotations.”
Dr. Birinder Mangat, the program director for the Fraser Health stream, is especially excited about this program as it is a chance for her to give back to healthcare in her hometown.
Traditionally, a lot of the training at UBC is done in Vancouver area hospitals. This new program is “a fantastic opportunity for residents to be based in Fraser (Health) and still have access to training,” Mangat said.
Mangat believes this new residency program will go a long way in attracting physicians to Surrey and Fraser Health, especially amidst a national doctor shortage.
The hope is that many of the residents will stay in Surrey or Fraser Health after completing the program, Mangat said.
Over the course of their five-year residency, they will have opportunities to train in general internal medicine or a number of sub-specialties, such as cardiology, gastroenterology, and rheumatology.
The residency will include monthly longitudinal clinics at community hospitals and Surrey Memorial Hospital.
“Surrey Memorial Hospital is well-suited for this centralized educational experience as it has a long-track record with residents,” Mangat said. The in-patient internal medicine unit has been operational at the hospital for nearly ten years. “So the atmosphere is in place for this unique opportunity,” Mangat said.
Mangat is an internal medicine specialist at Surrey Memorial Hospital and St. Paul’s Hospital and a clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC).