UPEI welcomes the first cohort of Memorial medical students to the new Faculty of Medicine and Interprofessional Health Education facility
This week, twenty Island residents will receive acceptance letters from Memorial University’s Faculty of Medicine to be the inaugural students at its new regional campus located within the University of Prince Edward Island’s Faculty of Medicine and Interprofessional Health Education facility.
“This is a big day for UPEI, PEI, Island students, and for the future of our health care system,” said Dr. Wendy Rodgers, UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor. “I’d like to thank the UPEI and Memorial team for working tirelessly to get us to this day and acknowledge the Government of PEI, Health PEI, and the Medical Society of PEI for their ongoing collaboration and support. But most of all, I wish to congratulate these 20 new medical learners!”
A new $91.5 million state-of-the-art facility being built by UPEI will house the regional campus of Memorial’s Doctor of Medicine (MD) program and serve as a hub for interprofessional health education and training. The building will include a future-focused Clinical Learning and Simulation Centre, a 10,000-person patient medical home, a provincial ADHD clinic, an expanded Doctor of Psychology program clinic, and additional resources. This facility will also support the broader healthcare system and partners such as the military, first responders, and others.
“Memorial has a longstanding relationship with PEI, admitting four students from that province annually to our Doctor of Medicine program in St. John’s,” said Dr. Dolores McKeen, Dean of Medicine. “Creating a regional campus on PEI represents a major step forward in expanding access to medical training and addressing health-care needs in the Atlantic region.”
The four-year MD program includes classroom learning and clinical experiences. During their first year, medical students learn the basics of medicine through classroom lessons, hands-on training, and community experiences. The UPEI-based students will participate in these lessons with their 90 classmates in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador via interactive technology. Clinical skills and hands-on training will also be delivered in person in PEI.
“We already see tremendous interest from physicians in PEI, as well as those considering coming here, because we can now offer teaching opportunities comparable to those available in other regions, " said Dr. Preston Smith, Chief Academic Officer, Health PEI. “Health PEI is evolving to become more of a learning health system which ultimately leads to better care for all Islanders.”
In recent years, establishing regional medical education campuses has become more frequent across Canada. However, this project is particularly unique because UPEI and Memorial’s goal is to develop a joint MD program for PEI, for which work is currently underway. Dr. Smith is also Dean of the UPEI Faculty of Medicine that will offer the joint degree program.
The new students will begin their studies in late August.
