Premier and ministers receive update about UPEI Faculty of Medicine
Premier Dennis King, Health and Wellness Minister Ernie Hudson, and Education and Lifelong Learning Minister Natalie Jameson visited the construction site of the University’s new health education building and health and wellness clinic on February 3, accompanied by UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor Greg Keefe and other University officials.
“It is exciting to see construction advancing for this vital piece of infrastructure at UPEI that will serve as a health and wellness clinic and state-of-the-art training centre for not only the new Faculty of Medicine, but also the nursing, paramedicine, veterinary medicine, doctor of psychology programs, and the broader allied health community,” said Hon. Dennis King, Premier of Prince Edward Island.
Keefe and Dr. Margaret Steele, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University, who participated by Zoom, also gave the provincial government officials an update about the progress of the development of the joint UPEI-Memorial University medical degree program. While the joint program will use Memorial’s curriculum as a foundation, UPEI is developing innovative programming unique to PEI. The curriculum will be delivered synchronously, with both UPEI and Memorial faculty teaching students in either Charlottetown or St. John’s.
“UPEI brings a wealth of knowledge and strength in areas—such as planetary health—that can inform Memorial’s medical education program including nursing, climate change, paramedicine, psychology, and veterinary medicine,” said Keefe. “Research strengths can also be leveraged on other fronts through collaboration in the bio-medical, community health, and inter-professional health education fronts.”
The almost 140,000-square-foot facility will include an expanded UPEI Health and Wellness Centre clinic that will accommodate 10,000 patients and significant clinical space and state-of-the-art simulation laboratories that will support other UPEI programs in addition to medicine. This aligns with the provincial government’s goal of providing health care through medical homes where doctors work alongside allied health colleagues.
Prior to the start of construction last fall, Dr. Judy Clark, Mi’kmaw Elder, UPEI Elder-in-Residence, and a faculty member in the Faculty of Indigenous Knowledge, Education, Research, and Applied Studies, conducted a private Sacred Pipe Ceremony on the site.
UPEI is working toward receiving accreditation for the joint degree program from the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS). In order to admit students as soon as possible, UPEI will be a campus of Memorial’s Faculty of Medicine until accreditation has been granted. UPEI is also following the program approval process with the Atlantic Advisory Committee on Health Human Resources and Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission.
UPEI is also working closely with a strategic health system integration committee, made up of government officials from the provincial departments of Health and Wellness and Education and Lifelong Learning, Health PEI, Medical Society of PEI, and Memorial, to integrate medical education into the provincial healthcare system across the Island.
