Nanaimo & Northern Emergency Education Programs

It has been a year of substantive growth for the Nanaimo Emergency Education Program. In 2021, it expanded to a second site in Prince George, resulting in the formation of the Northern Emergency Education Program. This move not only allows for the doubling of offered positions; it creates the infrastructure needed for the University of British Columbia (UBC) to extend its CCFP(EM) certification training further afield, outside the Lower Mainland. The initial cohort of residents selected for the Northern Emergency Education Program will begin their fellowships in July 2021.

From a programmatic standpoint, the Emergency Education Programs have significantly improved pediatric training, thanks to the addition of a pediatric simulation mannequin in Nanaimo’s Simulation Lab. The arrival of this equipment is beneficial for fellows and instructors, alike.

The competence of the Emergency Education Programs was further recognized this past year, after receiving the following accreditations:

• CCFP(EM) Accreditation
• Leading Practice/Innovations (1): A collaborative approach to align programs with societal need, working with rural communities, Indigenous collaborators, the Ministry of Health, the Rural Coordination Centre of BC, and others, in developing new programs and modifying, or expanding, existing ones is a model approach to social accountability.
• Leading Practice/Innovations (2): In the emergency medicine program, the Nanaimo site incorporates exposure to physicians who blend emergency medicine and family medicine in small communities. This includes a deliberate exposure to remote indigenous communities.

The positive impact that the Emergency Education Programs have and will continue to make in future is clear. Numerous Emergency Education Program fellows, signified by red dots on the map, above, have gone on to challenge and pass the CCFP(EM) certification examinations. Meanwhile, blue dots on the map represent communities in which past fellows are practicing as of November 2020. These fellows and newly-minted certified emergency physicians are acting as local resources to their communities, and as role models for CCFP (EM) certified physicians with mixed practices.

In the coming year, the Nanaimo and Northern Emergency Education Programs will apply for a grant extension to continue their highly effective work. They will also explore expansion opportunities into another BC community where it may, again, be possible to lay the infrastructure for UBC to expand CCFP(EM) certification training outside the Lower Mainland. The Programs will also work to expand their ultrasound training budget to continue providing high-quality training. The Programs also expect to launch a new website in the coming year.